The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani (story reading .TXT) 📕

“Alyrra!” Kestrin’s voice breaks through the room. I can’t see what Alyrra does, don’t dare look back, but he says nothing more. I hear the thud of footsteps slow as they near. They’re coming from a little farther away—the door to Kestrin’s suite.

“A snake,” Alyrra says softly. “It’s on Rae’s feet right now. Jasmine, move back.”

“Gather everyone in the outer room,” the king orders an unseen attendant, voice cool and sure. He must have still been with Kestrin in the hallway when Jasmine started screaming. No wonder it took them a few moments to reach us. “Send a quad in to me.”

Kestrin eases into view, moving slowly toward Jasmine. “Veria, step back.”

“Slowly,” I breathe, but she doesn’t hear me, or perhaps she simply can’t manage it. She takes a fast step back, jerky with fear. The snake’s coils tighten.

“No—” I raise an arm toward Jasmine.

She shrieks and throws herself tumbling back. Her foot arcs through the air before my skirt. The snake rears into view and darts at it, fangs bared. It’s going to bite her, and with venom like that—

Kestrin’s hand comes up, fingers outstretched at the edge of my vision—and the snake bounces off the air.

As I stare, it pulls itself back beneath the hem of my skirts, scales sawing against each other, and wraps itself even more firmly around my ankles, rough against my skin. Faintly, I can hear the king murmuring something, but I can’t make sense of it, of anything really.

What just happened? I glance toward the prince and find him looking at me in return, eyes dark as the viper’s. Then he reaches out, hooks an arm around Jasmine, who is lying on her back and sobbing, utterly unaware of what just happened, and pulls her slowly away. By the time he’s gotten her to the door, a quad has arrived and they get her the rest of the way out.

“You too, veriana,” the king says to Alyrra. “We’ll need Mage Hedhrawy, I think. I don’t believe we have any snake tamers here.”

Captain Matsin’s voice sounds from the doorway. “I’ll send for him.”

Alyrra slowly shifts back, and then it is just the prince and me in the room.

“Kestrin?” the king asks from the doorway.

“I’ll stay here. Send in Hedhrawy when he arrives.”

A silence, and then the king says, “Kelari, you’re doing well. Hold on a little longer and we’ll have you free.”

And then the door shuts behind him.

Kestrin moves slowly, staying against the wall until I can see him from the corner of my eye again without turning my head. I can feel his gaze on my face, studying me.

What I saw just now, that was magic. Kestrin’s magic. He isn’t supposed to have a talent any more than my sister is. Except she’s a horse rancher’s daughter who helps with local births and takes care of broken animals. He is the crown prince, in line to be king one day. A sorcerer king. That’s one big secret right there, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want me to know it.

Kestrin takes one final step to the side. I turn my head to meet his gaze. He says nothing, his expression inscrutable. Gone is the mischievous young man of the wedding, the laughing prince of the sweetening. For just a moment, I think of the Black Scholar with his ebony robes and shining intellect and cool, calculating approach to murder. But Kestrin is nothing like him. No, he can’t be. I’ve seen how he protects Alyrra, seen his kindness and joy, and I don’t believe he’ll hurt me for this. At least, I don’t want to believe it.

I’ll just have to be smart about how I navigate this. Which means I need to say something, make it clear I’m not a threat, that I can be trusted. But what?

Kestrin eases down until he’s squatting against the wall, his eyes trained on the bottom of my skirt. “You’re very calm,” he says. He glances up and catches the look of disbelief on my face. “You are, at least compared to Jasmine.”

“It was—very lucky the snake pulled back. I thought for sure it would bite her.” For how low I keep my voice, it’s still too bright and not at all convincing. Kestrin considers me in silence.

“Don’t you think, zayyid?” I ask hopefully. If he will just play along with the idea that I didn’t see anything, then it will all be all right. Won’t it?

“Are you afraid it will bite you now?” he asks quietly.

I flash back to the Scholar again, smiling over our conversation on political philosophy, and then pressing a dagger to my wrist. No. The Scholar might have had manners and intelligence, but he didn’t have morals. The prince does. He must. I shake my head to clear it. “I’m not in any danger from it.”

“You’ve seen this type of snake before?”

“It’s a saw-scaled viper. Their venom is extremely potent, but he’s comfortable right now. He won’t attack.” Not unless he’s incited to, which Jasmine has already illustrated for us. I should maybe not have said any of that.

Kestrin smiles humorlessly. “You are perfectly safe regardless, don’t you think? I would venture to say Alyrra would never have left you here if she didn’t believe it.”

No, she wouldn’t have. Oh, thank God. She must have known Kestrin’s secret as well, known that he could and would keep me safe regardless of my knowing his secret. That is a great deal more comforting than having to convince myself of Kestrin’s moral strength. And apparently, he was perfectly aware of my uncertainty on that score.

“You see. You are perfectly safe, kelari.” He glances to the snake, which now rests silently about my feet, then back up to me. “I should like to rely on your confidence, much as the princess does.”

I’m not sure it can really be this easy, but I’m not about to argue. “You have it, zayyid.”

“I thank you.” He smiles again, and this time there is warmth