Within These Wicked Walls(13)

I grabbed my small knife, holding it down by my hip to keep it hidden as I cracked open the door. Saba stood there with folded clothing in her hand. I opened the door wider, hiding my knife behind it.

“Magnus said you were fast, but I didn’t think you’d be this fast.”

She smiled and held out the clothing to me.

“I told him I didn’t want his clothes.”

Saba shook her head and unfolded what she was holding to present me with a long-sleeved white dress, with blue and green forming the traditional design of a cross along the collar and down the center. I touched it, realizing then that it wasn’t traditional fabric, but a tight wool weave. The lining was soft and a little fluffy—not a fabric I was familiar with, but then, I’d never touched such fine fabric in my entire life.

“Did you just make this?”

She shook her head and pressed her hand to her chest.

“It’s yours?”

She nodded.

“That’s … very sweet of you, Saba. It’s beautiful.” I stepped back from the dress. “But if Magnus sent you to give it to me, I already told him I don’t want it.”

She pursed her lips, her eyebrows quirked as if to say Are you serious? and, shaking her head one more time, she held the dress out to me again.

“Thank you.” Her eyes had dark circles and looked a little red. I had no doubt she’d been crying. I didn’t believe Magnus had nothing to do with this dress, but that didn’t matter when there was a clear possibility Saba could be punished if I didn’t take it.

Who cares what happens to her, Andi?

And, after all, it was just a dress. A dress I needed, if I was to attend dinner as he had ordered. It would be foolish not to accept.

I stabbed my knife into the wall behind the door where she couldn’t see and took the dress from her. My fingers brushed hers, and I felt a chill go through me. “Your hands are so cold. Do you want to warm up in my room a little? It’s warmer than the rest of the house.”

Her pleased expression dropped and she backed out of the doorway, giving me a polite bow before rushing back down the hall. I watched her go and then locked myself in my room again to examine the dress. Well made, the colors vibrant, the white perfect as milk. And it smelled like honey and almonds. It was Saba’s, but had it ever been worn?

I took off what I was wearing and put the dress on over my wool stockings, admiring it in the full-length mirror. Saba was taller than me by at least half a foot, but it fit perfectly, looser along the body, more fitted in the sleeves. It was a tad itchy in my warm room, which meant it was probably perfect for the cold air of the rest of the house.

But that didn’t mean I was going to leave this room any sooner than necessary.





CHAPTER 6


The aroma of rich meat and spices made me light-headed with hunger before I’d even reached the bottom of the stairs. I hadn’t had lunch, I realized. My body was so used to starving I hadn’t even noticed until now.

As I headed down the stairs, I heard Esjay and Peggy greeting each other, Peggy’s voice friendlier than I’d ever heard it. I wondered if she was faking it, or if she really was a cheerful person who just disliked poor people.

They were standing in the foyer, along with a girl I’d never met. She looked as clean and sharp as Esjay in her fancy green wool coat. She had ample curves, somehow thick and delicate at once. Her hair was long and wavy … and blue. But the color didn’t look odd on her—it suited her deep skin perfectly, enhancing her beauty rather than distracting from it. It was almost intimidating how pretty and put together this woman was.

I was getting the sense that the weapons of this world were different from the one I was raised in. There it was a matter of stealth, knives, fists. Brutal, but straightforward. Here, the animal with the grandest display won the dominance. You don’t have to be big to take up space, Jember always used to tell me, which was easy enough for a tall person to say. But someone must’ve given this woman the same advice. She had claimed her territory simply by entering it.

I was more thankful than ever for Saba’s dress.

She was the first to notice me standing on the stairs, and too many emotions flashed over her face to keep track of. Surprise, scrutiny, skepticism. And something else. Something like—well, disgust seemed a harsh term, but it felt the most appropriate.

She didn’t think any better of me than Peggy did.

“Andromeda.” Esjay held out his hand to me, as if to welcome me into their circle of snobbery.

“Where did you get that dress?” Peggy demanded, looking me up and down.

“I didn’t steal it,” I said, and she had enough humanity to become red-faced with embarrassment before storming away.

“You’re the new debtera?” said the woman in the green coat, pressing her hand against her chest. “Are we just hiring children off the street now?”

“Kelela,” Esjay chastised. “Andromeda is of age. She’s a professional.”

“Really? Because her eyebrows are crying out for some hot wax.”

“Kelela.”

“Sorry, brother. I suppose it’s a nice change from all the old men we’ve had to entertain before.” She looked over, attempting a smile that barely passed as genuine. “Are you named after that beautiful princess who was chained to a rock?”