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“Yes. He’s my cousin. He’s big but not very bright.” Salas shot me a glare but said nothing, letting me speak for him. “He wassupposed to be following me but must’ve taken a wrong turn back there. Please forgive the dummy, he’s not used to walking out here in the dark. I’ll take him home now if you don’t mind.”

The guard let go of Salas’s arm.

“It’s not the best part of the city for a man to walk on his own,” the leader said. “We stop and question every male in these parts.”

“Thank you for doing your job, good women.” I nodded, placing myself between her and Salas.

The leader slapped his ass at parting.

“Go along now, lad. And don’t you get lost again. Men...” She smiled at me, shaking her head. “That’s why they need us to take care of them. Can’t even make a step anywhere without a woman holding their hand.”

I grabbed Salas’s hand to demonstrate that I got the situation under control this time.

“Thanks, ladies.” I waved at them with my free hand while tagging Salas away.

They laughed and chatted among themselves as we left.

My heart pounded. Perspiration beaded on my brow. I half-expected the guards to call us back once they’d realized they hadn’t even asked my name or who I was. I turned into random streets, just to build some distance between us and them.

When the guards’ voices quieted behind the buildings, melting into the streets, I stopped and released a breath, allowing the tension to leave my body.

Salas exhaled too.

“Thanks,” he said softly.

I lifted my face to him. “How do we get back to the palace from here? I’ve no idea where we are.”

I’d acted confidently in front of the guards. But in reality, it was I who was lost, not Salas.

“This way.” He gripped my hand tighter, leading me through a maze of dark narrow streets to the main road.

“You know your way well around the city,” I noted. “Do you come this way often?”

“No. I just happened to have a good sense of direction.”

I bit my lip before asking my next question. “So, you don’t visit that orphanage on a regular basis then?”

He stopped, letting go of my hand, and I immediately missed the contact with his warm palm. Nothing about us walking through the city together at night was normal, yet holding his hand always felt like the most natural thing to do.

“Have you been following me, Princess?” He sounded incredulous, either having a hard time believing that I would do such a crazy thing or wondering how he hadn’t spotted me earlier. “Is that why you’re here?”

“Yes,” I confessed.

“For how long?”

“Since the palace grounds.” I had lots of my own questions that needed answers, however. “I bet you didn’t have your owner’s permission to leave tonight. Why did you do it? Whom were you visiting in that orphanage, Salas?”

“No one. I don’t know anyone there.” He lifted a hand to run it through his shaggy hair.

Only now I noticed a worn leather purse clipped to his belt. Reaching for it, I squeezed it to confirm it was empty.

“You gave them the money, didn’t you? Was that why you signed the new contract with the slave owner?”

He stared at me for a long moment, as if trying to glimpse through my skull my reasons for all these questions.

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business, Princess,” he finally said.

Pivoting on his heel, he headed toward the palace, clearly trusting me to find my own way back now that we were on themain road again. If he thought he’d be rid of me, however, he was hugely mistaken. I ran, catching up with him.