Maybe not, but that was what landed. Also, she wasn’t entirely wrong. I knew it, and sheknewI knew it, but it was still a harsh thing to hear after I just basically told her I loved her.
“I need to go,” I said.
“Gilrox—”
“Ineedto go,” I said again, and left.
I walked south. The sun was just as harsh as Maive’s words, which settled in my chest and stayed there.
She wasn’t wrong.The horrible things I’d done to earn credits.
But I was also right.
Both things were true at the same time and I had nowhere to put that, so I walked home and didn’t speak to B2. I let Silli curl up next to me because he seemed to have opinions about my current condition and the opinions appeared to be in my favor.
It was something. Not much. But something.
Chapter
Eighteen
Let them choose
B2 announceda visitor at first light.
“Pasek,” it said, because it recognized common visitors by now. “Arriving from the north.”
I was already awake. I’d been lying there going back through the conversation with Maive, finding the same conclusions each time: we both had valid points, but neither of us had been kind about it. I didn’t know how to fix that. I put on my boots and went to the door.
Pasek stood at the hatch in the gray morning, looking like he’d volunteered for the task of fetching me, but was now regretting it. Or maybe Maive had filled him in on what I’d told her last night.
“She’s calling a village assembly this morning.” He dropped his gaze. “She’d like you there.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He met my eyes. “Whatever happened between the two of you last night, the village needs to know what’s coming. Theyneed to hear it from you, or at least have you there to answer for it.”
I couldn’t argue with that, but I wanted to. “Fine,” I snapped. “But we’re taking the shuttle. I want to be home before the good fishing starts.”
The stone hall was packed by the time we arrived. People pressed into the space, filling the benches, standing shoulder to shoulder as that was the only way to fit everyone. Someone was minding the children, because they were wisely kept out of this meeting. I saw faces I’d come to know over these months, and some I’d only seen in passing.
I squeezed into a spot at the far wall, crossed my arms, and glowered.
Maive stood at the front of the room. She was very much in hersakarole. Her posture, her stillness. Her voice reached every corner without effort as she explained everything I’d told her the previous evening. She was clear. There was no point in softening it. She named the Rivonok Alliance, described their methods, and told them what the syndicate operation looked like in practice. She also made certain they understood that this threat had begun eight months ago, before I arrived on Podnos-9. She said that deliberately, probably so no one got the idea that I had any part of it.
When she finished, the room was quiet for half a second before it erupted in noise.
Maive silenced it with a single raised hand. “If you have questions, and I’m sure you do, one at a time.”
As I figured, most heads turned to me. One of the elders asked what I thought they should do, and I said I thoughtthey should evacuate, and told them why. I also acknowledged Maive’s point about how they’d likely be searched for. I watched anxious expressions pinch onto faces. They weren’t fools. They knew I wasn’t wrong, but they also looked reluctant to agree with my advice.
Only a few wanted to leave, and they had small children. A woman with two who could barely walk said it would be safer to hide than face such a force. Her voice was tight with fear. No one in that room thought she was a coward. She wasn’t.
Most of the room held the other view.
Pasek made his way to the front and stood beside Maive. I hadn’t expected that. He was an affable sort, happy at the edges, and enjoyed making people feel easy. But he spoke his piece in favor of making a stand. It was clumsy in places and clear in others, but sincere throughout. He talked about his brother nearly dying in the harbor, the village holding them together while Tregen recovered, and the fact that there wasn’t a version of himself that could imagine being somewhere else. “I don’t know how to fight,” he said. “I’m planning on learning. I hope you do, too.”
He stepped down. Several people near him put a hand on his shoulder.
