The dust kicks and swirls around us as we stand frozen in place, Will's grip sending an unexpected heat through my entire body. His jaw clenches as he stares at me, his unsettled eyes boring into mine.

He drops my hands abruptly and steps back, a strange expression marring his dark features. Oh gods, I can't think straight. I look over my shoulder and out onto the roof of the next building, suddenly feeling the urge to distance myself. Out of habit, I calculate the speed and the amount of momentum it would take to clear the distance. The old trick clears my mind and I am able to turn back to Will, swallowing once.

"Do you still want to learn how to run?" I ask.

He seems a little taken aback by the change in subject. "Not if you're suggesting we jump that gap you're eyeing."

"I suppose that is a little advanced. What say we try something more elementary?" I stride past him, moving so that I am standing over a narrow and seldom-travelled alleyway. "How does this suit your fancy?"

He joins me at the ledge and peers down into the street. "It seems higher, suddenly."

I crack a smile, "It's best to start out at a dangerous height."

"Why is that?"

"The bigger the risk, the greater the reward."

He glances in my direction, a strange look darkening his eyes. I ignore the nervous fluttering in my stomach and instead take a few steps backward, motioning for him to do the same.

"Now, unlike princess training, there is only one lesson in running." I scuff my booted feet on the roof, getting a feel for the looseness of the sand littering the surface.

"Avoid tripping?"

"That's on you—I will not be held responsible for your giant feet. What I was going to say is that you only need to believe you've already completed the jump."

"I don't think I follow." Will shuffles in place, awkwardly copying my movements.

"If you think for even a moment that you might fall, then you almost certainly will. The best thing to do is to trick yourself into believing that you've already made it." I make a show of stretching out my arms and legs, pressing my lips together to suppress a smile when he does the same.

"Fake it 'til you make it," he mutters doubtfully.

"You've got it." I grin.

"I'm beginning to understand where you get that ridiculous self-confidence from."

"Not only my good looks. Now, pay attention. You don't need to run fast, just look at your target, visualize yourself making a beautiful leap and do what comes naturally."

"What kind of lesson is this? How about you telling me something technical, like where I should place my feet?" There is a trace of panic in his voice and I pray fervently that I am not sending this tightly wound boy to his doom.

Although, the peace might be nice.

"Sorry, young William, this is one skill that can't be learned from a book. I guess you'll just have to trust me."

I wrinkle my nose at him before I dash off toward the ledge. An instant later I leap, sailing through the air and suspending weightlessly for a few precious moments before crouching into my landing.

I straighten and dust the sand from my hands, turning back to look across the narrow gap. Will remains stock still, his face noticeably paler.

"Come on, you've made this jump hundreds of times," I call over. "Don't doubt yourself!"

His jaw sets and he takes off running. I half-expect him to falter at the last second, but his stride remains sure and strong until he jumps and sails over the alley. As he lands, I extend a hand to help him to his feet, the wide smile on my lips echoing his. There is a wildness in his eyes that I haven't seen before.

"That was fantastic!" I praise him.

The rush of adrenalin causes him to bounce in place. "I have to say, your teaching method might be a bit unusual, but it sure as hell is effective."

"Fake it 'til you make it," I tease, jogging lightly toward the next rooftop. I slow my pace just enough for Will to fall into step beside me. "Are you ready for something a little bigger?"

We stop at the next edge and peer over. I allow Will a few moments to process the slightly wider gap.

"Right. This time, keep running and we'll jump a few roofs consecutively." I walk back a couple of paces and prepare my stance.

"How do you know there won't be something too wide for us to jump across?" Nervousness dots his features.

"I'm familiar with this area."

"Familiar enough to keep me from splattering on the ground?"

"Listen, you might be the expert when it comes to royal intrigue and stuffy parlours, but the roofs are my domain." I sneak a look at him. "You make sure I'm safe from any Palace guards, and I'll keep you airborne."

I don't wait for his response, instead suddenly sprinting across the roof. Will utters a curse but dutifully takes off after me.

I plant my foot on the ledge and push out across the gap, landing lightly and immediately running again. I hear Will hit the surface behind me a few seconds later and I allow myself to relax, gradually falling into my natural rhythm.

The air feels cool against my skin as we leap together from rooftop to rooftop, no sound between us but the synchronized pounding of our feet on the dusty stone. Running has always been a solitary experience and the feeling of someone running with me instead of after me is both bizarre and strangely harmonious.

I finally draw to a stop, falling backward a step to allow space for Will to land. I push the loosened curls back up off my forehead as he straightens, his chest rising and falling from exertion.

"Fun, isn't it?" I ask.

"It's unlike anything else," he says earnestly. The man before me is completely unlike the one I left behind in the cramped flat, grimly intent as he hunched over a pile of books.

My shoulders unconsciously loosen as I release the anger from earlier, wiped away by the pure exhilaration of running.

I know Will has felt the change as well. He rolls his head back to the sky and shuts his eyes against the sun. He opens them and notices me watching him. I don't look away immediately and am rewarded with the half-grin twitching up against his cheek.

"You really have something special here, Runner," he says. "Thank you for sharing it with me."

"It was my pleasure," I tell him. "I'm just happy you were able to keep up." I incline my head over my shoulder, directing his gaze toward the view.

In the distance, an impressive structure rises up against the desert backdrop. The enormous glass spire of the Palace looms over the shorter buildings surrounding it, reflecting the dying rays of the sun.

"It does look beautiful from here," he says.

"Everything always looks better from a distance," I reply tonelessly, sinking down onto the ledge and squinting against the glare cast by the Palace.

Will sits down next to me, wiping his forehead with his wrist.

"So, do you feel ready?" he asks after a spell.

"Yes," I reply with finality.

He nods, bringing his gaze back to the view. "I'm sorry that I'm so tough on you."

I'm so taken aback by his apology that I forget to form a cheeky reply. "It's all right. You're a good teacher." I mean the words.

"So are you."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, watching the sky's ever-changing colours as the sun continues its descent. The rays dance across Will's features, softening his intense gaze and causing me to wonder what manner of boy he was before he entered the Wastelands.

Will rubs his palms on the top of his knees. "You're ready," he declares. "We shouldn't wait any longer to get you into the Palace. Anything that I neglected to teach you, well..." His gaze meets mine. "I suppose you'll just have to fake it 'til you make it."

"That's what I do best."

"Tomorrow, then," he says. "One last debrief at my flat and then we're going in."

"Sounds good to me." My heart flutters nervously in my chest. I straighten my shoulders and try to imagine what the royals are doing at this moment. Gauging the hour, I assume they are just sitting down to dinner in the Great Hall, trading gossip with the gathered nobles and eating rich mouthfuls of food off silver cutlery. My mouth waters at the thought.

"You'll have to teach me how to climb down." Will's voice cuts through my thoughts and I look over to see him peering down to the ground below, his hands gripping the ledge tightly.

"It's just like using a ladder," I muse as I decipher a safe course down to the street. "Only imagine that the rungs are windows and bricks."

"Windows and bricks," he mutters under his breath as he considers the side of the building.

"Do you know if there's any decent food around here?" I ask.

"What? Oh. There's a tavern just over there." He motions down the alley.

"Great." I turn and lower myself over the ledge, my hands and feet gripping the various notches as I gradually work my way toward the street below.

I glance back up once, laughing at the sight of Will's worried expression and white-knuckled grip on the roof's ledge.

"Come on!" I call encouragingly. "I'm going to need you to buy supper."