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I reached into my pocket to dig out a few stale bread crumbs, then tossed them to Kipu to buy his silence for the next minute or so. That seemed to help Adir relax.

“Don’t worry, no one ever comes up here,” I said in a quieter voice, my head swimming with questions for him. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is a palace servant doing way out here?”

He let out a long sigh that felt heavier than it should have. “Running a fool’s errand,” he said. “At least, that’s what people tell you when they see you hunting for a legend.”

The air seemed to change. His eyes darkened, and I felt myself inching closer to him to look for the missing light. “ What do you mean?” I asked. “What kind of legend? Is it something I can help you find?”

“I don’t even know if it exists to be found,” Adir admitted, kicking up a small puff of dust. “But if it’s real, I need it now more than ever... The wishing diamond.”

Wishing diamond...?

It sounded familiar, but not because I’d seen it or even directly heard of it.

My memories of the name came from children’s stories I used to be told by street performers.

An enchanted diamond that could grant the wishes of anyone who was worthy enough to wield it.

Magic existed in small parts of the world, but never anything quite like that.

“Do you really think it could be out there?” I asked, my heart filled with wonder.

“I do,” he said assuredly. “It has to be...if not, then...” He squeezed his arm, forcing another smile onto his face that felt faker than fool’s gold, but just as pretty. “Then I guess I’m as crazy as everyone thinks.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy,” I said, twisting the gold bracelets on my arm. “If anyone is going to believe in a magical diamond, it would be the girl who has an eye for gold.”

“I thought gold wasn’t your color?” He smirked.

“I can love something without being loved back.” I laughed. “Take me and Kipu’s relationship. He only follows me because I feed him.” I gestured to Kipu, who was happily munching on bread crumbs like it was a king’s feast.

“Well, Kipu doesn’t know what he’s missing out on,” Adir said, his voice laced with more of that charming laughter. He placed a hand on my shoulder, the touch reminding me of when Kipu would perch on me, but without the prick of claws. “You seem like the type of person who would be fun to love.”

I felt my tongue go dry as his dreamy gaze left me at a loss for words. He may have been a stranger, but it was easy to feel like he’d been searching for me his whole life when he looked at me like that.

“If I had that diamond, I think I’d wish to see you more often.” He squeezed my shoulder, the touch merely friendly but also completely swoon-worthy coming from a dashing stranger I may never see again. “Who knows, maybe that wish could come true even without magic.”

He released my shoulder, his posture deflating as he looked out at the horizon.

The sun was getting low, dimming the sky and painting it in an array of cozy oranges and pinks.

A yawn slipped through my lips, and it was then that I realized just how tired and drained I felt from a day of treasure hunting.

Despite my exhaustion, I wasn’t ready for the sun to set .

“Is there anything I can do to help you find what you’re looking for?” I asked, hopeful to be included in another day of his life. “I may not be much, but I’m good at tracking down valuable items.”

My fickle health made it impossible to work a proper job, and stealing on a daily basis was too risky. Tracking down expensive wares that I could swipe without hurting someone else’s livelihood had become my area of expertise over the last decade.

Maybe Jean would know something about it?

“That’s sweet of you, Kya, but I’ve already borrowed enough of your skills for one day.

” He rubbed at his wrist that was fortunately still attached to his arm.

His gaze lingered there for a moment, then with a cheeky tilt of his head he reached into the pocket of his cloak.

“Which reminds me, I should properly thank you for saving me from those guards.”

“Thank me? I’m the one who got you into that mess.” I played with the tail of my braid again, looking down at my dusty sandals as he closed the distance between us.

“Then consider it a thank you for the lovely evening. It’s not often I get to talk to someone who doesn’t instantly disregard my ambitions.

” He reached for my hand, and I let him take it.

He placed something cool and heavy in my palm, curling my fingers around it before I could fully see what it was.

He met my eyes one more time, the single second feeling like an eternal moment before he pulled away.

My heart tugged in his direction as he started moving toward the ladder, leaving me only a moment to look down at the breathtaking bejeweled bracelet in my hand.

Sapphires studded the plated silver, sparkling like stars across a clear night sky.

“A-Adir,” I gasped loudly enough for him to pause his descent down the ladder. “This... Where did you get this?”

Was I not the only thief on top of this roof?

“Don’t worry, it won’t be missed,” he said with a wink. “The prince was going to gift it to Princess Morana, but like you said, she hardly needs another bracelet.” With those final words he slipped down the ladder, disappearing into the dwindling market crowds below.

It took me a while before I could find my voice again. I slipped the silver bracelet on my wrist alongside the two gold bangles. My arm looked like it belonged to a princess, not an orphaned nobody with only a parrot for an attendant.

“We could eat for months with these,” I said to Kipu, brushing my fingers over the bracelets so they jingled against each other. My touch lingered on the silver one, already reluctant to sell such a beautiful piece. “I wish I could see him again, to thank him properly.”

Kipu let out a content squawk as he gulped down the last of the bread crumbs. I bent down to offer him a place back on my shoulder, but when I knelt, I felt my head start to get fuzzy.

“Oh no...not now.” A headache panged through my brain, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

I still had time to get off the roof and hurry home.

“Kipu, home!” I motioned the hand signal for him, and he eagerly obeyed after having been fed so many treats.

We weren’t far from the abandoned silk shop that I nested in, but I still needed to descend the ladder without another dizzy spell.

I grabbed the ladder’s edges, taking each step slow enough that I didn’t make myself feel weaker, but also fast enough that I didn’t have time to collapse. When my feet touched down, the ground didn’t feel as solid as it should have, and my steps felt wobblier than a farmer on a sail boat.

Come on, you’re okay...it’s not far.

I should have stayed on the roof.

In my woozy state of mind, I didn’t think to double-check the street when I stepped out from behind the inn. It only took one look from a guard to notice the glittering bracelets on my wrist, and only two seconds for a cluster of them to corner me from all angles.

I tried to dash behind the smallest one, but my legs collapsed under me, and the silver bracelet flew off my wrist and rolled into one of the guards’ boots.

“Well, would you look what we have here?” the guard said in a gritty voice that made my skin crawl. “Take her away.”