Chapter 39 #3
I shouldn’t be surprised. At no point did I assume Caz would want a life back in Wrohelm, and after everything she told me about travelling with Thessa, I knew her future was no longer tied to mine.
But somehow I never considered the possibility that she might find somewhere she wanted to stay permanently.
It’s hard to keep my devastation from my face, but I try, for her. And I don’t speak, so she won’t know I’m barefaced lying.
‘I’ve not made any decisions,’ she continues.
‘Not even close to. I need to talk to Thessa about it. We might still travel together, just as we planned, but… it’s a pretty perfect place.
’ As she speaks, a group of children come running out into the street, a slightly larger one chasing the others with a snowstorm.
They’re giggling quietly, and it isn’t hard to compare the scene to the shouting and yelling of Wrohelm. The hunger. The desperation.
‘It is,’ I reply.
‘And maybe I should go back to the Eastern Isles, but…’
‘They’re filled with memories,’ I finish for her. ‘Memories of you and Llin.’
A sad laugh breaks from her. ‘Maybe it’s just me being a coward. Not wanting to face it without her. Truth be told, I do miss home and Llin’s family. They’ve always treated me as one of them.’
‘You’re not a coward, Caz. What you’ve done, all the things you’ve seen… No, if you’re doing this for you, then why not?’
A ghost of a smile washes over her lips. ‘Thank you for truly meaning that.’ She pauses. ‘You know, William would be safe here. You have to have had that thought?’
‘I have,’ I tell her. ‘Multiple times. I could see him being happy here. Maybe even Kay and Jonas too.’
‘And what about you? Could you be happy here?’
She poses the question so simply, yet we both know it’s anything but.
‘Right now, I can’t even think about that,’ I say.
‘Whatever these Raven Sight visions are, something tells me they’re not accidental.
Whichever God or Gods are responsible for them, they want me to see things.
Which means it’s not just the Rottings that I’m not done with. Now it’s the Torailians too.’
‘Well, you don’t have to make any decisions just yet, do you?’ she replies. ‘I’m sure the answers will find you.’
She slips her arm into mine and we’re continuing towards the palace when a shriek of laughter causes us to stop and stare.
‘What the fuck?’
‘Exactly,’ Caz mutters.
A short distance away, Kyor is walking down the street beside Elska, and Elska currently has seven children attached to her.
One is hanging from her shoulders. Four are clinging to her back. The others appear to be attempting to ride her legs somehow, as if she is some giant climbing frame.
The children are having the time of their lives.
Elska, it has to be admitted, looks only mildly inconvenienced.
‘Holy fuck,’ Benny says from behind me. ‘The prince has finally cracked.’
I turn slightly. He and Ruben stand there, hands linked, both wearing identical expressions of amused disbelief.
The kids are shrieking with delight, grinning wildly as the wolf carries them as if this is the most normal thing in the world.
Fen would rather fight a jotunn than allow this.
Well of course I would! At least then some tracheas and valour would be up for grabs.
‘All right, that’s it,’ Kyor says, colouring when he sees us. He turns back to the rabble of children. ‘Go on. You need to run home. I’m not getting in trouble for you being late.’
The children drop to the ground with shrieks and giggles, then race back the way they came.
I approach my lover slowly, amusement painted across my features.
‘Having fun?’ I ask. ‘Fen said you were on some type of quest,’ I say. ‘I didn’t realise giving children dire wolf rides constituted a quest these days?’
He shakes his head ever so slightly. ‘No, not exactly. I’ve been travelling around the city, trying to find the slums. I asked some of the Issen to take me to bad places, where people were suffering.’
‘And?’
‘And … they took me to the healers’ quarters.’ He shakes his head.
‘No slums?’
‘None. And I’ve looked everywhere, Thorn. How is this possible?’
I picture Magnus and his kindness. That says it all.
‘It’s not impossible,’ Benny says with a shrug.
‘But … is that what the Isles are like?’
Benny bites his lip and contemplatively rubs the back of his neck.
‘Well … I don’t know if our healers are quite up to the same standard as the ones here, but we try to make sure no one goes without.
Some homes are a bit rickety, but yeah, starvation is not a thing.
We make sure of that. The dukedom bears the cost of feeding our poorest citizens. ’
‘Okay.’ Kyor nods rapidly, only to stop and scratch his head. It’s as though he’s struggling to get his thoughts out. ‘How do I do it?’ he asks.
‘How do you do what?’ Benny replies, forehead wrinkling in confusion.
‘How do I make Morathka like this? Like the Isles. No slums. No poverty. No unnecessary sickness. How?’
Benny looks at Kyor, searching his face, and whatever he finds, he’s clearly satisfied with.
‘Truthfully?’ Benny arches a single eyebrow. ‘There’s only one way you can bring about such drastic change.’
‘How? Just tell me.’
Benny takes a deep breath in. ‘You have to join the rebellion.’