The palace blurred around Inesa as she raced from the throne room, choking back sobs. She had no idea where she was going as she barreled down the steps and into the street. Now she was the rude one, bumping into people without apologizing, and she didn’t care. Being polite suddenly didn’t matter when your whole world was crumbling around you, and it was all your fault.

  Her foot caught on an uneven cobblestone, sending her sprawling onto the road. She lay there for a moment stunned, palms and knees stinging.

  “Need some help?”

  A boy around her own age was looking down at her. He extended a hand, but Inesa only stared at it.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  When he realized she wasn’t going to let him help her up, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his robe. She couldn’t help thinking it was an odd choice of clothing considering the warmth in the air. The dark color also made him stand out from the crowd.

  She ducked her head and swiped at her cheeks. She hoped he hadn’t noticed the tear tracks. Crying was not something Inesa did frequently. She prided herself on being strong. After her mother left, she’d taken up the role of caretaker of the house, so Papa had one less thing to worry about.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” she said. “I wasn’t paying attention and tripped.”

  “Do you want help picking up your things?” He jerked his chin at her belongings still scattered around her in the road. She hadn’t taken the time to shove everything back into her satchel before fleeing the palace, so all of her clothes were on display for passersby to see, including her undergarments.

  “No, thank you,” she said, her face heating.

  She quickly gathered her things and shoved them into her bag. There was only one item missing. Panic mounted as Inesa scanned the road.

  "Here," the boy said, "you forgot this." He held out Sterling's book.

  She snatched it away from him without so much as a thank you and checked it over for damage. The cover had a small scuff mark where it must have hit the cobblestones, but otherwise, it appeared unharmed. If she had lost it, she could say goodbye to any chance of getting her father back.

  "Was there anything else of mine you took?" she asked him, getting to her feet and bending to dust off her skirt.

  "No, and I wasn't trying to steal anything. I only wanted to help you. It seemed like the right thing to do."

  "Well, I don't need any help." Normally, she never would have said such a thing. It wasn't like her to be unkind, but she didn’t have time for small talk. She had to figure out a way to fulfill the king’s demands.

  "Have a good day," the boy said, ignoring her rudeness. He doffed an invisible hat and headed down the street.

  That was when Inesa realized she had no idea where she was or how to get back to the market and find Papa’s cart.

  "Wait!" she called out, chasing after the boy. "I'm sorry for being rude. I do need help. Can you direct me to the market?”

  For a second, she thought he would ignore her and continue walking. It would serve her right after the way she’d treated him.

  To her relief, he turned and offered her a smile. "I can take you there myself if you would like. I'm headed that way."

  "Yes, thank you. I would very much appreciate it.”

  He gestured for her to follow, and she fell into step beside him.

  They walked in silence for a bit before Inesa felt the need to apologize again for her rude behavior.

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  "It's fine," the boy said. "We all have bad days, and you seem to be experiencing a particularly rough one."

  "You don't know the half of it," she mumbled.

  "Try me."

  His friendly smile made Inesa debate telling him the truth. It was tempting to unload her problems onto someone else. She didn’t know why this strange boy was being so nice to her, but she was sure if he knew the truth of her situation, he would want nothing to do with her. One word about magic and portals to other worlds, and he might even try to report her to the king.

  Inesa giggled. Like that would work.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing,” she said, squeezing past a woman carrying two large baskets of tomatoes. They must be getting close to the market now.

  "Is that a good book?" he asked, changing the subject and pointing to the book she still held clutched against her chest.

  "Yes."

  One-word answers were safe. She didn't need to share anything more with this stranger. After she reached the market, she would part ways with him and find Papa's cart.

  "It looks fancy," he said.

  "I suppose."

  She knew how to drive the cart, so she could take it home. From there, she could work on the problem of finding the secret world. Sterling's world.

  "What's it about?"

  "Magic," she said, still thinking about her plans and only half paying attention.

  "What is a nice girl like you doing with a forbidden book?"

  Her head jerked up. "I-I didn't mean magic," she whispered the word.

  The boy raised one eyebrow at her fumbling. "I didn't realize there was another kind." He lowered his voice, leaning in closer. "Don't worry. I won't turn you in. I know some magic myself."

  "You do?" No one who possessed abilities like hers would talk so openly about them, especially not with a stranger. After everything her father had gone through to protect her, she knew it was a death sentence if the wrong sort of people found out.

  "Of course. I can read minds," he said.

  Inesa scoffed. Now she knew he was teasing her.

  "What? You don't believe me?"

  Of course, she didn't believe him. If he could read her mind, he wouldn't still be talking to her right now. "Prove it. What color am I thinking about?"

  She visualized the tomatoes in the woman's baskets. A perfectly ripe red.

  He grinned. "Easy. Red."

  "A lucky guess." She didn't truly believe him.

  "I told you I could do it. I can't read whole thoughts, mind you, but when someone is thinking about something really intensely, I can hear it. Like you keep thinking about your father. You're worried about him, but I don't know why."

  "Oh, gods,” she murmured, staring at him in open-mouthed shock. He really could read minds then. There was no other way for him to know about her father.

  He grinned at her. “Now you believe me?”

  “Aren’t you worried about being caught?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she still feared someone might overhear her.

  The boy shook his head, his blond hair falling into his eyes. “I’m part of a group of magic users. We protect each other.”

  Inesa flinched. His voice was at a normal level, and he didn’t look around for listening ears before he said it. Anyone could have heard him. This group, he spoke of, she’d never known such a thing existed. If she had, she could have saved her father so much pain. He wouldn’t have needed to protect her if she could be in the protection of others like herself.

  She opened her mouth to ask him more about the group.

  “Here we are,” the boy said. “I must be going now. It was nice meeting you.”

  Then he left her alone among the crowd of shoppers. She hadn’t even caught his name or had a chance to thank him again.

  “Oh well. Nothing for it,” she whispered to herself.

  Now that she was here in the market, she recognized a few of the stalls from this morning. She weaved her way through the people, ignoring the tempting smells of spicy stew and freshly baked bread. When she arrived at the place where she was sure Papa had left the cart, there was nothing there but a big empty space.

  Inesa turned in a circle, thinking perhaps she was mistaken, but no, she remembered the neighboring stall with its colorful array of rugs. She had thought about asking Papa to get one for in front of their fireplace.

  She approached the rug-seller, an older man with a knot of gray hair pulled up on top of his head.

  “Excuse me. Did you happen to see a cart here?”

  “Yes, there was one here this morning,” he said.

  “And do you know where it went?”

  He pursed his lips, eyes narrowing as he studied her as though she might be a thief. “The King’s men came to collect it. Said it was the property of the crown.”

  This wasn’t happening.

  “Th-thank you,” Inesa stammered, backing away from the rug stall.

  The King had seized not only her father but also her only way home. Without any money, she couldn’t hire someone to take her there, nor could she take a room in the city. Her stomach gave a rumble, reminding her she didn’t have anything to eat either.

  She looked down at the book in her arms. It was the only thing of value she had. It would fetch a good price, but it wasn’t hers to sell, and she needed it to get her father back.

  For the second time that day, Inesa felt tears well up in her eyes. She swiped them angrily away.

  There was one more thing of value she had. Her abilities. She could find the boy from earlier and tell him about them. Maybe she could join his group, and they would help her find the secret world.

  Inesa squared her shoulders and headed off into the market in search of a blonde-haired, black-robed boy.