Chapter Twenty-Two. Gin
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
GIN
“Gin. Get up. We’re here.”
I wake to Eban’s face hovering over me. Startled, I sit up too fast, disoriented, with drool on the side of my mouth and half my hair matted to my sweaty head.
“You okay?” he asks.
I nod. My mouth is dry. I notice his sleeve is up, revealing the double diamond mark I’d just dreamed about.
“Are we already back home?” The word is strange in my mouth now.
Is Lacon still home? Was it ever? I think about what Tadhana told me and check to make sure the relic is in my pocket and clasp the stopper closed.
“You’ve been out awhile,” Eban says.
The bed is so comfortable, I couldn’t help it.
I haven’t slept this soundly since I left House Eternal.
I almost tell him about the dream, and what Tadhana had said about the Ophir Empire, but for now, I want to keep it to myself.
It just sounds preposterous that such a great, grand, and magical people could fall so far from the height of its glory.
All I know of Ophir is the Sleeve—a life of filth and drudgery, of servitude and backbreaking work.
If we are made of magic, why would we live like this for five hundred years?
How could we have been brought so low? It feels like a lie, like something our mothers told us to make us feel better. It can’t possibly be true.
I get dressed and we meet Darius on deck. “Ready?” he asks with a grim nod.
Darius explains we’re going to scout the location first. “Then I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what’s the best way to get into the vault,” he says to Eban. “Seeing as I don’t have your experience in these matters.”
Eban nods curtly and the three of us board a raft.
I grasp the edge as we’re lowered to the water below.
Eban and Darius row us toward the rocky beach at the foot of the cliffs.
I’ve never been to this side of Lacon. The cliffs were strictly off-limits to us in childhood; there are too many stories of the horrors that could occur if any of us went to play there.
Someone always knew someone who knew someone who fell to their death from them, whether by accident or something more nefarious.
The scary reputation is well deserved. The cliffs tower over us, menacing, like angry faces carved from jagged stone.
From below, it appears as if they’re reaching into the clouds, blocking out the sun. I shiver.
Once we reach the shore, we pull the raft behind a collection of tall stones and head up a narrow path that runs alongside the cliffs.
The hike is grueling and steep. My legs and feet ache halfway up.
Both Eban and Darius struggle as well, though they try not to show it.
They seem to have put aside their animosity for now. No one talks that much.
The path runs up to the west side of the island and I realize we’re near the path that leads to House Eternal.
A spark of hope lights up in my belly—that I might catch a glimpse of Rollo.
I miss him, and it’s only been a few days since we saw each other.
But it also feels like a lifetime since I lived in his quarters.
So much has happened since I was discovered.
I’m not even sure I’m the same girl who used to wait around for meals to be brought to me, content to hide in a nobleman’s bed and spend her days reading.
Still, after a morning meal of hard bread and bitter coffee, I can’t help but think of what they’re preparing in the kitchens of House Eternal at that very moment, the sugared sweets, plump pastries, and trays of cured meats and exquisite cheeses. My stomach rumbles.
Darius turns around. “Stay close.” He steers us onto an unused, overgrown path around the edge of some trees. We walk for a moment, then he stops and throws his arms out in warning. He puts a finger to his lips. Eban and I nod.
Darius motions for us to follow him. He bends low, so we do, too, and creep up to an opening in the patch of trees.
Below us, at the bottom of the hill, the western estates of Lacon stretch out as far as we can see.
In the distance, House Eternal is barely visible.
There are a few figures, like tiny beetles, walking on the property, but they’re much too far away to make out who they might be.
“There it is,” Darius says. For a moment, I think he means House Eternal, as if he knows where I was looking, but instead, he points to a different palace farther up the hill.
House Dominant. The estate is even bigger and grander than House Eternal, a flashy attempt to outdo them, no doubt, with six wings stretching out from the center courtyard, all connected by walkways, and round towers that protrude from the top of each wing of the building.
There are also impressive outbuildings, including a carriage house that could be considered a palace itself.
Pillars in front, huge arched windows along the top, decorative stonework.
Their horses live far better than anyone in the Sleeve could ever dream of.
It reminds me of who I am. A gutter rat, a street thief, a kitchen maid.
