The word stares up at me, heavy with meaning I don't yet understand. Sanctuary.
I trace the ink with my fingertips, my breath unsteady. "What is this place?"
Avis doesn't answer right away. He watches me, weighing something in his mind, before finally saying, "A place where people like us don't have to hide."
The words strike something deep in my chest, something fragile. A world where magic isn't feared, where I don't have to keep my head down, hold my breath every time I lose control. It sounds like a fairytale. A myth.
But the map in front of me isn't a myth. It's real.
And if it's real
I meet Avis' gaze. "You said this is why I'm still alive. What does that mean?"
He exhales, glancing toward the door like he's checking for unseen eyes. "You've been careful, but not careful enough. The king's men know someone with magic was in the market today. They don't know who you are yet. But if they find out, they won't stop hunting you."
The alley. The vines. The way the lantern flames bent when I ran.
I thought no one had noticed.
I was wrong.
I grip the edge of the table, nausea twisting in my stomach. "How long do I have?"
Avis hesitates. "A day. Maybe less."
A cold dread settles in my bones. I've spent my life hiding, but hiding won't save me now.
I look down at the map again. At Sanctuary.
"You want me to go there," I say.
Avis nods. "It's the only place you'll be safe."
"Safe." I almost laugh. "You said it yourself magic is still hunted. If this place exists, why hasn't the king wiped it out?"
A shadow passes over his expression. "Because he doesn't know where it is."
That gives me pause. "Then how do you?"
Avis hesitates again, but this time, there's something different in his silence.
Something like guilt.
I narrow my eyes. "You work for him, don't you? The king."
"I work for myself," he says, too quickly.
"That crest on your chest says otherwise."
His jaw tightens. "The crest is a mask. Just like the name I wear in the palace, just like the uniform I put on every day. You think I enjoy playing the loyal soldier? Kneeling at the feet of the man who wants me dead?" He shakes his head. "I do it because it keeps me alive. Because it lets me protect people like you."
I want to argue. I want to call him a liar. But the truth is, I don't know what to believe.
All I know is that if I stay here, I'll be dead before sunrise.
And Avis is offering me a way out.
A choice.
I swallow hard. "How do I know I can trust you?"
He doesn't flinch. "You don't."
Silence stretches between us. The candle flickers. The map waits.
I glance down at "Sanctuary" one last time.
Then I say, "When do we leave?"