Page 16 of Among the Burning Flowers
The fear that had circled in her mind for months, silent and sinister, and Harlowe had pulled it from her skull, slammed it on to the table, and sliced its guts out, forcing her to confront it.
‘You can still visit,’ he said. She looked away. ‘Half my crew have lovers waiting on the shore.’
‘Do you?’ she retorted.
‘No.’
His face turned so cold, she dared not hit back.
‘I’ve business in Oryzon,’ he said, ‘but perhaps Liyat can talk sense into you. If you change your mind, I’ll be staying at my lodgings there until the Feast of High Spring. You might love Yscalin, but from what I can tell, it will never love you, Estina. Sooner or later, you’ll be too slow and weak to slaughter beasts, and the law of the Saint will finally catch up to you.’
‘Then I’ll cut wood. I’ll learn to hunt,’ Melaugo growled. ‘I’ll find another way to survive.’
‘You were meant for more than that.’
Melaugo sank into a morose silence. Harlowe watched her pick at the last of the chicken.
‘Don’t come after me again, Gian,’ she said gruffly. ‘I was never your burden.’
‘Try not to be your own burden, Estina.’
****
Liyat arrived at the oak the next evening. Melaugo watched her approach from the hollow. She saw her low surroundings as if for the first time, and a fresh wave of excruciating shame went through her.
It had been over a year since Liyat had last seen her. Melaugo knew she was no great beauty, but at least she had owned a comb on the coast, and possessed enough coin to afford lemon soap. Perhaps out of fear of any more change, she had not been able to bring herself to cut her waist-lengthhair, but now it was dull and dishevelled, and her teeth, already crooked, felt loose.
At last, she emerged from the hollow. Liyat took half a step towards her, holding up a saddle lantern.
‘Estina,’ she breathed. ‘Is that really you?’
‘It’s me.’ Melaugo forced a smile. ‘Don’t I make a dashing outlaw?’
Liyat closed the distance between them and embraced her, tight enough that it stoked her bruises. It had been so long since anyone had touched her, Melaugo had almost forgotten how it felt to be held. She was as starved of human touch as she had been of food.
‘You’re so thin,’ Liyat said into her shoulder. ‘I feel every bone in your body.’
‘I’m all right, Liyat.’
‘Do not deceive me a second time. You said you would stay in Aperio.’ Liyat drew back, her gaze hard and accusatory. ‘I can’t believe you turned culler. That’s why Gastaldo Yelarigas is hunting you.’
‘Liyat, I had no—’
‘Donottell me you had no other choice. You hadnoother choice than to start killing sleepers?’
‘I did it for us,’ Melaugo said hotly. ‘I thought I could earn enough coin to bribe the comptroller to clear my name, so I could return to Perunta. Or find somewhere else for us to stay.’ Her shoulders wilted. ‘And then it all just fell apart. I didn’t know what to do but come here.’
Liyat now had a strange look on her face.
‘I should never have told you about this place,’ she said. ‘Better you left Yscalin altogether.’ She breathed in, collecting herself. ‘I didn’t want to lose my temper. May I come in?’
Melaugo reluctantly showed her into the hollow. Liyat stooped to get inside. She observed the earthen floor, the spiders, the filthy sack Melaugo had been using as a makeshift pallet.
‘Estina,’ she said, ‘how long have you lived this way?’
‘I have managed.’
‘Harlowe told me about your deal. These people have lived off the land since the Grief of Ages, and they have each other to rely on. How long did you think you could last on your own?’
