Dance of Thieves

The Vendans sit on one side and the Ballengers on the other during dinner. Kazi encourages Gunner to talk to Jurga, a Vendan settler he's attracted to. Kazi asks a Vendan boy to play a song and she and Jase dance. They kiss as others dance. Later, Kazi can’t sleep so Jase asks for a riddle, and they kiss again. Kazi is surprised Jase doesn’t leave the next morning but starts a root cellar-digging competition between the brothers. Jase stays and works for four days while Gunner, Titus, and Aram go back to business. One night, a Vendan girl calls Kazi Ten. Kazi denies this name and lies to Jase about it. Gunner sends a message for Jase to return because the Queen of Venda wrote she’s coming.

Jase helps Kazi saddle Mije, reluctant to go back to the real world. Kazi notices a cut on his thumb where he made a blood vow to protect the Vendan settlers, but he brushes it off. Kazi wonders if Jase is worried about angering the King of Eislandia by moving the settlers. Jase doesn’t think he’ll care. Kazi thinks the king deliberately chose the other site to anger the Ballengers, but Jase doubts it. Jase will send a teacher to the settlement as part of the reparations; Kazi is surprised he plans on coming back. Jase knows he wants a future with Kazi, but she must decide what she wants. Mason, Samuel, Jase, and the guard Tiago drive lumber wagons to the settlement. Jase thinks about seeing Synové and Mason kissing in the woods. Jase is surprised after Mason insisted the Rahtan can’t be trusted. He thinks about sending orange trees to the settlement. Kerry told him that Kazi snuck them oranges in Hell's Mouth, and Jase is no longer sure she stole them.

Synové bathes in the river after falling face-first in horse dung. Kazi and Wren are impatient to catch up with the brothers when they start riding; they are amazed Jase is sending a teacher to the settlement. They didn’t get schooling until they were 11 and most Vendans can't read. The queen made fluency a Rahtan requirement which Kazi was grateful for when she composed her hidden message. Kazi knew the queen’s reply would have a hidden message too. Synové wants Mason to teach her to drive a team of horses if they come back because if they can’t find the captain they can stay friends. Synové asks Kazi if it will be hard to leave Jase and Kazi says no because staying isn’t an option. In the distance, Kazi spots riders stalking the wagons and starts galloping wanting a life with Jase.

Jase spots a group of raiders conferring in a pack. Kazi, Wren, and Synové pass the Ballenger brothers and head toward the raiders, who split in two groups. One group jumps on Jase’s wagon; he drops the reins and fights in the wagon bed while his brothers fend others off. When Jase is pinned over the side of the wagon, Kazi jumps on to help. Jase is pulled off the wagon; he doesn’t see Kazi as his brothers and the Rahtan finish off the raiders. Then, Jase spots her on the ground beneath an attacker and praying he’s not too late he pulls the attacker off. Kazi is drenched in the raider’s blood and gasps for air. He kisses her.

They count 12 dead attackers. Samuel is the only one with a serious injury, a deep cut across his palm. The blood stain above Jase’s heart makes him think of the seer’s warning about a knife hovering over his heart. Mason and Jase load bodies into the wagons knowing they would be dead without the Rahtan. The dead bodies and horses are suspiciously clean with no indication of the attackers’ identity. Tiago thinks it was a staged attack to kill the Patrei and his brothers. They recognize the man Kazi stabbed as Fertig, Jalaine’s beau. They dump the bodies in a gorge to cover up the internal power struggle. Jase wonders if someone used Fertig’s close association with Jalaine to get information. He is relieved they have a clue to find the conspirators at last.

When Kazi was being choked, she saw Death waiting for her and heard her mother telling her to make a wish. Her fingers found the raider’s sheathed knife which saved her life. She cuddles beside Jase in the wagon, dreaming about their future. At the house, Vairlyn shouts orders and examines injuries. Jase tries to thank Kazi, who teases she saved him only for his promised riddle. He tries to kiss her, but his mother pushes him aside and worries over Kazi’s neck. She declares Jase’s hand broken and tells him to go to the healer. Jase needs to speak with Jalaine in the study first.

Wren, Kazi, and Synové are stopped by a servant with a message from the new cook. In the kitchen, they find Natiya and Eben, under cover. Natiya poisoned the usual cook to be out of the kitchen for a few days so they can talk. Kazi explains everything that’s happened. Since they haven’t seen Illarion, Kazi plans to check the arena with Jase tomorrow. If Illarion isn’t there, they must leave Hell’s Mouth. Natiya and Eben announce they got married.