Coldmaker(86)

I kept my distance. ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate on—’

She let herself relax away from the table, the saddest smile I’d ever seen weighing down her face. ‘Where better?’

I paused. ‘Literally anywhere.’

Her hands clenched into fists, and once again I saw that fierce anger breathe its life inside her. ‘This is everything that’s wrong with the World Cried. We need to look the problem in the face, Micah. Here.’

I gave a resigned nod, my own anger still rising in my chest. We hadn’t been able to talk to Leroi about the anklets, since after Lord Tavor had left, he’d locked himself back in his study, and wouldn’t come to the door when we called for him.

Shilah pulled up two chairs, setting them across from each other, and we each sat down. After a few moments of uncomfortable staring, I grew fidgety, while Shilah kept straight and still.

‘I’ll make you a deal, partner,’ she said in a simple voice, her hands laid flat on the table.

I tilted my head. ‘Okay?’

‘I admire you, I hope you know that. The way your mind thinks is different. Trying to end the Drought by flying up to collect Cold from the source is a good idea.’

I felt my cheeks flush with heat. ‘Thanks. And I admire you as—’

‘But I also think you’re being an idiot again.’

I stiffened, stung by her words. ‘I don’t think—’

She held up her hand. ‘Let me make you my deal.’

I clenched my teeth, and nodded.

‘One week. I’ll stay here with you for one week, and I’ll help in any way you need. If you’re not any closer to your plan, we go with mine.’ She gestured to the buckets of Cold sitting on the shelf nearby and then tapped the tattoo on her arm. ‘We take as much Cold as we can carry, and we go north to find Langria.’

I paused, feeling moisture spout on my forehead. ‘But it’s going to take me more than a week.’

‘You saw what happened.’ She knocked on the table. ‘This place isn’t safe for us.’

‘But the Cold Charge—’

She waved her hand dismissively. ‘—Blowing out candles from across the room is a neat trick, but it doesn’t help anything. It’s not what we need.’

The words made my heart squeeze. ‘What did you say?’

‘It’s not what the Jadans need,’ Shilah repeated, resolutely. ‘It’s not what I need.’

I took a deep breath, trying not to think yet again about my father. ‘What do Jadans need?’

She closed her eyes, sliding her fingers along the surface of the table. I wondered if there was a residual warmth left by the body, but I was still too apprehensive to feel for myself. ‘Freedom.’

‘Flight can bring us freedom. Just give me time.’

‘Leroi said it himself, the Cold Charge doesn’t get any stronger, even with more Cold, so it’s not as if you can push your way into the sky. I think it’s a foolish plan, and I think your talents are better used elsewhere. One week. Please.’

I allowed my fingertips to touch the underside of the table. I would miss her if she left, but I still had no desire to leave the safety and comfort of the Tavor Manor.

‘I wish the Crier would talk to me again,’ I said.

She slammed a palm down. ‘That’s not how the Crier works, Micah. This is about us. You and me. The Crier hasn’t been able to save us for eight hundred years, so why start now?’ She gave an angry glance around the tinkershop. ‘The secrets are here, are they? In this place? Hidden away from the Jadans themselves. Fine. Show me why this is better than Langria.’

‘Because I can make things here. Things which will help Jadans,’ I protested.

She brought over a bucket of Cold and slammed it down in front of me. ‘So do it. Make us something useful.’

‘I’m trying.’

‘You’re spending as much time trying as you are hiding in grates from your friend’s father,’ she spat.

‘We could make more Saffirs,’ I said quickly, feeling flustered.

‘Jadans don’t have Cold to put in them. And they’re already illegal.’

‘The groan salve,’ I said. ‘You could help me grow more groan trees here and—’

‘The Nobles would only ever take it away. You know that.’ She shoved the bucket over, spilling all the Cold onto the table and the floor. ‘Look at all of this. This Cold that they take out of our hands. Show me why this place is better!’

I felt my chest seize in frustration, unable to answer. ‘I—’

My words were cut short as a Draft suddenly rolled into my lap. I looked at it. Then, an Idea about Cold struck me like a hammer.

My eyes went straight to Shilah’s chest. ‘Have we been looking at the problem from the wrong angle all this time?’ I wondered.

She followed my gaze and snapped her fingers. ‘Hey. We’re having a conversation here.’

I shook myself out of my daze. ‘Take out the map.’

Shilah raised an eyebrow, but she reached under her clothes and pulled out the folded parchment.

‘On the table,’ I commanded.

Shilah’s eyebrows arched in surprise, the angles of her face stiffening.