Hassa rolled her eyes.
“Jond, she can’t speak, but she’s not deaf. She can hear you.”
Jond was perturbed. “Oh, of course, I’m sorry. Thank you for all your help finding Sylah. I’m Jond.” He held out his hand to shake.
Sylah slapped her palm on her forehead. “You are the worst.”
He really is. Is he your boyfriend?
“Oh, no.”
“What did she ask? What did you ask?”
Tell him I think he’s very pretty.
“She thinks you’re very pretty.”
Jond’s smile was jaunty, a little vain. “Thanks.”
“You working?”
Yes, I should really get back to the Keep, where you now also work, for some strange reason.
“Are you still talking about me?”
Tell him yes, we’re discussing how much I would buy him for.
Sylah snorted and ignored him.
“I made a deal with the daughter of Uka Elsari,” Sylah said softly by way of explanation. “She’s asked me to help her train for the Aktibar.”
I heard she’d signed up. Why did she pick you?
The lie came to Sylah quickly, and she wondered if Anoor was already rubbing off on her. “Anoor heard about me at the Ring.”
Hassa looked at her coolly. That’s it?
Sylah’s gaze bounced between Hassa’s dark eyes.
“I’m acting as her servant as I train her. Apparently, trainers are common, but her mother wouldn’t like it, so we needed a cover.”
I’m sure she wouldn’t. The warden doesn’t like people around her daughter.
Hassa’s eyes flickered to Jond’s bored expression. Sylah didn’t want Jond to figure out that Hassa knew she was one of the Stolen; that Sylah had let it slip was too much shame for her to bear.
“So I’ll be seeing you around the Keep? Maybe we could meet up?”
Maybe.Hassa’s smile was sly. I’ve got to go. See you soon, my friend. And be careful, the Keep is full of spiders.
“See you soon, Hassa.”
The girl waved her limb and gave Jond a wink.
The Keep is full of spiders. The thought tugged on Sylah’s mind, and she thought of Uka, and how she’d hurt Anoor.
The trotro rattled past, the sound drowning out any more questions Jond might have had. As they neared the end of the Tongue, Sylah’s eyes were drawn to the swirling mass of blue quicksand in the Ruta River below.
“Does that look like it’s moving faster than usual?”