The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire, #1)(51)

“You’re late,” Gio said when he opened the door.

Phalue did her best not to roll her eyes. “I’m here, and this place isn’t exactly close to the city. I agreed to help, so let’s get this done.”

Ranami and Gio exchanged glances.

“Come in,” Gio said finally. “You’re getting soaked to the bone out there.”

As they strode inside, Ranami loosed her hand from Phalue’s grip and took a step away. Phalue had the odd sense that Ranami was somewhat ashamed of her. But she couldn’t address that now.

The hut turned out to be only marginally drier. The floor was of rough-hewn boards, with gaps in places wide enough to fit mice through. The thatch leaked in a few spots, and a man was in the middle of putting bowls down to catch the falling water. The droplets tinked against the clay, creating a strange symphony.

In the room just off the main one, Phalue saw a young woman with a baby cradled in her arms. She swayed back and forth and cooed to the child, the floorboards creaking with each shift of her weight.

The only lavishness in all the hut was a thick rug. Worn and faded in places, but with an intricate vining pattern.

Ranami nodded to Gio, and then went to the man setting the bowls down. His hair was streaked with silver, his dark eyes almost as large as Ranami’s. He had a gentle slope for a nose, generous lips and a strong, pointed chin. He stood up and opened his arms to her.

When they’d finished embracing, Ranami turned to Phalue. “Phalue, this is my brother, Halong.”

Phalue felt the world go still. Ranami hadn’t mentioned any family. As far as she knew, Ranami had grown up alone on the streets.

“Not by blood,” Halong said, a fond smile on his lips. “But when you’re scrounging for meals in the gutters, if you find someone you can trust, you’ve found something more valuable than gold.”

“It’s good to meet you,” Phalue said. She pressed her hand over her heart in greeting, and Halong did the same. His smile faded when he did so, though.

For the first time in a long time, Phalue felt out of place. What was she doing here, with the leader of the Shardless Few and a caro nut farmer? Was this really what Ranami wanted? She was the daughter of the island’s governor – didn’t that mean anything? When she let her hand fall back to her side, she felt it curl into a fist. To them she must seem a gilded brute, fed from her father’s generous table, her simple clothes still sporting embroidery at the cuffs and collar. She tugged the rough cloak tighter around herself, heedless of the rain that still clung to it. “My name is Phalue,” she said.

“I know who you are, Sai.” Halong raked her over with his gaze.

Ranami placed a hand on his elbow. “She’s here to help.”

Gio stepped forward, his thumbs hooked into his belt. “The plan is simple, and only needs a few people. Phalue, you distract the overseer and his underlings when he counts the boxes for shipment. Halong works at the warehouse. He’ll trade three out for dummy boxes while you’re distracting everyone. Ranami will take the real boxes and give them to one of the farmers.”

Phalue was shaking her head before Gio had finished. “I don’t like it. It risks Ranami too much. Everyone expects to see this man at the warehouse, but if they catch her with the boxes, she’ll be in trouble that even I don’t think I can save her from. And who is this farmer she’s taking the boxes to? Can we even trust him?” The introduction of these people that Ranami knew that Phalue had never even known about – it put her off balance. She was fumbling, trying to find her way back to solid ground.

“I know this isn’t a game,” Ranami said, her voice clear, her chin raised. “If there are consequences, so be it.”

“Are we doing this now? Do I at least have the chance to meet this farmer who is holding your life in his hands?”

Ranami’s lips pressed into a line. “Come on,” she said, seizing Phalue’s hand. “If this doesn’t get through to you, I don’t know what will.” She led her back out into the rain.

“Why are you so insistent that I need to be ‘gotten through to’?” The rain slicked Phalue’s hair to her cheeks, running in cold rivulets to the base of her throat. “I’ll admit, this Halong has a small house – though not as small as yours – and owns little enough. But he seems well fed, and he has a family. He grew up as a gutter orphan, but he did well for himself. He worked hard.”

Ranami wheeled on her, wrenching her hand from Phalue’s. “Is that what you see? A simple life but well enough? Yes, Halong has worked hard and does well for himself. He does better than well by the standard of gutter orphans. Most of the children I knew died. I did things I’m not proud of just to get a bite to eat. So did Halong. And though Halong does have a wife and a family, his firstborn died of bog cough. And yes, he still does well for himself! He farms and he works in the warehouse. He gets up before dawn to work the fields he purchased from your father with his promise of giving all the crops over. And because that’s still not enough, he works in the warehouse too so his family can live in a hut that has more than one room.

“Is well what you see when you look at him? I have to wonder, then, what you see when you look at me.”

“And this is why I always bring coin with me when I go into the city. To give to the gutter orphans. Someday, I hope to adopt one or two. But there will always be suffering. I can’t fix everything!”