“Not really, but I’m a fast learner.” She shrugs and pockets the paper.
I don’t get this language or this place at all. We pass display cases of jade necklaces and bracelets on the way out. Some are almost the color of the key in my pocket.
A lot happened yesterday. I know I turned the lock when the others couldn’t, but I don’t know nothing about being a keeper. I’m just a strongman.
Because of that, I go on alert as we leave the gem house. I don’t have to worry about Aeri being taken here because indentures and slavery are illegal in Khitan. But pickpockets are everyplace, and a gem house is an easy mark.
“Let me hold some of your money, just in case,” I say.
Aeri blinks at me, but she digs into her velvet bag. She hands over all her marks except for a hundred note.
“You don’t need to give me that much,” I say.
She shrugs. “I trust you.”
My palms sweat as I put the money into my bag. I don’t know if she should trust me. I haven’t had a girl believe in me in so long. I don’t know if I deserve it. But I’ll do what I have to in order to keep her safe.
“Royo.” She waves her hand in front of my face. “Stop spacing out and start helping me find a good tavern. I’m starving.”
“Yeah,” I say.
I walk with her to find breakfast. I like this little thief—no point in denying it. But if she lies to me again, I may kill her myself.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Sora
The Western Pass, Khitan
After being awake for so long, lying down in the sleigh is a priceless relief. I’m nearly asleep the second I recline on the bench. Surrounded by soft fur, it’s easy to nod off. Even thinking about Daysum can’t keep me awake. And it should. I should be unable to live, to breathe, while she suffers. After all, what is a life abandoning what I love?
Thinking about what she and Ty must be enduring kept me up through the entire ride to Lake Cerome, but my eyes drift closed, and the next thing I know, I’m in a dream. Except it’s not a dream—it’s a memory.
I recognize where I am immediately. This is my childhood home in Inigo. The house I grew up in was a two-room shack by a stream. Our parents had their bedroom, and the other room served as the living room, dining room, kitchen, playroom, and the bedroom for the four of us—me, Daysum, and our little brothers, Taj and Jee. Jee was two years old and had just started sleeping with us instead of in our parents’ bed.
Based on the ages, this was a few months before Seok arrived and shattered my world.
Back then, I didn’t know anything about Gain, or poison maidens, or counts. I knew our clapboard house and the foothills of the mountains. I was nine years old and singing a song. Daysum and the boys were dancing around the room. My mother and father were at the sink, cleaning vegetables and rinsing rice for dinner, but they were singing the chorus with me. My father two-stepped as he shelled peas, and my mother laughed. Daysum grabbed my hands, and we spun in a circle.
Warmth floods me. This was all I ever wanted and needed.
I was happy.
Suddenly, Daysum started coughing and coughing, until she turned deep red. Seconds later, she collapsed. I skinned my knee falling to catch her before she hit the rough wood slats. The cut stung as I held her. Daysum’s eyes rolled back, and I just barely stopped her head from slamming onto the ground as she convulsed.
“Mama!” I screamed.
Our mother rushed over, wiping her hands on her tattered apron.
“Daysum!” she yelled. “Darling, can you hear me?”
My mother took her from me, and I sat on the floor, shocked. We went from dancing and laughing to this so quickly.
“We need a healer,” Father said, wringing his hands.
Mother pursed her lips, frown lines marring her perfect face. “How will we—”
“I will figure it out,” Father said, his lips set in a determined line as he slipped on his worn shoes. Healers were expensive and Daysum was often ill, but not like this.
