Chapter Fifteen #3
“Plans change, Dax,” Marin said as Terlu dropped the ruby into her hands. The jewel was chilled, and it felt weighty. She stared at it as if it was the most perfect sunrise. She felt like dancing.
Dax argued, “But you said—”
“Ruby, Dax. Really big ruby.” Holding the gem up to the light, Marin whistled.
She wasn’t a jeweler, but even she could tell it was high-quality.
This, in exchange for locating Rijes Velk?
But what if she couldn’t complete the job?
She had no idea if Rijes had even survived the revolution. “Can’t guarantee I’ll find her.”
If she failed, she’d have to return the ruby. It would be unethical to keep it, and she wasn’t going to save her parents’ house by becoming a weasel. She wouldn’t be able to look her parents in the eyes.
I won’t fail.
Her fingers closed around the stone. If she could complete this job, she could meet Iovar’s impossible deadline.
She still had over a month, which should be enough, even if it took time to find Rijes, in addition to sailing time between Belde, Alyssium, and Flicker.
So long as there were no major delays, she could do this. This was a flat-out miracle.
Or perhaps it was the universe’s way of thanking her for helping these decidedly not-sea-ready strangers. She liked that thought.
“Can you guarantee you’ll try?” Terlu asked. “If you find her…”
A sudden, horrible idea occurred to Marin.
For this much payment, Terlu could be asking for far more than locating Rijes.
What if Terlu was afraid that the head librarian was a threat?
Even though her letter had been friendly, Rijes Velk knew both the details of Terlu’s crime and her current location.
“Not going to kill her, if that’s what this is for.
” She kept her tone light, but she meant every word.
It didn’t matter that this would wipe out the entirety of her parents’ debt and free her of Iovar forever.
There were lines she wasn’t going to cross.
“What? No! I want you to make sure she’s okay. Get her out of the city, if necessary, and take her wherever she wants to go. And … thank her for me? Please?”
That she could do.
Happily.
Marin grinned and pocketed the ruby, sealing it in her most secure pocket, where she could feel it comfortingly against her thigh.
It was a lot to pay for transporting a single woman, but given that she’d just transported a whole family for free, she wasn’t going to argue.
And Rijes Velk … She wanted to know that the librarian was okay too.
This was a job she was happy to take on, ruby or no ruby.
Ruby preferred. “You’re an odd one, but I like your style.
If it’s possible, I’ll do it. Good luck with this lot.
” She shoved away from the dock, using her foot to propel the boat backward.
“And tell your gardener that I’ll be back by Winter Feast with his usual supplies, times ten for the new folk, especially if he can get me some zucchini seeds—that’s a promise. ”
With the ruby in her pocket, Marin was confident she could keep that promise. After she completed this task and delivered news of Rijes to Terlu, she’d pay off Iovar, and then she’d be able to do whatever and sail wherever she liked.
It will be true freedom. My own revolution.
“Thank you,” Terlu said.
“Ree, hoist the sails,” Marin called.
“Yes, Captain!” Ree shouted. He scuttled toward a winch, his branches flapping with excitement. Dax joined him and together they raised the mainsheet and the jib.
Only when they were a far enough distance out from the island did Marin let herself smile a real smile. She watched the little figures of the former statue and the gardener’s relatives as they headed for the late sorcerer’s tower.
It actually felt good to know she’d rescued those people and taken them to better lives. It felt especially good now that she had an enormous, priceless ruby in her pocket.
The trick would be earning it.
She wasn’t eager to venture back into Alyssium, and it wasn’t fair to drag Dax, Ree, and Perri back with her.
“You don’t have to come with me. Ree, I should’ve asked—if you want to stay with your family in Belde, we can turn around right now and you can join them.
Dax, I can take you to that island of drummers with your friends.
And Perri, you don’t have to come back in the canals.
” She said it all quickly, wanting to get all the words out before any of them responded.
She needed them to know this was optional.
Yes, she’d made the decision to accept the job and the ruby, but it didn’t obligate the rest of them.
“My problems aren’t your problems, and my risks shouldn’t be your risks.
I won’t think any less of you if you sit this one out.
I can pick you all up afterward, if you’d like. ”
“Of course we’re coming,” Ree said. “We’re your crew.”
Dax and Perri agreed wholeheartedly.
She smiled. It truly was a miracle.
Thank you, universe, she thought. For once, it had been kind.