Cradling a trembling Ree, Marin stepped out the front door. It was hanging open, only one of its hinges still attached. It must have been a lovely little shop once, and this must have been a lovely little square. It had probably held a market filled with artisan stalls. Now those stalls had been converted into tents. People appeared to be living in them, with makeshift stoves in front and laundry lines strung between them.
Dax crossed to the nearest tent. “Excuse me,” he asked a woman with tawny fur and doe eyes. “Could you please tell us if you know where the flower shop owners went?”
“The Verdane family,” Marin supplied.
Narrowing her eyes, the woman studied them as if deciding whether they were trustworthy or not. “You from the old government or the new?”
“I’m from their greenhouse,” Ree said.
“Humph.” Her eyes widened as she studied the shrub. “Suppose you probably are.”
She didn’t know where the Verdanes were, but there were a lot of people living in tents throughout the plaza, as well as in othernearby plazas. Everyone who could take in boarders had done so, if they had enough to pay or barter with in exchange for the living space. A lot of people had left the city, but not as many from around this area—they couldn’t afford passage, or all the boats were already gone, or they wanted to stay and rebuild, not flee. The woman suggested they just continue asking whoever looked friendly, and maybe they’d get lucky. Or not.
Marin, Dax, and Ree moved through the plaza, talking with whomever would answer their questions. Many were optimistic about the provisional government. Yes, the revolution had gotten out of hand, but change was often painful. Life would improve soon, once the new government could spare a moment for the city’s citizens. Others were… less optimistic. Some aggressively so. Marin and her friends backed away from those people as quickly and politely as they could.
It took the better part of the day before they found anyone who not only knew the Verdane family but had an idea of where they might be.
Memorizing the directions, Marin headed back to Perri andSilver. Dax jogged alongside her. He was carrying Ree now—they all agreed it felt safer to carry him and keep him close. They’d met one other sentient plant in their search: a prickly thorn bush who had said she’d been a personal guard for a jewelry shop. But there was so much unease in the air that both Marin and Dax wanted to keep the little shrub as close as possible. He didn’t protest.
Going through the burned-out florist shop, Marin descended the stairs—and stopped.
Perri had risen halfway out of the canal and was hissing at a pale man in charred rags who was flattened against the wall next to where they’d docked the boat.
“Let me guess,” Marin said to the man. “You tried to steal my boat.”
“For my family—” the man began.
“Yeah, that was a bad idea,” Marin said. “Perri, let him go.” Sheclambered onto the boat, along with Dax and Ree, and then she untied it.
“We need help—”
“And I need my boat.” She picked up the pole and pushed away from the dock. Everyone in the city was struggling. She could see that. But it wasn’t her job to help everyone, and she certainly wasn’t going to help someone who’d just tried to stealSilver. “Good job, Perri.”
Perri hissed at the man again, and the man shrieked and bolted up the steps. She heard him stumble through the shop.
“We could have offered him and his family aid,” Dax said.
“He could have ruined my family,” Marin said. “If I’d lost this boat…” She didn’t want to even think about it.Silverwas her freedom, as well as her parents’ future. Without it, she’d never be able to repay the debt, and her parents would have wasted their sacrifice. She’d have to be more careful from now on.And leave this city as soon as we can.Forget about finding jobs here; she’d look elsewhere. Maybe Dew again. Or the island of Lyra, which had another popular job board and was nicely far from Alyssium. “I’m sorry I brought you all here. The city’s not safe. We find Ree’s gardeners, and then we leave.”
No one argued with that.
It was near nightfall by the time they found the correct plaza. Shadows stretched through the canals, and Marin felt her skin prickle. She didn’t want to be in Alyssium after dark. In fact, she didn’t want to be in Alyssium at all. The longer they stayed, the more she was convinced this was a terrible idea. There weren’t viable jobs here; there was only fear, loss, and pain.
“Perri, guard the boat again?” she asked as she tied off.
Perri agreed, baring his teeth. He didn’t show his teeth often, but they were fearsome: silver knives set into a pearlescent maw.
“Ooh, scary,” Ree said.
Perri ducked his head, closing his mouth.
“Oh no!” Ree said. “I think it’s magnificent. I can’t look scary no matter how hard I try.” He demonstrated, stretching his branches out as if to make them prickly. He looked, at best, like a leafy hedgehog.
“Do you want to come or stay on the boat?” Marin asked Ree. “Up to you.”
“I’m coming,” he said stoutly. “I’m brave. And besides, you need me. How are you going to recognize the gardeners without me?”
That was a valid point.
