Page 63 of Kiss of Ice

“I’ll stick with the stew, thanks.”

They were both drenched from the downpour and pulled their chairs close to the fire as they ate. Kam kept his hood low, trying to ignore the drips down the back of his neck. Ren’s dress was clinging to her body. She didn’t mind the cold – that was the one of the few benefits of her otherwise useless weft power – but she detested being wet.

She waited for Kam to speak but he was lost in thought, occasionally taking a pull of his beer. Eventually curiosity got the better of her.

“Well? What do you think?”

He set his beer down.

“It was instructive. I hadn’t realised so many people were trapped in spirals of poverty they can’t get out of.”

“So you’ll do something about it?”

“Ren, there are just so many problems to deal with. And not only here but right across the realm. We can’t solve them overnight. We need to look into them some more.”

Ren stared at him in frustration.

“So what are you proposing, then? Committees? Meetings? Studies? None of that will changeanythingfor the people we saw today.”

“It’s the way governance works. There has to be structure, budgets…”

“But you can cut through all that!”

“I still need a plan that will work. Otherwise it’s just wasted effort.”

Ren clenched her fists. Everything she’d shown him today, all the people he’d spoken to, and hestillrefused to act.

“My father was right. Youareuseless. You’re just…”

Kam leaned forward and took her arm. His grip was steel. Feathers of white curled round his fingers.

“I wasn’t finished. As it happens, I do have a few ideas which can be put into motion very quickly.”

“Such as?”

He leaned back and took another long pull of his beer.

“The issue of training, for one thing. The Crown could provide a grant to poorer families so they can apply for apprenticeships. Or we could pay professionals to embark on new careers as trainers. People like Mr Bodran, for example. He may not be able to work as a carpenter anymore, but he can surely teach the trade.”

Ren stared at him open-mouthed.

“You came up with that just now?”

“I know you think otherwise, Ren, but I’ve been raised to rule since the day I was born. If you present me with the problem, I can usually see the solution.”

“That’s actually a pretty good solution,” she said grudgingly. Kam put a hand to his chest and mimed a heart attack.

“Sorry, did you just pay me acompliment?By the gods, is the world ending? Are we sinking into the seven hells of oblivion?”

“Oh just… shut up.”

“Incidentally, you can’t keep stealing stuff. Especially stuff from the palace. I know, I know,” he held his hand up as she started to protest. “We have more than we could ever need. But let’s do it properly. How about if we set up a foundation to donate goods to the needy. We can get all the aristocratic families involved. They’ll be too embarrassed to say no, especially when they see the new Empress is behind it.”

Ren stared at him, overcome.

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

He shrugged.

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