Page 106 of Bull Moon Rising

THIRTY-TWO

ASPETH

Mereden has knownthe whole time.

I’m a little shocked, but I shouldn’t be. Mereden is smart, and she sees everything that’s going on. That she keeps her secrets without spilling them makes her all the wiser, because secrets are power. But as I confess the truth about how and why I’m here, Lark’s jaw drops and continues to drop lower, and Kipp looks equally agitated. Once my story is told, I produce the ring from inside my corset and set it on the table,deciding to keep Gwenna’s name out of it. “I managed to snatch this from down below.”

“No, you didn’t,” Mereden continues. “I saw everything. If we’re telling truths, tell all of them. We’re all in this together.”

“I took it,” Gwenna says. “Aspeth’s protecting me because she’s a good person. Because she knows I’m worried. You two are noble, holder blood.” She gestures at me and Mereden. “I’m a servant. Who do you think they’ll come after if we’re discovered?”

Mereden hesitates, and then nods.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Lark drawls. “Did you, Kipp?”

Kipp gives his head a quick shake.Nothing.

Gwenna manages a little smile. “Thank you.”

Mereden reaches out to me, her hand palm up on the table. “I want you to know that your secrets are safe with me, Aspeth. There’s nothing I want more than to join the guild. We need all five of us for that. And I won’t say anything to my family, either, if you’re worried. If I did, they’d probably attempt to take over your father’s hold…and then send me promptly back to the Convent of Divine Silence.” She makes a face. “My situation is slightly different from yours but no less awful.”

“We’re in this together,” Lark declares, and slaps her hand down atop Mereden’s.

Gwenna drops her hand onto theirs and I do the same. Kipp places his atop mine, small and sticky. His little touch feels like a big deal.

“Thank you,” I tell them, and then feel the need to say more. “I know what we’re doing is dangerous and illegal…. I just want an artifact that’s enough for my father to protect the hold,” I tell them. “If the ring will do it, that’s all I need. Anything else can go to you guys. I know it’s a lot to ask, and I wouldn’t ask at all if my life wasn’t on the line. No one’s going to stop and ask me if I want to be my father’s heir. They’re just going to kill me, no questions asked.”

“How do you know your father won’t gamble it away?”

I don’t. “I’ll figure something out. Maybe I’ll tell him it has a curse on it, and if it’s sold or used for gambling, he’ll be doomed.”

“Tell him it has an ass-pox,” Lark says.

Mereden gives her a strange look. “What is it with you and asses?”

Lark shrugs. “Asses are funny.”

“Well,” Gwenna says in her no-nonsense voice. She picks up one of the envelopes and holds it aloft. “Should we deliver these, then? The sooner we get things started, the better.”

We head out to deliver the appeals, and I try not to think about the fact that Magpie has no idea of what we’re doing in her name. Like Lark said, if she thinks she did them, it can work in our favor, too.

Lark has grown up in Vastwarren and knows her way around everything. She leads us to one manor house that looms high above the other houses in the area, a tall hedge separating him from his neighbors. The housekeeper takes the letter with a sniff, and something in me suspects it won’t be looked at.

“That’s why we have multiples,” Lark replies cheerfully. “All we need is one person willing to override the guild.”

The guild is so controlling, though, I don’t see how. I’m about to protest this when Kipp races ahead of our party, down the street. His shell house bounces on his back as he trots away, and I look over at the others. “Where’s he going?”

Mereden shrugs, and Gwenna does, too.

“Maybe he saw something suspicious?” Lark hurries after him, and I do the same, because it’s not like Kipp to dart off without us. He’s the responsible one.

We find him ahead in a market square, near a fountain. He’s met up with another slitherskin, and as we approach, we can see them rubbing all over each other, their movements quick and frantic.

“Oh.” Lark shrugs. “Give them a moment.”

“What are they doing?” Mereden asks, shielding her eyes politely.

“It’s nothing lewd,” Lark explains, relaxing. Her gaze rests on Mereden for a moment, then flicks over to me. “It’s how slitherskins got their names. They rub up against one another, and when they do, they transfer information. They can share memories through the touch of their skin and that’s how their people communicate. That’s why he’s so fussy about being grabbed.”

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