Circle of Shadows (Circle of Shadows, #1)(40)

“We can’t let them leave the harbor without us,” Sora said. “We need to get on the Dragon Prince’s ship.”





Chapter Twenty-Four


Most of the ryuu had gone either into town with Prince Gin to help him herd together the citizens and charm them or to raid the captain’s quarters of the other boats in the harbor in search of wine and other spirits. The new recruits, however, gathered in the front of the caravan of wagons that carried their supplies to begin loading the ship Prince Gin had decided to help himself to.

The rest of the caravan, though, was unattended. Still, Sora’s nerves jostled with every step as she and Daemon sneaked among the wagon wheels to find places to hide.

The last cart was full of tents. Too risky. The ryuu probably wouldn’t load the entire cart but, rather, just the tents themselves. There was no way for a person to hide in the canvas without falling out as soon as the tents were separated from the pile.

They slinked up to the next wagon. Sora opened the doors. This one was packed with large rattan trunks. She hopped silently into the flatbed and opened the lid on one of them.

“Uniforms,” she whispered to Daemon as she looked down at stacks of neatly folded black tunics.

Daemon climbed into the wagon, and together they riffled through the trunks to find tunics and trousers the right sizes. They should disguise themselves as ryuu if they were going to stow away on board. Just in case they were seen.

The ryuu uniforms were similar to taiga ones, except there was a green belt, and Luna’s triplicate whorls on the cuffs were embroidered in green, rather than the Society’s silver.

They turned away from each other and changed quickly into their new clothes. When they were finished, Daemon looked at the trunk again. “If we got rid of some of those uniforms, we could fit in there.”

Sora looked it over. “You’re right. Let’s empty it out a bit and then I’ll stack some clothes on top of you for cover. I’ll dispose of the extra uniforms before I find a different place to hide.”

“Wait.” His eyes went wide. “You’re going to hide somewhere else?”

“I wasn’t planning to climb into the same trunk as you.” As soon as Sora said it, Daemon’s face went red.

“Gods,” Sora said, “I didn’t mean to suggest anything untoward. Obviously I don’t think about you like that. We’re geminas.”

He nodded quickly. “Obviously. And, um, good.”

“Anyway,” Sora said, “I don’t think it’s smart to hide in the same place. But once we’re on board and it’s safe, let’s meet in the cargo hold at the bottom of the ship.”

“And if it’s never safe?” Daemon asked. He couldn’t look at her.

Sora knew how he felt. Not just because she could feel his anxiety through their gemina bond but because . . . well, yes. Because of their gemina bond, but in a different way. She wouldn’t know what to do if Daemon weren’t on the other side of it.

“What if something happens to one of us?” he asked.

She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about that.

“Then the one remaining does everything he can to get off this ship alive.” Sora looked him square in the eyes, because they both knew they were really talking about what would happen if Sora was caught and he wasn’t. He might look like a brawny killing machine, but inside, he was all loyalty, a wolf dedicated to his pack until the very end. If she didn’t make it explicit, he would stay. “You save yourself, Daemon. You get to shore and back to the Society with everything you know.”

Daemon pursed his lips. Sora could feel the tension of his worry, like a rubber band pulled so taut, it could snap at any moment.

“It’ll be fine,” Sora said, even though she couldn’t promise a thing. “Now get in the trunk.” She shoved him gently.

He laughed despite the circumstances and reluctantly climbed in. “See you in the cargo hold.”

Sora nodded. Then she piled stacks of ryuu uniforms over him and shut the lid. There were slits in the rattan weave of the trunk to allow Daemon to breathe.

Soon afterward, she found a cart filled with drums of fruit and crates of vegetables. Sora curled up in a barrel that was partially full of oranges. At least it smells good in here, she thought.

She had hardly settled herself in when voices approached.

“You’re in charge of transporting the food to the ship,” a ryuu said. Her voice still had the reedy quality of youth, but there was also a corrosive bossiness to it that made it clear she was in charge despite her age. It sounded like the same ryuu from before, the one in the cloak with Prince Gin. “Can you handle the responsibility?” she asked.

“Yes, Virtuoso,” a recruit said.

Virtuoso. Sora made note of the name. She wouldn’t make the same mistake as the report on Takish Gorge, when she didn’t have enough specific information to share with the commander.

“Recite the steps I taught you,” Virtuoso ordered the recruit.

“Look for the green particles of magic, coax them to form small hands, and command those hands to lift and carry the crates and drums to the ship.”

“I’ll watch you cast the first spell,” Virtuoso said. “Transport this one.” She thumped hard on the top of Sora’s barrel.