Karim was fast asleep, his small hands looped tight around Haitham’s neck. The poor child must have been terrified these couple of days.

  Daliya glanced at the vast expanse of white that they had to trek back to the village. It was still night, and with the darkness, a freezing cold had blanketed their surroundings. While Daliya couldn’t feel the biting cold, both Haitham and Karim weren’t so lucky.

  “Should we stop for the night?” she asked, her eyes roaming around, looking for nearby shelter. There was a boulder a short distance from them. While it wouldn’t fend off the coldness, it would protect them from the wind.

  Haitham followed her line of sight. “Alright.” He nodded.

  With a snap of his fingers, a roaring fire lit up the area, clearing the snow before dimming to a single warm flame. Daliya spread her cloak on the ground so Haitham could settle the sleeping child. Karim shifted, his brows furrowing slightly before his face smoothed, his sleep undisrupted. Haitham removed his coat and draped it over Karim.

  “We’ll move at first light,” he said.

  Daliya nodded. The sooner they got back, the better.

  Haitham rubbed his hands together, blowing some heat into them. “Why is it so cold? This is a crime against humanity,” he lamented.

  Daliya couldn’t help the smirk that pulled at her lips. He shot her a glare. “Enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”

  “I can build you an ice shelter. I heard they help with the cold.”

  He shuddered. “More ice? No thanks. I’ll make do with what I have.”

  She shrugged.

  Haitham leaned on the boulder, head pillowed on his arms. Daliya dropped a short distance next to him—Karim’s sleeping form between them, sheltering him further from the night breeze—and slumped over like a puppet whose strings had been cut. She fluffed the snow into a makeshift pillow, ignoring Haitham’s appalled stare. When somewhat satisfied with the result, she leaned her head, eyes looking at the empty lands before her. To think that the poor child had crossed all that distance, alone and afraid.

  Daliya blinked, chasing the dark thought that threatened to cloud her mind. They were fortunate that Haitham was with them. Otherwise, she didn’t dare think what could have happened.

  Noticing Haitham’s furtive glances, she raised an eyebrow at him.

  “What?”

  He turned his gaze at the vast expanse before him. “Nothing.”

  She narrowed her eyes at his strange behavior. She waited for a moment, staring at his poor attempt to seem nonchalant. He stared ahead, pointedly ignoring her. But when he said nothing, she closed her eyes, ready for restless hours of sleep.

  “I’ve noticed something.” His voice brought her back from her near-sleep. She looked at him and found him staring at her, a frown on his face. “You’re quite used to this. A harsh life, I mean.”

  She paused, watching him. “You mean sleeping on the ground?”

  “Amongst other things.” He nodded.

  “It’s not my first time. I’m not homeless,” she hurriedly added when his frown darkened. “There was this time my apartment’s ceiling leaked. It drenched a whole section with rainwater, including my bed. I had to make do with the floor for a while, for the whole winter season in fact. It was quite memorable.”

  “I see,” he said drily.

  She chuckled, amused. “I could say the same about you. You don’t seem to care about the luxuries your bodyguard position offers you. You haven’t even asked for a salary. Quite foolish if you ask me.”

  “I’m an assassin.” He snorted. “I live at the edge of society. Always there. But never one of them. I mingle with the people enough to approach my target and eliminate them. What would I need for money when I can just borrow whatever I might need.”

  She shot him an unimpressed look. “You mean steal.”

  “I would hardly call it stealing when they never notice it missing.” He shrugged.

  She rolled her eyes. Of course he would think that. What else was she expecting?

  “Still the same,” she said, her lips twitching at Haitham’s resounding laugh. She paused. “How was it? In assassin school.”

  He mouthed ‘Assassin school?’ with an amused twinkle in his eyes. “It wasn’t bad. I had a roof over my head and food to satiate my hunger, which was more than the majority of Dya’a’s could afford. I trained every hour every single day.” He paused. “But I guess I had special treatment.” He lifted his finger up, silencing whatever she was going to say. “By which I mean I had to train more than everyone else. I was supposed to be what Dya’a had the best to offer, you see. I had no time to slack off.”