Eban motions toward figures who stand near a horse and cart on the drive up to the property. They’re unloading crates overflowing with fruit, bags of flour and rice, and bottles of wine. The parade of crates travels to and from the east side of the house.
“That must be where the kitchens and storerooms are,” he says. “Looks like they’re preparing for the holiday. Lots of coming and going for the next few days.”
Once the cart’s empty, and the last of the deliveries are being carried into the storerooms, some servants walk out empty-handed and get in the back of the cart.
“I’ve got an idea,” Eban says, watching the procession of goods. “Let’s follow them.”
Darius agrees. “Lead the way.”
It’s nearly dusk. The impending darkness is a good thing, though—we’re less likely to be noticed. We push our way through the overgrown brush, away from the palace, until we come to the road that weaves through the estates and eventually leads back into the Sleeve.
All three of us put our hoods up as we walk down the road. If anyone sees us, they’ll assume we’re just three more servants procuring goods for the festivities.
The cart is slow, but well ahead of us.
Once we’re close enough to hear the wheels squeaking and the horse hooves clapping against the ground, we slow our pace.
The cart turns down the same road I took when I fled from House Eternal.
We sneak alongside well-manicured trees and landscaping that keep the estates apart, maintaining their fantasy of a perfect, beautiful world, so they don’t have to look directly at the poverty they benefit from.
The path leads to the nearest village, a tidy collection of shops and cottages.
The cart stops in front of a pub. Soon a few barkeeps are loading the cart with barrels of wine.
“Right, this is where I leave you,” Darius says. “I have some business to take care of with a few of my sources.”
“You’re leaving us?” I ask, surprised.
“I need to make some inquiries. Make sure Lacon hasn’t discovered the Lashing’s new location. Besides, your boy says he’s got it covered.” He looks at Eban with a challenging smile. “Right?”
“If the relics are at House Dominant, yes,” says Eban, matching Darius’s nonchalant tone.
“I heard there’s a bounty on your head. Some situation with a gaming hall hit that went bust?” Darius says with a slight smirk.
“They didn’t catch me, did they?” Eban lifts his chin.
Darius looks at the sky, where the moon is low. “Make sure they don’t. Get the relics. Send a flare when it’s done, and we’ll pick you up where we were dropped off.” He hands us a few sticks of combust.
“What about the Blackcoats?” I whisper.
Darius shakes his head. “I wouldn’t worry about Blackcoats. This place is supplying an estate, which means it’s protected by them. They’re not going to look for trouble here.”
“How do you know?” I ask.
“Yes,” Eban chimes in. He narrows his eyes at Darius. “How do you know that?”
But Darius ignores the question. “Send a flare and my crew will come get you. Good luck.” He looks directly at me. “Actually, Gin, I might need your help. A woman’s touch is always helpful when trying to get information. Your choice—do you want to stay with him or go with me?”
I hesitate. I’d volunteered to retrieve the stolen relics with Eban, but let’s be honest, he doesn’t need me. He is the Shadow of the Sleeve after all, the thief no one can catch. I hesitate, unsure of where I’m not needed.
“She’s coming with me,” Eban practically growls.
Darius shrugs when I don’t move. “Well, good luck, then.” Then he disappears into the night without another word.
Eban grumbles underneath his breath, but I don’t catch it. My cheeks flush at how possessive he was just then, especially since I liked it.
When we step inside the pub, there are a few people hunched over at the bar.
A mechanical contraption is bubbling away, while an automaton pours drinks into tumblers.
A couple of heads turn our way, but mostly we’re ignored.
We take a seat in the corner. It reminds me a little too much of the last pub and what happened there. My heart speeds up.
A frazzled barmaid approaches us. She has her curly hair wrapped up with linen, and an old apron tied over a simple brown dress. She looks familiar and I swear I’ve seen her somewhere before.
“What can I get you?” she asks. Then she raises her eyebrows and looks directly at me. “I know you, don’t I?”
My heart begins to race uncontrollably. “No, I don’t think so…”
“Hold on, I never forget a face.” The barmaid’s face lights up. “From House Eternal, right?”
My stomach turns. I can tell Eban is looking at me but I can’t move. I’m frozen. “I…”
“I used to work there, too,” the woman says. “Silva. That’s my name. Do you remember me?”