Page 107 of The Bone Season

‘Thanks for your help,’ Liss said to me. ‘I miss washing machines.’

She had let her ringlets fall out, so her black hair swept down her back. Her feet were bruised from the silks, one of which she was rinsing.

My clothes were cleaned and pressed for me. I had found a scullery while I was exploring, complete with a mangle, a flat iron, and other tools. Michael seemed to deal with that sort of thing, while Gail maintained the buildings and Fazal did the gardening.

‘Jos,’ Liss called. The polyglot looked up from his washboard. ‘That’s enough, now.’

‘I want to help,’ Jos said. ‘I can do it, Liss.’

‘Not until it has a good soak in the bucking tub.’

She held out a hand. Jos brought her the shirt, and she placed it in her own basket.

‘Thank you,’ she said, and gave him a splash. He ducked away with a laugh. ‘Go on, away to the Rookery. Get the skilly while it’s hot.’

‘Okay.’

Liss smiled and went back to cleaning her silks.

Everyone here loved her. If this were London, Jaxon wouldn’t have spared her a glance.

On the Meritshad changed the underworld. Not just changed it, but revolutionised it. Before its publication, voyants had never really been categorised – not in London, at least.

His radical ideas had spread like a plague. Factions and rivalries had formed; street wars had broken out. Appalled by the violence, the Spiritus Club – his publisher – had withdrawn the pamphlet from circulation, and Jaxon had formally renounced the hierarchy, stating that all voyants stood on equal footing against Scion.

Still, the grudges had lingered; the orders had stuck. Everyone used his names for their gifts. Jaxon had even coined the worddreamwalker.

‘You look deep in thought,’ Liss said, snapping me out of it.

I forced a smile. ‘Just thinking of London.’

‘Ah.’

Her friendship was keeping my head above water. Even if the deception churned my stomach, I would keep my past to myself, for now.

‘Jules tells me you’ve been training hard,’ Liss said. ‘Merope has a reputation.’

‘Don’t they all.’ I wiped my brow. ‘All I’ve heard about the second test is that Buzzers are involved. Do you know anything else?’

‘No. You’re meant to be unprepared, so everyone who takes it is sworn to secrecy.’ She drew the silk from the water. ‘I’d expect it any day. Just in case it comes as a surprise.’

‘Warden doesn’t strike me as the spontaneous sort,’ I said, wringing a shirt.

‘Never think you can predict them, Paige.’ Liss did the same to her silk. ‘Remember – they might look like us, but they’re nothing like us. Do not let your guard down.’

Suhail observed us from the Detainment Facility, standing beside Aludra. For once, I played it safe. I kept my head down and my gaze on the ground.

Late in May, Warden proved Liss right. He took me by surprise. When I came down from the attic, ready to train, he presented me with a black coat.

‘I thought you didn’t issue these in the spring,’ I said. ‘It’s nearly June.’

‘You have done well in your training.’

‘Well, thank you for the treat.’ I pulled it on and buttoned it up. The lining was thick and warm. ‘You’ll go harder on me now, won’t you?’

‘In a manner of speaking.’

His posture seemed different, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on how. He secured his cloak and reached into his doublet.

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