“Is that how you ended up a thief again?” I ask her. I pull up small pieces of weeds and toss them back onto the ground.
She shakes her head. “Sort of. I was kicked out but someone picked me up. A nobleman. The heir to House Eternal.” There’s pride in her voice when she says this.
“Great mark,” Vergel says.
I nod; I was thinking the same. “Yeah, good work.”
“No, no. I didn’t rob him,” she says, voice raised. Something we said struck a nerve. “Actually”—she reaches out and picks up another stick to break—“we were friends.”
I feel a strange tightening in my chest. Anger, mixed with a sick sort of feeling. It’s ridiculous, but for some reason, her saying that almost makes me… jealous. “Guys like that aren’t friends with Ophir, they think we’re less than trash,” I say sharply. “Not that… I mean, it’s not you, it’s just how they are.”
Her eyes narrow. “No. He was different. He’s not like them. He saved me from the streets. Took me to the House Eternal. Gave me everything—clothes, food. A place to live. His bed while he slept on the floor.”
“And everyone was fine with that? With an Ophir girl lounging around in the palace?” I can’t help but scoff. “His mother, Lady Ariadne, known far and wide for her cruelty even among cruel people, she was welcoming to the street rat, was she?”
Gin’s nostrils flare and her hands clench into fists. Rather than hit me, though, she looks down at the ground, shaking her head. “Obviously not. I stayed there in secret. The palace was big enough; I went unnoticed.”
“So, essentially, you ended up being a courtesan anyway,” Vergel says. I try to shut him up with a piercing look, but it’s too late.
Gin’s head snaps up. Her eyes flash with fury. “No, it wasn’t like that. Never.”
Vergel puts his hands up in mock surrender. “Sorry.”
“Infact,” Gin continues, even more indignant, “this morning, when Lady Ariadne discovered us together, and commanded me to hang, Rollo risked everything to save me. He bribed the guards and switched me out with a ruse. The whole thing was a sham so his mother would believe I was dead. The girl was paid; I got away. Everyone was happy. He saved my life.”
“That was you,” Vergel says. “We heard there was an execution at House Eternal today. You were the girl.”
“I was, but I lived. I told you, Rollo saved my life.”
This annoys me. I’d saved her life, too. But then I catch myself—why am I so concerned with what she thinks of me? I don’t even know her.
“Saved your life and tossed you back out on the streets, sounds like a real hero,” I snort, highly irritated.
She huffs.
The fire crackles in the silence that follows. But my annoyance only grows. I don’t hold it in anymore. “Forget him. He’s never going to sacrifice his comfort to save you. He has everything he could possibly want in his palace. He felt guilty, so he saved you, to make himself feel better, that’s all. He only did it to make himself look good. The rest is a fantasy.”
She looks shocked, as if I’d slapped her across the face. I soften my approach. “Look, all I’m saying is, you don’t need him.”
“You don’t know me, you don’t know what I need,” she snarls.
“So is that what you want? To go back there? You’re Ophir. Why would you want to live in their shallow houses of gold?” She opens her mouth to protest but I continue. “We belong to the sea. That’s our true home. That’smygoal—to get home. To the Lashing.”
Gin’s eyes suddenly light up. “Wait, you’re going to the Lashing?”
“Yeah, after we take care of business here, that’s where Vergel and I are headed. Why?”
“I’m headed there, too.” She hangs her head. “I can’t stay in Lacon. If Lady Ariadne finds out I’m still alive… then I’m dead for sure.”
“It’s not going to be easy to get there,” I warn.
She nods. “I’m aware.”
“And first, we’ve got to get to Zagar. If we can keep him quiet, we have everything we need to leave this life behind.”
No one disagrees with me.
CHAPTER TWELVEGIN
