Page 17 of Among the Burning Flowers
‘I’ve lasted three months. Not so bad for a city woman.’
‘And now you look an inch from death. If culling is all these people will accept from you—’
Liyat took off her thin summer cloak. Even travelworn, she looked too presentable for the wilderness.
‘The shop,’ Melaugo said. ‘Is it all right?’
‘Yes. The guards never saw my face, thanks to you. I can remain in Perunta.’ Liyat removed her bandolier, which held a pistol and knives. ‘Harlowe went to Lovers’ Cove to see you. Suylos sent him to me, and he asked me to take him to Aperio. That’s where we read your note.’
‘I do not appreciate you telling Harlowe where I am. He already thinks I’m an abject failure.’
‘He cares about you. And youmusttake him up on his offer.’
‘I can’t.’
‘You would prefer to live here, wanted for high treason for the rest of your life?’ Liyat said, frustration sharpening her voice. ‘Harlowe offers you more than escape. He offers you the entire world. What more could you ask?’
Melaugo sank on to the hard earth. Liyat knelt in front of her, seeking her gaze.
‘What is it?’ she asked. ‘Why would you rather stay than leave?’
Even as she spoke, Melaugo could only drink her in. The dark curls, drawn back loosely, that framed deep grey eyes and sharp cheekbones. The tiny mole above the corner of her lip.
Is it not obvious, she wanted to ask,why I don’t want to leave?
‘I can’t … let them win,’ she said stiffly. Liyat watched her face. ‘I was born in Yscalin. I have lived and worked and fought to survive this fucking country. Why should I leave my own home because I am poor and orphaned? Because I am not enough for the Saint?’
‘Estina.’ Liyat cupped her elbows. ‘You have known what it is to be hungry and scared. I understand why Lovers’ Cove meant so much to you. I truly do. But we cannot get it back.’
‘We could. If we just wait—’ Her voice cracked. ‘The Donmata might be kind, like her mother. The stance on culling might change. Sooner or later, Yscalin will repeal the Act of Restraint, to reflect attitudes in the rest of Virtudom. Maybe I could earn a pardon.’
‘I hear too manymightsandmaybes,’ Liyat said, her tone forbearing. ‘No one knows the Donmata Marosa. Even if sheismore sympathetic than King Sigoso, it could be decades before she reigns. Don’t live in denial.’ She firmed her grip. ‘We cannot turn back time, but we can keep on living. If you won’t follow Harlowe, then you are coming with me to Ortégardes.’
‘I can’t go to a city.’
‘I know an innkeeper who will shelter you. After you’ve regained your strength, if you arestillset against joiningHarlowe, I’ll get you to Lasia. The law of the Saint cannot touch you there.’
‘Liyat, I don’t know anyone in Lasia. I will be just as poor and friendless as I am in Triyenas.’
‘Don’t be a fool. I know people there. You can live in my house in Nzene,’ Liyat said, ‘and whenever I come back to see my lady patron, I will visit. I will find you work at a forge.’
The mysterious patron. In Perunta, Liyat was known as a dealer of curiosities. In secret, she collected forbidden books, relics of lost faiths, and other artefacts that would be seen as evidence of heresy. An anonymous Easterner, based in Nzene, paid her to recover them.
For three years, Liyat had formed a web of associates to hunt down the objects, get them to Perunta, and smuggle them on to Nzene. The work, for all its dangers, was her calling. That passion was precisely why Melaugo had first been drawn to her, the night they met, when Liyat had made it clear that she would brook no disrespect from the new criminal in Perunta.
Melaugo had dallied with a girl or two in Oryzon, but Liyat was an iron-willed and independent woman, unimpressed by artless flattery. In fact, nobody had ever succeeded in charming her. She was an ally of Suylos, part of his consortium on the coast, but she answered to no one in Yscalin. And as soon as she pointed that pistol, Estina Melaugo was in love.
She had shoved down the feeling with all her might, trying not to let it show. And yet Liyat had kissed her first. It was the only time in her life that a foolish hope had come to fruition.
‘No,’ she said. ‘I can’t accept your offer, Liyat.’
‘You saved my life. Let me save yours.’
‘You did that by getting me out of Perunta, by taking me to—’
‘No, Estina. I owe you a life,’ Liyat cut in. ‘And this is not living.’
Melaugo ran a hand over her knotted hair, battling tears of frustration.
