Chapter 2
The main circle of the Outer City was alive with movement by the time we reached it. The five central guards were loading the last crates onto their carriage, quick and practiced, like men who had done this a hundred times over. From the look of things, they were nearly finished — almost ready to leave.
I studied them as we approached. Three of them carried swords sheathed at their waists, plain and well-worn, the kind built for use rather than show. The remaining two stood apart from the loading, hands clean of rope and crate — spell users rarely dirtied their hands with labor like that.
There were only two ways to grow strong in this world that anyone spoke of: the martial arts, or the spell. And everyone had an opinion on both. Martial artists were said to be more muscle than mind, all instinct and little patience. Mages carried the opposite reputation — sharp-tongued, proud, difficult to approach without the right words. Neither prospect thrilled me, but between the two, I decided a mage was the safer choice, if I chose carefully.
Of the two spellcasters, one was a woman. The moment I saw her, I knew she was the one I'd approach.
She stood a little apart from the rest, her hair a striking mix of black and blue that seemed to belong on no one else the way it belonged on her. Fair skin, dark eyes that missed nothing, and the same blue guard's uniform as the others — though on her, somehow, it looked less like a uniform and more like it had been made for her alone. Beautiful was the word that came to mind, and it didn't leave even after I looked away.
I started moving toward her, already rehearsing what I wanted to say. I never got the chance to say it.
"We don't have any more food to give," the tall guard said, not even glancing up from his crate — the same one who'd handed out our bread that morning, the same curl of disgust still sitting on his face. "No need to ask. Go. Don't disturb us."
I stopped where I stood.
"We don't need the food," I said.
That got his attention. He straightened, and around him, the rest of the guards paused their work to look at us.
"Then why are you here?" he asked.
"We want to go to the main city," I said.
Behind him, one of the swordsmen let out a long, tired breath, as though he already knew exactly where this conversation was headed.
"We're not allowed to take you to the main city," the tall guard said. "Ask a merchant."
I already knew what that meant. Merchants came to the Outer City when they needed hands for their workshops, and every immigrant who left with one left bound to a contract. I had money of my own. I didn't need to sign myself away for a place to sleep. I wanted to walk into the main city as a traveler — not as someone's labor, and certainly not with Astelin in tow.
"I'm not asking you to take responsibility for us," I said. "We only want to walk alongside you until we reach the main gate."
"And why should we drag two kids along with us?" the tall guard asked, his mouth twisting. "You'll probably cause some kind of scene the moment we reach the gate."
"Hey, Aj." The woman's voice cut through, sharp with disapproval. "Why are you talking to kids like that?"
So that was his name.
"You remember the last time, Seria," Aj said, not backing down. "We walked a group like this out to the gate, and they made a whole scene once we got there. I'm not doing that again."
"Yeah," said the female swordswoman beside him, arms crossed. "These two are just going to make our work harder."
I turned to Seria. If the rest of them wouldn't listen, maybe she would.
"We have money to pay for entry," I said. "But the roads haven't been safe lately — looting, killing. We're afraid to walk it on our own."
Seria didn't answer right away. She looked past me, at the other four, something unreadable crossing her face. One by one, they let out their own sighs — even Aj, though his came out more like a grudging huff.
"Fine," the swordsman who'd sighed earlier finally said. "They can come with us. Just make sure they don't cause any trouble."
I nodded, a smile breaking across my face before I could stop it.
Beside me, Astelin tugged at my sleeve, looking up with wide eyes. "Are we going to the city?"
"Yeah," I said, resting a hand on his head. "We're going to live somewhere better now."
The guards went back to their work, tying down the last of the crates and checking over the Dromos harnessed to the front of the carriage. Astelin and I climbed up and found a spot to sit among the supplies. We didn't wait long. A few minutes later the carriage lurched forward, wheels grinding against the broken road, and we started toward the gate of the main city.
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