One night to outrun an entire city hunting for blood. Five hours until dawn. Run or die.
Zara has one night to live.
Gifted to the ruthless King Ashar as a slave, she's offered a twisted bargain on the eve of her execution: reach the city center by dawn, and win her freedom. But the king has promised ten thousand gold to anyone who captures her.
Now the entire city is hunting.
Five hours. One girl. Thousands of desperate citizens between her and survival.
Zara must navigate treacherous streets, outwit a city turned against her, and uncover secrets about her past—all while staying one step ahead of the crowd baying for her blood.
Run or die. There is no third option.
Zara learned to pick locks when she was fourteen.
The slave master's wife had dropped her keys in the well, and Zara had spent three hours in the cold water fishing them out with a bent wire and a prayer. She'd studied them while she dried off, memorizing the teeth and ridges. Two weeks later, she'd fashioned her own picks from a broken hair comb.
The other slaves thought she was stupid for risking it.
“They'll cut your hands off,” Mira whispered one night, watching Zara work a practice lock in the dark. “Or worse.”
“They'll do worse anyway.” Zara felt the pins give, one by one. The lock clicked open. “At least this way I have options.”
She'd used those options twice—once to steal medicine for a boy with fever, once to unlock the grain store when the master forgot to feed them for three days. Small rebellions. Careful ones.
Then the Royal Guard came.
They'd lined up all the female slaves in the courtyard. Zara kept her head down, hands clasped, trying to look plain and unremarkable. The captain walked the line slowly, studying faces.
He stopped in front of her.
“This one,” he said. “The king likes clever eyes.”
Zara's stomach dropped. Mira had been right after all.
Some risks weren't worth taking.
The chains came off at midnight.
Zara's wrists ached where the iron had bitten for three weeks—since the day she'd been dragged into King Ashar's throne room and presented like livestock. She'd thought that was the worst of it.
She'd been wrong.
“You have until dawn.” The king lounged on his throne, toying with a gold ring. “Reach the city center, and I'll grant you freedom. Fail, and we proceed with your execution as scheduled.”
“What's the catch?”
His smile was all teeth. “I've offered ten thousand gold to anyone who brings you back. Every citizen in this city will be hunting you.”
Zara's pulse hammered in her throat. Ten thousand gold. Enough to feed a family for years. Enough to make neighbors turn on neighbors, fathers betray daughters.
The king gestured lazily toward the door. “You should start running. I had the criers announce the game an hour ago.”
Outside, the city sprawled in shadows and lamplight. Dawn was five hours away.
Zara ran.