Red Hood's Revenge

Then you came along. That turned out to be a good change.”
    “I’m glad,” said Danielle.
    “Talia and I weren’t sure about you at first, but you turned out all right.” She winked. “Now Beatrice is dying. You’re going to be busier around the palace. Talia . . . I don’t know what she’ll do. Did you know Captain Hephyra invited Talia to turn pirate with her?”
    “She didn’t!”
    Snow grinned. “Talia told me about it earlier this year. The point is, people move on.”
    “Is that what you see when you watch them?” Danielle asked. “Talia moving on?”
    “I see her finally loosening up and having some fun. About damn time, too.” Snow touched her mirror. “Don’t worry about me, Princess. I have plenty to keep me occupied when we get home. Have you seen Reynald, the new smith? The way that man handles his hammer . . .”
    Danielle laughed and took her hand, tugging her back toward the palace. “What happened to Zestan’s body?”
    “Muhazil and the Kha’iida brought it into the garden. He means to carry the body back to the mountains. I guess a fallen god is still a god.”
    They stopped at the entrance to the palace, and Snow looked back to where Talia and Faziya stood with their fingers interlaced. Talia turned, as if she could sense someone watching. Her smile faltered slightly when she spotted Snow.
    Snow winked, ignoring the churning in her stomach. With a touch of her hand, she ended her spell, giving them their privacy.

    “I can’t,” Faziya said softly. “I wouldn’t know how to survive anywhere else. The desert is in my blood, Talia.”
    “I learned to survive in Lorindar,” Talia said, knowing it was futile.
    “Of course you did.” Faziya laughed. “You’re a city-dwelling massim. We barbarians are a different breed. Living in the temple was difficult enough.” She pulled Talia close, bodies pressing together in a way that would have been highly improper in Lorindar. “But it might be nice to visit for a while, to see your home and spend time with you without having to worry about fairy hunters chasing us down.”
    Talia’s heart was a snarl of emotion. She pushed the worst aside. She knew Faziya would never be happy anywhere else. She could dwell on that fact, or she could enjoy the time they had. Faziya would come with her. It was enough for today. That she would return to Arathea was something to face at a later time. “Remember one thing. If anyone offers you black pudding, say no.”
    Faziya laughed again, a sound of pure joy. “Talia, could you do something for me?”
    Talia pulled her close. “Anything.”
    “In all your time at the temple, you never spoke of your family.” Faziya kissed her lightly on the side of the neck. “You never even speak the names of your brothers or sister.”
    “No, I suppose not.” She gave a halfhearted shrug. “It was easier that way, trying not to remember.”
    “I’d like to know.”
    Talia looked past her to the ruins of her home. “My sister was Janilwa. She looked like our mother, far more than I ever did. Taqib was my oldest brother. He loved horses more than anything in the world. Yasan was next, and he was more trouble than the rest of us combined. Fahni was the youngest. He—” Her throat knotted, and she turned her face away. “I’m sorry.”
    “When you’re ready,” Faziya whispered.
    Talia closed her eyes. “I’d like that.”
    Faziya kissed her again, then pulled away. “It was kind of Queen Lakhim to let you borrow the ebony horse to reach your ship.”
    Talia’s lip twitched. “Yes. ‘Borrow.’ ”
    Faziya chuckled and hugged her again. When they finally broke apart, Talia kissed her and nudged her toward the palace. “I’ll join you in a moment.”
    She waited for Faziya to leave, then turned in a slow circle. Eight years ago she had awakened here and made her way through the hedge to find everything she knew gone.
    Zestan’s sandstorms had buried the last traces of the hedge. The lakebed was a rippled plain of sand, and the gold hills stretched out beyond. She breathed in the air, smiling at the lush, sweet scent.
    She felt . . . free .