Page 59 of Echoes of the Raven
Placing a hand around Esmeralda’s elbow, Gaspar starts guiding her out of the room. “Your cousin said something about thanking us for our help. We consider ourselves thanked. Now, we have to be on our way. The troop’s heading north, lots of dirt to kick on our first day. C’mon, Esmeralda.”
“Please, hear me out,” I beseech them.
Gaspar shakes his head, his mind made up. But to my relief, Esmeralda pulls out of his grasp, digging in her heels.
“I want to hear what this is all about,” she says.
“Trust me,chavé, you don’t. Let’s get outta here.” Gaspar attempts to grab her again, but Esmeralda takes a step out of reach.
“No harm done in lending an ear,” she argues.
The man sighs heavily, looking resigned. Esmeralda is stubborn and willful. I learned that much after interacting with her for only a few days. It seems Gaspar has experienced a lifetime of her obstinacy, however, and he knows when fighting is futile.
“Well…” she places a hand on her waist and jots her hip out, “we’re waiting.”
I offer her a smile, then another one to Gaspar, who I fear will need more convincing. “Jago, me, and a… companion would like to join you in your travels. However, we would like you to head west.”
“Wait, what?!” Jago demands. “What companion? You don’t mean—?”
I cut him off with a glare.
Gaspar and Esmeralda exchange a glance. Jago makes a restrained sound in the back of his throat. His lips are pressed tightly together as if he is fighting very hard not to say anything else, but in the end, he loses the battle.
“Val, would you mind stepping outside for a moment, so we can discuss this in private?” He gestures toward the door.
“No, Jago,” I say. “There’s nothing to discuss. My mind is made up. I’ve thought about it carefully.”
“But—”
“It’s all right. Remember you always have a choice.”
He rolls his eyes but relents.
“Sorry, Princess Valeria,” Gaspar says, “but our lot never goes west. It isn’t worth the trouble.” He turns to Esmeralda, who makes a face, mouth twisted to one side and nose scrunched up, making it clear that west is definitely not her preferred route.
“Ready to go now?” Gaspar asks her.
“I’ll make it worth your while,” I blurt out, taking a hold of the leather bag attached to my belt. Its contents clink together, leaving no doubt as to their valuable nature.
Gaspar shakes his head. “No disrespect, Princess, but our plans are set in stone. There’s no changing them.”
Esmeralda laughs. “Set in stone? We’re Romani, old man. You think she’s going to believe that?”
“Hush,chavé! I’m trying to save our hides here,” Gaspar’s voice is several octaves deeper, the perfect timbre for scolding one’s child. Fatherused a similar tone with me many times. My heart aches a little at the thought.
“Stop calling mechild,” she protests, then asks, “save our hides from what? Traveling on dirt roads? It’s what we do.”
“Don’t be such a fool! Why don’t you ask her why we need to head west? Or, more importantly, who is thiscompanionshe’s dragging along, huh?”
Esmeralda turns her fierce gaze on me, expecting an answer to Gaspar’s questions.
I know I can’t expect them to help me and change their plans without an explanation, but that doesn’t mean I want to tell them everything—not to mention that revealing my plan is dangerous. They could go straight to my sister and tell her what I intend to do in exchange for a bigger bag of gold and no risk to their lives, still I have to be clear, make sure they understand the perils involved.
“What I intend to do constitutes treason,” I say.
Both Jago and Gaspar grab their heads in unison and look up at the heavens—the former looks vexed by my straightforwardness, and the latter outright horrified. Their synchronized movements would be funny under other circumstances, but at the moment, I couldn’t muster a laugh if my life depended on it.
“Treason?” Esmeralda echoes. “The kind that sets Castellina’s Guardia on your tail? Is that it? You’re crazy, Princess. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re into surviving. You were right, old man. Let’s get out of here.”