  “It must have been hard.”

  “Not really. You get used to it after a while.”

  “Still, you must have been still a child. Your childhood–”

  “There is no place for childhood on the battlefield.” His voice was firm, but his eyes had softened as he looked at whatever expression she was making. “Children tend to grow up fast when war knocks on their door, their childhood buried under the rubble, suffocated in the dust.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  He shrugged. “War doesn’t differentiate between innocent and guilty. After the war came the famine and the plague. People turned on each other for a chance to see tomorrow. Joining the resistance was the best choice I had. The best choice anyone had.” He twirled his dagger—that he had summoned at some point—between his fingers. “You learn to sleep with one eye open. Better if you could find a secluded area far from prying eyes. More hidden means more safety. A chance to wake up the day after.”

  They descended into silence once more, each lost in their own thoughts. Daliya mulled over Haitham’s words.

  “Is that why you don’t sleep in your room?” she asked.

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  “I’m a lone man strolling around in enemy territory. Using that room is akin to painting a huge target on my back.”

  “So is using mine.”

  “Who dares enter the princess’ room without her permission.”

  “Indeed.” She sent him a pointed look.

  A burst of laughter escaped his throat. He shot her an amused look. “Have mercy. I’m the one who had to put up with the abyss’s symphony of death.”

  She sat up, glaring daggers at him. “I do not snore!” She protested. How dare he insinuate that she snored. Well, she didn’t know whether he was telling the truth, seeing that she was sleeping at the time. But it was rude to tell someone— who was nice enough to allow you to creep around their room at night— that they snored.

  Her indignation only served to amuse him further. He gave a deep-bellied laugh, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

  She huffed. Bad-mannered jerk. They must have forgotten to teach him manners in assassin school.

  She leaned back on the ground, facing the boulder. When his laughter still echoed around her— grating on her nerves— she summoned frost, covering the small patch of ground beneath him. He squawked—something about killjoys who can’t take a joke.

  She closed her eyes. She was still grinning when Karim’s soft snore lulled her into a light sleep.

  They walked through the snowy field. Karim’s hand clasped around Daliya’s. His eyes kept darting around, fretfully looking for something. The lost souls, Daliya mused. She squeezed the frightened child’s hand, smiling when he glanced up at her.

  “You’ll be home soon.”

  He nodded.

  When the village was in their line of sight, Daliya stopped. This wouldn’t do. They couldn’t let monsters roam unchecked, threatening the town. They had to do something. She turned to Haitham.

  “Where are they? Can you feel their presence?”

  He nodded. “They’re beyond the hill. A bit far to sense Karim’s core.”

  “We need to take care of them now rather than let them roam free, attacking other defenseless villagers. We’ll have to lure them here. How about my core? It’s strong enough to incite them, isn’t it?”

  “Controlled chaos,” he mused, eying her. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Alright.”

  She closed her eyes, concentrating on the shielding that cocooned her core—a fledgling little shield that she was proud of achieving, no matter the critics haitham had for her. She shivered as she felt a ripple run over her frame. The shielding around her core gone.

  They didn’t have to wait for long. Soon enough, groaning and growling sounded in the distance. They were lured here by both her core and Karim’s. But most likely by hers. According to Haitham, she shone like a beacon, a delicious cold meal for lost souls rip and ready for devouring.

  Karim let out a distressed cry, his arms tightening around her, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. Daliya instinctively tightened her hold on his small frame.

  “It’s okay. You’re safe. They can’t hurt you.”

  She hid his face in her shoulder, shielding him from the approaching monsters.

  It was a quick work. Haitham tore into them like thunder. A second, they were there, growling, reaching their claws. The next, they were but husks, already fading with the breeze, only their distorted cores testament to their miserable existence.

  Daliya nudged the child, coaxing him. “They’re gone,” she said.

  By the time the child turned to inspect their surroundings, all signs of the lost souls had already disappeared.

  Nahila crushed her son against her chest. Her sobs filled their surroundings, gathering a few curious stares from the villagers.

  “Maybe we should get somewhere more private.”

