The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire, #1)(32)

“The premise of the Empire? The very things it was built upon? They don’t exist anymore. But still everything goes to the heart of the Empire to be picked through before the scraps are returned to us. We are tired of picking through scraps, Phalue. We want to build something new. Think of it: a stop to the Tithing Festivals. Wealth distributed more equitably. A Council made up of representatives from each of the islands. You could be a part of this if you wanted. The people would love you more than they already do.”

It didn’t move her. Ranami had tried such speeches on her, and Phalue had only repeated her father’s talking points. Everyone had a job to do in the Empire. Those that worked hard were rewarded. She gave examples of those who had lifted themselves from poverty. And yes, a few had, while the rest reached and scraped and hoped. It was like explaining the concept of a tree to a giant squid.

“You want to help the farmers? Help them meet their quotas.”

“They can’t always do so,” Gio said.

“Some of them do,” Phalue said. “If they do, why can’t the rest?”

Ranami clenched her jaw. “You would place the lives of children on meeting quotas?”

Phalue pinched the bridge of her nose. “You know it’s not about that.” She looked to Ranami. “You frightened me half to death. Do you know what it’s like to wander into your lover’s home and find it overturned and her gone? I don’t want to do this anymore – these fights, these partings and then finding my way to you again. We need to find another way to make this work.”

Oh, by the depths of the Endless Sea – was she proposing again? Here, in front of the leader of the Shardless Few and the two who still lay unconscious on the floor? This would be the least romantic of all Phalue’s proposals. Ranami had told her “no”, more than once. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to marry her. She did, more than anything. But that was in the dream world, where there was only love and the two of them, not here, where their two worlds scraped painfully against one another. She did not want to be a governor’s wife. She couldn’t sit in that palace and live that life, knowing that she’d been raised in the gutter, that her heart would always hurt every time she saw an urchin on the street. No matter how many times she told Phalue that, she wasn’t sure how to explain what that really meant to her. “Phalue . . .” she said, and then stopped, unsure of what else to say. There was too much to feel that she couldn’t put into words. Someday, Phalue would get tired of asking. Someday, she would move on. If only she’d stop asking.

But this time, Phalue didn’t propose. “I want you to move into the palace with me. It’s been long enough. I am respectful of your wishes, and I come to the city to visit you, but you don’t need to live in a shack. And sometimes what I want has to matter too.”

Was this some strange attempt at compromise? “Are you saying you’ll help them?” Ranami asked.

Phalue shook her head, and for a moment, Ranami’s heart sank. And then she exhaled, long and slow. “This is the Shardless Few we’re talking about, Ranami. You think this is some sort of game? That you can invite them here to stay, to help the farmers, and they’ll just leave? I know you think me naive, but I’m not so naive as that.”

Gio wisely only crossed his arms and said nothing.

“I know it bothers you,” Phalue continued, “but these things are this way for a reason. The farmers receive land from my father; they owe him their fealty. Yes, I think the way he spends the money is stupid, but it is still his right to send the caro nuts to the wealthier islands, where he can fetch the best price for them. He still pays the farmers their fair share. He keeps order and peace, and that deserves payment.”

Ranami gritted her teeth. Again, this old argument. They could go around in circles like this for hours. If even the leader of the Shardless couldn’t move Phalue, what hope had she? “I don’t know how to make you understand,” she said. Her eyes felt hot, and to her embarrassment, tears rolled down her cheeks. She’d done everything she could to bridge this gap between them. It felt like an ending, one she didn’t quite know how to swallow.

Phalue took her hands in her own. “You went to a lot of trouble and have put us both in danger. And Ranami – I would break mountains for you. This is certainly the strangest thing you’ve ever done, and the most idiotic, but if it means that much to you, then fine. It’s not as though my father will miss a little extra money. Just this once though.” She brushed the tears from Ranami’s cheeks with her thumbs, then kissed the tracks they’d left. “No more of their children will die from bog cough – not this season. And you –” Phalue turned her attention to Gio. “I’m sending a message to the Emperor that you’re here. By the time he receives it, we’ll be finished and you should be gone. This island is not ripe for your rebellion. We’re fine as we are.”

Gio must have nodded his assent because Phalue slipped her arms around Ranami’s waist. “There. Can we not fight anymore?” Behind her, one of the unconscious rebels stirred and groaned, putting a hand to his head.

“Thank you,” Ranami said – and she wasn’t sure if she was talking to Gio or Phalue.





12





Jovis


Somewhere in the Endless Sea