Page 378 of Kingdoms of Night

“I will tie him to a rope and have him swim down to the wreckage,” Seigneur was saying to Dame.

Dame’s smile curdled the scant amount of oatmeal in Isa’s stomach. “He can swim,” Dame said. “I have seen it. But what if he isn’t able to swim deep enough to reach it?”

Seigneur cocked his head. “We’ll tie weights to him.”

They were talking about using Nico to … to do what? To leap into these shark-infested waters to look for some treasure in a submerged ship? How could they so carelessly discuss sending a boy on a potentially deadly mission just for treasure? She gripped the bucket’s handle to keep from going for their throats.

“When?” the question was out of her mouth before she could think on it.

They stared at her, and a shiver of fear rattled her bones.

Seigneur fisted his hand, his glove the color of blood. “When we locate Eastern Fang Reef.”

Dame, glaring, said, “Get back to work.”

Nico would survive. She would offer to swim with him. She’d spent time in the river in the hills beyond Nid de Lapin and she’d ventured into the shallow ocean waters off the coast on one of several family trips during her childhood. She would help Nico. Somehow.

She prayed the Source would give her the patience not to murder someone and would gift her the fortitude to help Nico.

They had one more month of this indenture. She could do this. They could do this.

Just one more moon cycle and both she and Nico would be free.

She hurried to Seigneur and Dame’s cabin, a gull crying overhead as she disappeared into the dim to make sure the room was tidy. Unfortunately, several large pools of honey glistened on the floor. Nico must have spilled some honey when he’d carried the tray here for luncheon. He wasn’t clumsy. He was just young. On hands and knees, skirt tied up at her thigh, she scrubbed and hummed the tune her mother had once sang to her. It was a song about legends and magic, about sleeping power and possibilities as far and wide as the blue sky.

Ursane popped into the room, grabbing a post to keep herself upright. “Get that cleaned up before they come back, or I’ll tell Seigneur about the boy’s curse mark.”

Isa shivered, then coughed trying to hide her fear. “It’s only a bit of honey,” she bit out.

Ursane smacked the back of Isa’s head and pain lanced through her skull. Fighting back the urge to strike out, Isa set her jaw and suffered as her ears rang. She glared at Ursane.

“Maybe if you’d refrain from beating Nico senseless, he’d be more help to you,” Isa said.

Hatred for this woman and the Brunes was a weight on Isa’s back, a splinter in her eye, a fire in the deepest corner of her heart.

Her comment earned her another hit to the back of the head.

“If he weren’t signed to Seigneur, I’d have left him in Khem,” Ursane whispered. “You had better hope they decide he’s worth it before we dock again.” Her boots sounded smartly against the planking, and then she was gone. The silence hummed in Isa’s injured head, and tears seared the edges of her eyes.

A more delicate set of boots clicked down the passage outside the doorway.

Isa scrambled to her feet. “Dame Brune!”

Dame whirled, her well-tailored dress wrapping her legs. She wore a low-slung belt as most highborns did these days in Wylfenden, Balaur, and Lore. “What?” The woman’s thick eyebrows drew together tightly. She put her hands on her wide hips.

“Where does Seigneur plan to dock when Nico’s and my indenture is up?” Isa asked. “It’s less than a month until our release.” Then she and Nico could start down their own path. They would use their skills to carve their way in the world.

A gleam passed over Dame’s eyes and her lips turned up at one corner. She crossed her arms, leaning against the wall as the ship listed and the lantern above swayed. Source save her, but Isa was simply dying to punch her square in the nose. “Only a month left, hmm?” Dame said. “I don’t think you tallied that correctly.”

Isa’s face grew hot, and she gripped her scrub brush more tightly. “Oh, I did. I tallied every single day at the tapestry workshop.” Before the place had burned to the ground and life had gone from pleasantly dull to terrifyingly horrible. “I’m quite good at tallying.”

Dame snorted and smoothed the scarlet feather pinned to her headdress. “Your job is buckets and brushes, little mouse. It’s not your responsibility to keep track of your indenture. I believe your time with us won’t be up until at least three more months. After all, Nico had that fever and we used expensive medicinals on him. You must repay that since you have quite obviously claimed him as your ward in the way that some lowborns do.” She fluttered her eyelashes and smiled.

Isa’s stomach rolled and she put a hand on the wall. “No … Nico can’t take another three months of this…” She was muttering, and Dame wasn’t even listening. Isa’s thoughts buzzed like angry bees.

Dame started to walk away.

Isa snatched Dame’s arm, heat rising in her cheeks and a crackling feeling spreading from her scalp down into her arms. “You can’t treat us like this.”

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