  The woman nodded at Daliya’s words. She wiped her face with the back of her sleeve and ushered them inside, her hands never letting go of Karim. The child smiled, clutching his mother’s skirt like a baby koala. His happiness turned into delight as she put a plate of cakes in front of him.

  “For me?” he asked, vibrating with gidiness.

  She kissed his forehead. “Of course. How many hearts do I have? They’re all for you, my heart.” She smiled fondly at him.

  Daliya shuffled on her feet, feeling like she was intruding on their reunion. But they had something important to discuss.

  With a last look at her son, Nahila ushered them to her living room. Daliya declined her offer of tea and urged her to sit and talk to them.

  “His father was an earth shaker, wasn’t he?” Haitham asked.

  Nihal nodded. “We had met in one of my travels to the capital. My father had gotten sick, so I volunteered to go in his stead.”

  “The earth shaker was in the capital?” Haitham sounded shocked at the thought.

  Nahila shook her head. “Our carriage had sustained damage on the way. We had to stop at a nearby village. It was there where I met him.” She looked slightly upward, her expression dreamy, as if she was transported years back in a faraway village. “He was a nice person. He helped us without asking for anything in return.”

  She brushed her hand over her skirt, her fingers playing with some loose threats at the hem.

  “In one of our outings, we were attacked by monsters. Without hesitating, he used his powers to protect me. He didn’t even worry that I would out him. As if I would rat him out to those bloodthirsty bastards who don’t even care about us!” She shot a worried glance Daliya’s way. But when Daliya didn’t acknowledge her insults, she continued, boldened, “I don’t regret marrying him. Even if we weren’t meant to be together, he had given me one of the greatest gifts life could ever give me.”

  She shot Daliya a pleading look.

  “Karim is a good child. He has never hurt anyone. He might be a bit different, but he’s still my son. I urge Your Highness to forgive his existence and allow us to remain in your care.”

  Daliya stopped her attempt to kneel before her. She clasped her shoulders and gently pushed her back to her seat.

  “Don’t worry. You can stay here. I won’t chase you out of your house. You both are safe here.”

  She’ll inform Mazin to tell the other knights to turn a blind eye to the kid’s powers. She’ll make it a royal decree if she had to.

  “Really?”

  Daliya felt bad at the hopeful tone in the woman’s voice. She looked at her as if she couldn’t believe that Daliya would really honor her words, that she would call the knights and have them take her child away from her.

  Quite counterproductive, if anything else.

  “He can’t stay here.”

  Daliya snapped her head toward Haitham. “What? Why?”

  “This time, he was lucky we were here. He might not be next time. He needs to go somewhere safe where he can train his powers and learn to protect himself. The lost souls are a constant danger to people like us. They won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. So, like everyone else, he needs to learn to live in a world bent to end him.”

  “Where would he go?” Daliya doubted anywhere else would be a safe haven for someone like them. Not with the emperor.

  Haitham looked to the side, his thoughtful eyes glancing at the child wolfing down his mother’s cakes.

  “I won’t let you take him away from me! He’s my everything! My world!”

  “We don’t separate children from their mothers. We’re not heartless.” Haitham sighed, his shoulders moving with the motion. It seemed it wasn’t the first time he had that kind of accusation thrown at him.

  The mother threw him a suspicious look.

  “In the upcoming days, someone will contact you. They’ll take the both of you somewhere safer than here.”

  “You promise?”

  He gave a solemn nod. “You have my word.”

  Instead of returning to the main road, Haitham jumped on the house’s roof. Daliya followed him, the wood groaning under her feet. He took a paper from his cloak and tore it in half. The remaining taters shot to the sky, shining a faint yellow before fading.

  “What was that?”

  “A spell. It means there’s something or someone that must be collected here.”

  She gave him a look. “You just announced it to the whole town. Heck, everyone in a ten-kilometer radius had seen it.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” He shrugged. “They’ll be here soon enough before your useless knights take heed of things. How else did you think our people haven’t gone extinct? Certainly not due to the emperor’s lack of effort.”

  “How would they get here?”

  His smile was cryptic. “We have our ways.”