Page 106 of The Bone Season

‘Have you come to a decision, Paige?’

I kept my distance.

‘I’ll train with you in good faith,’ I said. ‘But I have a condition, too.’

‘Name it.’

‘If you want me to line my own coffin, you can do me the courtesy of not being a bastard about it. So whatever your consort happens to think, you will treat me with respect.’

‘Nashira is not my keeper.’ He inclined his head. ‘I accept.’

‘Good.’ I breathed out through my nose. ‘And I’ll have your wretched supper.’

‘I am pleased to hear it. Would a Thursday evening suit?’

‘I’ll have to check my calendar.’

He kept as straight a face as I did, but his eyes glowed in a way I had never seen before.

POSSESSION

Weeks passed in the lost city. Still there was no thaw. Every few days, I trained with Warden on Port Meadow. Each time, I was able to project my spirit. Each time left me drained and shivering.

Warden kept his word. Rather than goading my gift out of me again, he was patient and measured in his approach. Between sessions, he let me take whatever time I needed to recoup, following my lead. Only when I was ready did he take me for another session.

It soon became apparent that the more physical discomfort I was in, the harder it was to dreamwalk. He taught me to detach my thoughts from my body, so it was easier for my spirit to slip away from it; how to shut out the hunger, the cold. The groundwork involved a lot of breathing and sitting, but that was fine by me.

Each time we trained, at least one Reph observed us. I tried not to notice.

As promised, Warden set up a small gym for me. When I wasn’t in there, I was on the training grounds, running laps with the other pink-jackets, sticking with Julian. Merope was merciless.

In the meantime, I did some research on Warden, or tried. None of the performers I knew could guess whatconcubinemeant.

‘The Rephs do use odd words sometimes,’ Cyril said, adjusting his old glasses. ‘They have their own language. I’m not sure certain things translate exactly, so they use whatever fits best.’

Guy grunted. ‘They talk like monarchs.’ He was roasting a perch over the cookfire. ‘Your keeper most of all, Paige.’

‘I noticed,’ I said. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard their language.’

‘They only speak it among themselves.’

I finally decided to comb the Founders Tower. Despite the amount of reading he did, Warden didn’t seem to store his books in his own quarters. After giving up on the parlour, I found a modest stack in his nightstand, includingA Dictionary of the Republic of England. Leafing to the right section, I found no trace of the word I needed.

The sound of footsteps had me shoving the dictionary back into place. Michael came in with a sling of firewood. I hitched up a smile and gave him a hand.

Liss kept on with her training as well. Most nights she was at the Fell Theatre or the Camera, preparing for the Bicentenary. Though our paths often crossed in Radcliffe Square, she was usually too exhausted to speak. I left food in her shack whenever I could.

The Overseer gave her the occasional week off. One night found us washing clothes and bedding – a hard job here, done by hand with lye. I sat down by a fire and mucked in with the performers.

In the spring, they did their laundry by a stream near the Detainment Facility, the Sleepwash. It stemmed from a river that flowed through Gallows Wood, which they called the Acheron – but I had a gut feeling that it was, in fact, the Thames.

Naturally, I had sketched a plan to build a boat, only to find out that someone had already tried it. According to Nell, their body had floated down the Sleepwash a few days later, riddled with bullets.

That was all the proof I needed that the city had a defensive wall around it. Even I wasn’t fool enough to think I could get past that. Scion would have spared no expense to keep its secret contained.

As I scrubbed a shirt over a washboard, I glanced at the stars and thought of London. Jaxon must still be raging over the loss of his dreamwalker. I might have given up on the idea of a dramatic rescue, but I still hoped Nick would come across a breadcrumb. If not, Danica might be able to access my arrest record.

The Sleepwash was frozen for some of the year, but now it was spring, it was thawing at last. Some way upstream, a few people bathed in the icy water. The Rephs seemed to tolerate this event, but they watched us.

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