“I hear that you were the one who formulated the whole plan,” said Merris. “I hear that you were the one who tried to hold the force together by suggesting the magicians surrender. In fact, it seems you showed a great deal of initiative Cynthia here did not.”
Sin stopped smiling.
Mae frowned at Merris. “Sin did great. She got all those people together. I could never have done it without her.”
“Yes,” said Merris. “She showed all the hallmarks of a very fine lieutenant. But it occurs to me that what this Market needs is someone independent and intelligent.”
Sin’s dark eyes were suddenly blazing with fury and hurt. Mae just felt fury. She barely knew this woman, but she was in no mood to see one of her friends put down like this for no reason.
“I have only three years,” Merris said, her voice suddenly almost sweet, like the chiming of bells at the Goblin Market. “When I go, I want to be absolutely sure that my Market is in the best possible hands. From now on, I think I will be looking at you as well as Cynthia, trying to determine which of you should become leader of the Market in my place.” She paused. “That is, if you want the job.”
Mae looked around at all the colors of the Market, and thought of the nighttime square, the feeling of a plan when all the pieces fell smoothly together, how terrible it felt to be useless. Jamie had made a plan and had gone to carry it out.
She needed to do something, and she had loved the Goblin Market from the very first time she had seen it.
“Oh yes,” she said hoarsely. “I want it.”
Merris rose from her chair, more lightly than a woman of her years should have been able to. Mae found herself lost in those demon-dark eyes.
“Excellent. Time will tell,” Merris said, “which of you is up to the challenge. I look forward to finding out.”
Mae and Sin found themselves staring at each other, a coldness slipping between them for the first time since the easy start of their friendship. Mae was not surprised to find herself suddenly assessing Sin’s strengths and weaknesses, trying to think of ways to undermine one and exploit the other.
Sin’s eyes were narrowed, cool: surveying her new rival, the impostor.
And then Mae remembered how kind Sin had been to her, and Sin might have remembered that Mae’s plan had almost worked, or even what had happened to her mother. Sin looked away, through the twisting path of tent flaps and hanging lanterns, to the rolling expanse of the meadow. There were two dark figures against the horizon and the hawthorn. Nick and Alan, Mae thought, picturing Nick’s look of helpless fury, were having a fight.
She knew how it would go. Nick would rage and Alan would lie, and neither of them would ever leave.
“Well, look at it this way,” said Sin. “At least we’re not being stupid enough to fight over a guy.”
“That’s true.”
“Well. Let the best woman win.”
Sin shut her eyes, taking a moment to relax in the sunshine spilling warm over the meadow, light touching the tips of the grass blades with honey. Mae tried not to think about Alan’s heart in the hands of magicians or about Jamie friendless in their midst. She tried not to think about love or loss.
She looked around at the Goblin Market spread like a feast before her, and thought of war. She thought about winning.
“Yeah,” Mae said. “Sounds like a plan.”
