Tahki rolled the clam in circles around his plate.
Gale sighed. “If you don’t like it, you can fish in the river. Every year around this time the blue-headed trout make their way to the ocean. It’s easy catching.”
“I don’t fish,” Tahki said.
“Too good for that too?”
“He’s afraid of water,” Sornjia said.
“What a silly thing to fear.”
“Our mother threw him in a lake when he was five,” Sornjia said. “He almost drowned.”
Tahki’s pulse thumped in his throat. Sornjia had said it so casually, like it was nothing. Like the worst night of his life made for casual table conversation. Gale regarded Tahki curiously.
“You make her sound like a monster,” Tahki said. “She saved my life.”
Sornjia gave Gale a sad smile. “The palace caught fire. Father and I got out, but Mother and Tahki were trapped inside. She picked him up and threw him out the window into the lake below, but the fire was too fast. She couldn’t get out.”
The events played through Tahki’s head in the same order they always did: drawing with his mother, the thick smell of ash, the burst of heat, the screams, the trembling arms that wrapped around him, the fall, the cold, the struggle for air, the blackness. He’d read once that people only remember a small portion of a memory, but Tahki would remember the fear he had felt that night for the rest of his life. His father had called it a miracle when Gotem rescued him. A one in a million chance that Gotem had seen Tahki plunge. Sornjia said it hadn’t been luck or chance, that Gotem had known. But if Gotem had known, why not stop the fire? Why not save his mother? Fortune-telling was a cheap trick used on the weak-minded. No one could know the future, just like no one could change the past.
Tahki glanced at Gale, expecting mockery.
“I’m sorry,” Gale said. For the first time since meeting her, he saw something akin to pity in the hard lines of her face. Before Tahki could reply, a loud knock rattled the door. Sornjia scooted into his room without being told. Tahki wondered who it could be. Dyraien or Rye wouldn’t knock, and no one was supposed to know about the location of the castle. Except Zinc. And possibly Zinc’s people. And maybe half of Edgewater for all he knew.
Oddly, Gale didn’t seem concerned. She sighed, shuffled to the door, pulled it open. Tahki followed her. A woman stood on the porch. Her long brown hair hung in damp clumps. She leaned her pale body against the rail and smirked. Tahki’s eyes settled on her breasts, which were round and full and hardly contained under her tight blue shirt. He had never found breasts particularly interesting, nor had he found attraction in how curved a woman’s backside was, yet he felt he couldn’t look away from her. She was gorgeous. The kind of woman other men or women might buckle at the knees looking at.
“I thought you’d be taller,” the woman said. “But you’re prettier than I imagined. Guess D didn’t exaggerate that part.” It took Tahki a moment to realize she was talking to him, and another moment to realize he was still staring at her chest. He felt heat rise to his face and forced himself to meet her eyes.
Gale grunted. “I thought you weren’t coming until next week.”
The woman shrugged. “You know me. I’m full of surprises.”
Gale wiggled her jaw. “When a gingoat surprises its rider by acting out, it usually wins itself a good beating.”
“Charming as always,” she said. “I got a letter from D. He’s moved up the timeline and needed me to come early.”
“He never mentioned anything to me.” Gale folded her arms. “So why are you here?”
“I just told you. D sent for me.”
“I mean, why are you at my house? You looking for handouts?”
Though Gale’s tone was full of apparent loathing, the woman laughed. “I knew D wouldn’t tell anyone, and I didn’t want to surprise Rye. You know how he gets. Figured I’d stop in here first, let you soften the blow.”
“I’d rather crap out a brick than do you a favor.”
The woman pushed her way inside. “It’s a favor for Rye. You and I are on the same team. We want the same thing. Might as well play nice, right?”
“If you wanted to play nice,” Gale said, “you would have stayed in Edgewater.”
Tahki cleared his throat.
The woman turned his way. “My name’s Hona. I’m Dyraien’s advisor. And you, you must be Tahki.” She clicked her tongue. “Tahki. I like the way your name sounds. D talked a lot about you in his letters.”
“Glad to meet you,” Tahki said. He wondered what Dyraien had written about him.
Hona pressed a finger to her lower lip. “You look worn out. I hope D isn’t pushing you too hard.”
Tahki stifled a yawn. “No, he’s been very generous with me. I had a late night, that’s all.”
Hona gave him a wry grin. Her expression reminded him a little of Dyraien. “Oh? And what kept you up so late?”
Tahki rubbed his wrist. “Work.” And the fear of being eaten by a dead cat.
“Be careful,” Hona said. “Too much time in that castle will drive you crazy.”
Tahki forced a smile. It seemed the small circle of people who knew about the castle grew every day. At first, he had felt like he was part of something special. Now, the secret felt less important. Less exclusive. He wondered why Dyraien had been so adamant about Tahki’s silence. Maybe it was the color of his skin after all. Though he’d been treated with respect, he was still a foreigner. He
