“That’s a shame. As you look very touchable to me.”

She glared. “I told you, no more of that teasing.”

“That wasn’t teasing,” he said, regarding her with deep blue eyes. Earnest eyes. “You intrigue me, Shallan Davar.”

She found her heart thumping. Oddly, a panic rose within her at the same time. “I shouldn’t be intriguing.”

“Why not?”

“Logic puzzles are intriguing. Mathematical computations can be intriguing. Political maneuvers are intriguing. But women…they should be nothing short of baffling.”

“And what if I think I’m beginning to understand you?”

“Then I’m at a severe disadvantage,” she said. “As I don’t understand myself.”

He smiled.

“We shouldn’t be talking like this, Kabsal. You’re an ardent.”

“A man can leave the ardentia, Shallan.”

She felt a jolt. He looked steadily at her, not blinking. Handsome, soft-spoken, witty. This could grow very dangerous very quickly, she thought.

“Jasnah thinks you’re getting close to me because you want her Soulcaster,” Shallan blurted out. Then she winced. Idiot! That’s your response when a man hints that he might leave the service of the Almighty in order to be with you?

“Brightness Jasnah is quite clever,” Kabsal said, slicing himself another piece of bread.

Shallan blinked. “Oh, er. You mean she’s right?”

“Right and wrong,” Kabsal said. “The devotary would very, very much like to get that fabrial. I planned to ask your help eventually.”

“But?”

“But my superiors thought it was a terrible idea.” He grimaced. “They think the king of Alethkar is volatile enough that he’d march to war with Kharbranth over that. Soulcasters aren’t Shardblades, but they can be equally important.” He shook his head, taking a bite of bread. “Elhokar Kholin should be ashamed to let his sister use that fabrial, particularly so trivially. But if we were to steal it…Well, the repercussions could be felt across all of Vorin Roshar.”

“Is that so?” Shallan said, feeling sick.

He nodded. “Most people don’t think about it. I didn’t. Kings rule and war with Shards—but their armies subsist through Soulcasters. Do you have any idea the kinds of supply lines and support personnel Soulcasters replace? Without them, warfare is virtually impossible. You’d need hundreds of wagons filled with food every month!”

“I guess…that would be a problem.” She took a deep breath. “They fascinate me, these Soulcasters. I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to use one.”

“I as well.”

“So you’ve never used one?”

He shook his head. “There aren’t any in Kharbranth.”

Right, she thought. Of course. That’s why the king needed Jasnah to help his granddaughter. “Have you ever heard anyone talk about using one?” She cringed at the bold statement. Would it make him suspicious?

He just nodded idly. “There’s a secret to it, Shallan.”

“Really?” she asked, heart in her throat.

He looked up at her, seeming conspiratorial. “It’s really not that difficult.”

“It…What?”

“It’s true,” he said. “I’ve heard it from several ardents. There’s so much shadow and ritual surrounding Soulcasters. They’re kept mysterious, aren’t used where people can see. But the truth is, there’s not much to them. You just put one on, press your hand against something, and tap a gemstone with your finger. It works that simply.”

“That’s not how Jasnah does it,” she said, perhaps too defensively.

“Yes, that confused me, but supposedly if you use one long enough, you learn how to control them better.” He shook his head. “I don’t like the mystery that has grown up around them. It smells too much like the mysticism of the old Hierocracy. We’d better not find ourselves treading down that path again. What would it matter if people knew how simple the Soulcasters are to use? The principles and gifts of the Almighty are often simple.”

Shallan barely listened to that last part. Unfortunately, it seemed that Kabsal was as ignorant as she. More ignorant, even. She’d tried the exact method he spoke of, and it didn’t work. Perhaps the ardents he knew were lying to protect the secret.

“Anyway,” Kabsal said, “I guess that’s a tangent. You asked me about stealing the Soulcaster, and rest assured, I wouldn’t put you in that position. I was foolish to think of it, and I was shortly forbidden to attempt it. I was ordered to care for your soul and see that you weren’t corrupted by Jasnah’s teachings, and perhaps try to reclaim Jasnah’s soul as well.”

“Well, that last one is going to be difficult.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” he replied dryly.

She smiled, though she couldn’t quite decide how to feel. “I kind of killed the moment, didn’t I? Between us?”

“I’m glad you did,” he said, dusting off his hands. “I get carried away, Shallan. At times, I wonder if I’m as bad at being an ardent as you are at being proper. I don’t want to be presumptuous. It’s just that the way you speak, it gets my mind churning, and my tongue starts saying whatever comes to it.”

“And so…”

“And so we should call it a day,” Kabsal said, standing. “I need time to think.”

Shallan stood as well, holding out her freehand for his assistance; standing up in a sleek Vorin dress was difficult. They were in a section of the gardens where the shalebark wasn’t quite so high, so once standing, Shallan could see that the king himself was passing nearby, chatting with a middle-aged ardent who had a long, narrow face.

The king often went strolling through the gardens on his midday walk. She waved to him, but the kindly man didn’t see her. He was deep in conversation with the ardent. Kabsal turned, noticed the king, then ducked down.

“What?” Shallan said.

“The king keeps careful track of his ardents. He and Brother Ixil think I’m on cataloging duty today.”

She found herself smiling. “You’re scrapping your day’s work to go on a picnic with me?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you were supposed to spend time with me,” she said, folding her arms. “To protect my soul.”

“I was. But there are those among the ardents who worry that I’m a little too interested in you.”

“They’re right.”

“I’ll come see you tomorrow,” he said, peeking up over the top of the shalebark. “Assuming I’m not stuck in indexing all day as a punishment.” He smiled at her. “If I decide to leave the ardentia, that is my choice, and they cannot forbid it—though they may try to distract me.” He scrambled away as she prepared herself to tell him that he was presuming too much.

She couldn’t get the words out. Perhaps because she was growing less and less certain what she wanted. Shouldn’t she be focused on helping her family?

By now, Jasnah likely had discovered that her Soulcaster didn’t work, but saw no advantage in revealing it. Shallan should leave. She could go to Jasnah and use the terrible experience in the alleyway as an excuse to quit.