Page 66 of Unrivaled
“It does,” I admitted.“It’s an important part of our economy.But, with a city as large as this one, we had a lot more happening than just apple-flavored spirits.I’m sorry if you felt this is theonlything our city stands on.”
She let out a relieved laugh, shaking her head.“You had me scared there, m’lady.”
“I’m so sorry.”I made a mental note to downplay the importance of what was going on at the still as I tried to arrange my expression into something that was compassionate but not pitying.“I’m used to trying to get those lads on the watch to straighten up their spears.I should’ve explained better.”
“No, no.”She laughed, waving a hand.Her nails were bitten to the quick, but her steps were measured as she walked me to the exit.“By the Wife, you’ve got so much pressure on you.Speaking of what’s holding the city together!I’m sure I merely misunderstood.”
Isolde was waiting for me outside of the still.It had been our last stop on the circuit.The other three stops had been the community hubs.I had elders overseeing food and housing.Chay offered me a hand up to Storm, and to save her back I accepted, my mind going to the sequence he’d shown me this morning, fitting it against the one he’d shown me yesterday evening when I’d requested additional training.My fingers were stiff from the live blade Isolde had sourced for me.It was heavier than the one I’d been training with and the grips a little wider.For all that, the feel of it was excellent.
I stretched out my digits, then my wrists, as I rode.My forearms had held up better than I expected.The faint warmth across my shoulders worried me a little, but I’d see how it all fared over the next few days.I could slow down, but I needed to maintain momentum.
Isolde lifted a finger.I followed where she pointed and saw the Siren’s Ally sailing into port.A shiver ran up my spine at the sight of the familiar vessel.
I was tempted to sit and watch the crew manage the ropes and sails, to enjoy the anticipation that coiled in my veins as they maneuvered that big tub of wood and clockwork magic.Instead, I turned to the keep.
The Captain would come to me.I was sure of it.
When they did, I’d make as much time as I could.
I remembered the glint in their eyes, the way their finger had trailed over the map, the feel of their body arching up into mine.Then I reminded myself about what Ishould’vecared about…the children they may have with them.
We needed the population boost.With the weather warming up, I’d had to send groups out to make sure planting could go ahead.We could scale back our food production for a few years because it would take time for demand to increase, but we needed to maintain a spread of produce, as I’d found with our wheat dilemma.There was areasonwe grew millet.
Bernadette was flustered in the kitchen upon my return.I rolled up my sleeves to help peel swedes while she explained how Penny had just found out she was pregnant the hard way, and how Keith was swearing he wasn’t the father because his wife’s family, who’d been in Azashi over the winter, wouldn’t help him with the children if they knew he’d been having fun with Penny while his wife was barely cold in the grave.Which, all in all, wasn’t my problem, but the more Bernadette talked, the slower her movements became, and the lower her voice was.It went from being a river of words to occasional punctuation and long pauses between sentences.
“Is Penny feeling okay?”I managed to get in eventually.
“She can’t stop vomiting, can she?”She sighed.“Smell of everything sets her off, doesn’t it?”
Which, as I’d suspected, was therealproblem.Bernadette ran a tight ship, but she needed more hands.
Perhaps some small ones she could train?If they weren’ttoosmall, of course.Surely, if these children were living alone, there were some older teens.
There was no easy answer.Bernadette knew it, which is why she hadn’t led with the problem.But by the time I left, she’d gone from storming around like a stallion to her more usual tired but strategic plodding pace.
Right now, it felt like all I could do was help people feel better.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
AUDREY
Situation changing.Withdraw immediately.
—Nightingale to Apple
21stDay of Spring’s One Moon,
Age of the Locways, Year 272
La’Angi Keep
Istopped by Ettie’s station in the mess hall, visited the Inker, and got sidetracked signing off on a few responses to potential stallholders for the faire.
A runner stuck their head into the office, and I looked up from the compact scrolls.“M’lady,” they said, with a shallow bow.“Sorry for the interruptions.Captain Kaelson said you wouldn’t mind.”
“I don’t mind,” I promised them, wishing I could remember their name.They were usually out in the city.They had longer legs than the children oft seen around the castle.“Is everything well?”
“Yes, m’lady.Only the Siren’s Ally’s dropping off people, and Captain Kale told me to tell Ettie and Bernadette, and then you.”
