Free The Tainted City by Courtney Schafer Page A

breaking the border wards he won’t bother with me—and more importantly, no chance he’ll get hold of you!”
    “I know the risk would be high for both of us. But if Marten can protect us from him, even if only for a short while…think! If we’re both in Ninavel, and you arrange a meeting for me with your old handler, what was his name—”
    “Red Dal,” I muttered.
    “Tell me, what do you imagine Red Dal would do if a blood mage walked in and demanded he hand over one of his Taint thieves?”
    I stared at him, then breathed, “Suliyya, mother of maidens. That could actually work.” No streetsider in Ninavel would dare refuse a blood mage. We’d all heard the spine-freezing tales of the power of their magic, and the depth of their cruelty. Red Dal’s instinct for self-preservation was the only thing more highly developed than his love of profit. He’d hand Melly over in a heartbeat…so long as he was convinced he truly risked a blood mage’s wrath. I eyed Kiran’s earnest, determined face, and frowned.
    “Oh, I can act the part.” Kiran’s teeth flashed white in a bitter smile. “I’ve had an excellent teacher.” He shut his eyes and drew himself up, tossing his black hair back over his shoulders. When he opened his eyes again, they burned with predatory arrogance. He turned that fiery gaze on me, and despite myself, I backed a step.
    “Khalmet’s bloodsoaked bony hand,” I said, forgetting to whisper. “Impressive, but still…Red Dal’s a canny bastard. He’ll need more than sigil-marked clothes and a good job of acting. Besides, if I understood that business with the amulet right, you’ll have an Alathian dogging your heels every damn minute of the day, and you can’t risk ditching them.”
    “If I could spellcast, I could convince Red Dal. Not to mention protect myself with the amulet.” A brief, sharp smile twisted Kiran’s mouth. “Marten bringing you along to Ninavel isn’t the only condition I intend to put on my acceptance.”
    Ah. He meant to demand the removal of his binding. He hadn’t said the Council’s spell still pained him, but I’d seen it in the abruptness of his movements, the strain that never left his face. More than that, I could guess how badly he missed his magic. If I had a chance at having the Taint back, I’d take it, no matter the cost.
    Slowly, I nodded. “All right, yeah. With a suitably showy spellcasting, I think Red Dal would buy it.”
    “I thought so,” Kiran said, with soft satisfaction.
    My heart lifted as I allowed myself to imagine it: Melly free, and my old promise to her father Sethan fulfilled at last. Easy enough in Ninavel to get my hands on enough kalumite and copper to burn out the snapthroat charm, and then ditch the Alathians and slip out of the city with Melly. Take her somewhere far from mages and ganglords and Alathians…after all, Arkennland was a big country, Ninavel a mere speck in the wildlands of its western territory. I’d heard the far north had some decent mountains. I doubted another range could match the beauty of the Whitefires, but settlements up there must hold opportunities for men skilled in ropework and snow travel. I could get Melly set in a proper apprenticeship and carve out a new life safely distant from Ruslan. Maybe Cara would come with us…my breath quickened, thinking of Cara’s bright laugh, her tanned skin beneath my hands…
    My gaze lit on Kiran. Resolve firmed his jaw and straightened his spine. Yet his blue eyes were shadowed, the circles beneath them as inky black as his hair, and even the rich golden wash of afternoon sunlight couldn’t soften the pallor of his skin. My happy little fantasy crumbled.
    “Kiran. Look. I know you want to help me, but after everything you’ve gone through to get away from Ruslan, are you sure about this?”
    He sighed. “Honestly? No. But Marten is right. If I stay to cower behind the wards and they fail, then Ruslan will have me anyway. I’d prefer to go where