Page 61 of Our Violent Ends
“But—”
“I have someone who might know something. I’ve got to go now so I can get back before our trip with Mama this afternoon.”
“Hold on, hold on, hold on.”
Juliette halted, the door half-open under her hand. Quickly, Kathleen hurried over and pressed the door closed again, waiting a second after the soft click to ensure no one was outside.
“It’s about Rosalind.”
Oh.Juliette wasn’t expecting that.
“She’s coming later, isn’t she? To the temple?”
Lady Cai had insisted upon it. She needed an entourage, and her usual crowd couldn’t offer accompaniment when the temple only allowed women. Juliette and her cousins had been gifted the honor of playing bodyguards. It was unlikely that there was any need for protection at a women-only temple, but such was life as a figurehead of a criminal empire. At the thought, Juliette walked back to her vanity and slotted an extra knife into her sleeve.
“Yes, I expect so, but that’s not what I’m talking about,” Kathleen said, waving the question away. “Were you aware she has some secret lover in the city?”
Juliette whirled around, her mouth parting. A hint of glee slipped out as she exclaimed, “You’re joking.”
Kathleen propped her hands on her hips. “Can you sound a little less excited about this?”
“I’m not!”
“Your eyes areglowing!”
Juliette tried her best to school her expression, feigning earnestness. She pushed her coat farther up her arm before it slipped from her elbow. “I didn’t know about this, but it’s not so bad. You were worried about Rosalind falling into trouble with merchants. Isn’t a lover better in comparison? Now, I really have to go—”
Kathleen held her arm out, physically preventing Juliette from leaving. With the way that her cousin was eyeing the coat on her arm, she wouldn’t be surprised if Kathleen stole it next, just so Juliette couldn’t walk out.
“Allegedly, the loverisa merchant,” Kathleen said. “You’re not the least bit concerned why Rosalind hasn’ttoldus?”
“Biaojie”—gently, Juliette eased Kathleen’s arm away from the door—“we can ask her about it when we see her. I have to go. I’ll meet you later?”
With a grumble, Kathleen stepped aside. Juliette thought she had finally gotten through, but as she stepped into the hallway, unfolding her coat, her cousin said, “Don’t you get tired of all this?”
Juliette paused in her step, pulling her coat on. “Tired of what?”
Kathleen’s lips curved up. She squinted into the doorknob, its golden gleam bouncing her reflection back at her in miniature.
“Chasing answers,” her cousin replied, dabbing a finger at the corner of her mouth. The line of her lipstick was already a perfect bow. “Eternally running around trying to save a city that does not want to be saved, that is hardlygoodenoughto be saved.”
Juliette hadn’t expected such a question; nor had she expected to reel from trying to answer it. Down the hallway, the voices were still communing in their meeting, leaving her out of whatever plan would soon beset the city. The men who governed this place did not want her help. But she was not doing it for them; she was doing it for everyone else.
“I’m not saving this city because it is good,” she said carefully. “Nor am I saving this city becauseIam good. I want it safe because I wish to be safe. I want it safe because safety is always what is deserved, goodness or wickedness alike.”
And if Juliette didn’t do it, then who would? She sat up here on a throne encrusted in silver and dusted with opium powder. If she didn’t use her birthright to offer protection where she could, what was the point?
Kathleen’s frown only deepened, but there was too much to unpack, especially while Juliette was hovering on her toes, rushing to leave. All that her cousin managed was a soft sigh and then: “I beg you to be careful.”
Juliette smiled. “Aren’t I always?”
?
“You look a mess.”
Juliette rolled her eyes, pushing past Marshall to get inside. She could smell the city on her skin: that mix between the windblown salt coming in from the sea and the unidentifiable jumble of fried foodstuffs permeating the streets. There was no avoiding it whenever she rode through on a rickshaw.
“I have a question,” Juliette said immediately, pulling the locks on the safe house door.
