Page 60 of Kingdom of Ashes & Bone
My shoulders drooped. I had given them permission last night, after all.
“Come and sit with me. Let’s eat together.”
A small smile twitched at the corner of her mouth as she sank gratefully into the cushion next to me with a groan. We grabbed at the meat and cheese together, stuffing our faces and taking comfort in the companionable silence.
After a while, Leilani wiped the crumbs from her mouth with her hand. “So … you’re leaving then, aren’t you?” Her eyes were sad even as she tried to smile.
I glanced at the table. “Yeah. Too much has happened here, I guess. And the boys think having dragons around will hurt. At least the refugees get to stay now. We were ready to travel across the desert.” I gave a huff at what had been our half-baked plan. Many of them likely would have died in the crossing. Being able to stay was better for everyone.
Just not for me.
“You’ll be able to choose your own husband now,” I started. “Or none at all,” I quickly corrected at seeing the look on her face.
Leilani rubbed her forehead. “I looked for the others, you know. Heather and Hyacinth, Wisteria and Oleria. I can’t find them.”
I didn’t want to hurt her anymore, so I kept quiet about Wisteria and Oleria. “I’m guessing there’s a lot of people unaccounted for in the rubble,” I offered lamely.
Leilani sighed. “It will take a long time to sort out.” Her eyes flared with hope as she tilted her head at me. “The king is giving an address today. Are you going to go?”
It was tempting. Part of me wanted to have one last talk with the king I’d so briefly bonded with, but it wasn’t wise. It would likely be the best time for my boys and I to leave, when the entire kingdom’s attention was somewhere else.
“Ah,” Leilani said wisely, answering her own question. “Probably for the best.”
Silence surrounded us again.
“Freesia is doing so well. She’s getting along really well with the king. They’re both hard workers,” Leilani blurted out, interrupting the quiet.
“Yeah, I bet. Good for her, I guess,” I muttered. “She’d be a good queen. Just like she always wanted.”
* * *
I thought there would be an air of depression and terror that lingered around the kingdom. Countless people were still dead under the rubble, despite the constant clean-up work. And yet, the overall mood was … determined. Not festive or rambunctious, but full of hope and purpose. It was surreal to see my dream of watching men and women from the mud quarter work side by side with those from the stone, bread, and art quarters, and even Nobles. It didn’t quite seem real, and left me feeling adrift and with no real sense of purpose any longer.
They didn’t need anyone to save them. They were saving themselves.
I should have been happy. I should have felt relieved.
Instead, I just felt empty.
My entire life, someone had always relied on me. My mother, then the other girls, then the entire mud quarter and everyone in the kingdom. And now?
“Mari! There you are. The king wants to have a word before leaving. Are you ready?”
Zariah stopped his work on the wooden outline of a new house with an eclectic group of people, wiping his hands as he walked over to me. His eyes lit up upon seeing me.
A warm glow ignited in my chest. My boys needed me. And I needed them.
I reached out my arms and he drew me in tightly, tucking my head under his chin. His heartbeat was firm and steady, and just what I’d needed.
“I’m ready when you are. Is Zion coming?” I asked.
Zariah wiped a smudge of ash from my cheek with his thumb. “Already there, flower. Come on.”
The streets were chaotic and unrecognizable in the aftermath of the dome’s collapse. The only constant that remained and gave me any sense of grounding was the large, raised cliff of the Seat, and the castle. Without those two, I wouldn’t have any idea what quarter’s remnants I was standing in.
Zariah weaved through piles of debris and groups of people building and baking, collecting and sorting.
“We aren’t going up on the Seat?” I asked in confusion. Surely the king would want to give his address up there, wouldn’t he?
