Page 98 of Dragon Gods

Her empty stomach, however, was awake and already loudly making itself known. She looked down at the coins she’d stolen the night before and wondered if she should buy breakfast. What she’d managed to steal was likely worth a bowl of corn porridge, or even some fresh bread. It would also leave her penniless once more. Either way, she needed to start moving before the streets filled and the guards began patrolling more actively.

The first place she tried to use the coins, they chased her off before she’d even handed them over, the distrust in her appearance clear. Her hair had grown long over the weeks, and it was pulled back into two braids, but her skin was marred with mud. The decision was made for her, and she headed east toward where she knew a few barns and yards sat. It was the best place to sneak in a small bath and fresh water from the troughs left out for the livestock.

She hadn’t meant to get distracted, but the smell of the roasted meat was rich and thick in the air as she trudged down the street. Without realizing it, she was drawn to the small stand where a tall, thin woman rotated skewers of meat over the small cook fire beside her. She heard the words exchanged with the customer and her stomach sank.

“Two gold for a skewer.”

“That’s robbery!”

“It’s fresh meat,” the woman said, with a shrug. “I killed the deer myself when it wandered by my home.”

The last part was a lie. Deer didn’t just wander into the city. She’d probably illegally hunted the deer or bought it off a dirty scout, but no one in the slums questioned fresh meat, and the man handed over the coins with a few choice words.

Without opening the purse or moving it from her belt, Sofia fingered her coins again. She didn’t have enough between the copper and gold she’d stolen, but her stomach didn’t care about logistics and it gave off another obscene growl.

She kept her head down as she strolled by, not wanting to draw attention to herself as she carefully took in the setup of the woman’s stand and where she kept her purse. This wasn’t like the guard, who she could simply pluck the purse from while he was distracted. She’d have to take a different strategy.

Once she was around the corner, she unbraided her hair, combing the strands until her thick curls tangled around her, obscuring her face from most angles. She waited a few minutes before circling back, not wanting to be remembered immediately as having just passed by. She would cause a commotion near the stand. The woman would reach for her purse—protecting her coins—and leaving the meat unguarded for the briefest of moments.

She was so focused, she barely noticed the other girl coming down the street from the opposite side, a chicken crying out and struggling in her hands.

The first step of the plan went smoothly. With a well-practiced lack of grace, Sofia tripped over one of the men standing in line, swinging sideways and knocking into the small table that held the woman’s supplies, including a steaming cup of tea. The woman cried out as the hot tea splashed across her lap. She reached out, protecting her purse, but not her wares, and Sofia struck.

The skewers sizzled hot against her palms as Sofia grabbed a handful, but she didn’t care. The moment they were in her hand, she straightened herself and readied to run. But before she could, an iron hand came down on her arm, fingers bruising.

“No, you don’t!” a man’s voice sneered from above her.

In that moment, Sofia forgot her hunger and her exhaustion. Hot fear exploded within her and she swore she felt the searing pain of the whip against her back once more. But then someone else was yelling behind them pulling the street’s attention.

“My chicken! My chicken!”

The man’s hold on her didn’t loosen, but then a smaller hand was there on Sofia’s elbow, helping her wrench herself from his grip.

Sofia was running before he could register what had happened, the girl she’d seen earlier beside her.

“You lost your chicken!” Sofia noted, looking back to see the others chasing after the creature even as the man yelled after them.

“Not my chicken,” the girl huffed out. “I can steal another one.”

Sofia glanced at her from the corner of her eye. The girl’s face was clean, but her braids were haphazardly tied and now that they were closer, she noticed the brown drab color was due to a layer of mud streaked throughout and an unkemptness in the stained and tattered blouse. She was a street kid like her.

They took a few sharp turns before they both started to slow, having come to the agreement that they’d lost any tail or attention.

“Follow me,” Sofia said, sliding down a narrow alley to their right. She didn’t look back, but the girl followed without question until Sofia found the small stack of boxes that allowed them to both climb to the roof of a barn, out of sight of the ground. Once they’d sat, Sofia handed over two of the five skewers to the other girl.

“Thanks for saving me.”

The girl didn’t answer, but plucked a third skewer from Sofia’s hands.

“Extra payment for losing my chicken.”

“You said it wasn’t yours.”

“But now I have to steal another one, and that’s work that I need nutrients for.”

Sofia pursed her lips, but didn’t argue. The girl had saved her ass back there and was the only reason she wasn’t being dragged back to the prison right now. So instead, she stuffed the first skewer into her mouth, barely bothering with chewing as she tasted the charred meat against her tongue. She savored the second skewer more slowly, eyes closed as she appreciated the first taste of seasoned, hot food she’d had in weeks.

“Sofia,” she said after she finished. The girl was still eating her own, apparently better at making the food last. The girl looked at her, brown eyes narrowed for a minute, examining her like a target. Whatever she saw, she seemed to approve of.

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