The Rebels of Gold (Loom Saga #3)(56)

“For Louie . . . it doesn’t seem abnormal for him to go after gold.” Shannra shrugged. “I have no doubt that he saw an opportunity and capitalized on it.”

The same idea had crossed Florence’s mind. While she wanted to believe that Louie would not use the current situation to his advantage if doing so would be detrimental to Loom, she had all evidence to prove otherwise. Still, the request sat uneasy with her. Louie had always been obsessed with organs and magic; he had never once shown much of an interest in gold. Reagents, surely, but never gold.

“Very well. But I will still bring this to the attention of the Vicar Raven.”

Shannra sighed. “Do you really want to risk alienating Louie? After all, the Vicar Raven herself knew who she was getting into bed with. She went to him personally to ask him to acquire organs and these magic flowers Arianna seems to need.”

“Arianna can take care of herself. And unlike Louie, I believe her when she says she’s on our side.”

“Very well.” Shannra waved away the unappealing notion. “It’s not my business anyway.”

“Are you still in touch with one of Louie’s men through whisper?”

Shannra merely shrugged. The lack of answer was the distance between them embodied.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She didn’t know what she expected from Shannra, but apparently, she harbored more optimism than she cared to admit.

“One more thing,” Florence said as she stood. She needed to go somewhere else to cool down. “By the time you report to Louie, I will have already informed the vicar of his actions against her guild. So, you may want to use whatever means of communication you have at your disposal to let him know. That way, you can try to remain in his good standing.”

“It’s not like that, you know,” she muttered. “I’m not constantly looking for an opportunity to betray you to him.”

Florence arched her eyebrows.

“I’m not,” the other woman insisted.

“Why does he have your loyalty at all? Why are you involved with him?” Not that it mattered. Whatever her reasons, the fact remained that Shannra was one of Louie’s. And that meant Florence should stay well away.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me,” Florence pressed.

“I was frustrated with the limitations the Revolvers’ Guild put on their students.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper. “I had all these ideas for projects, but none of them would get approved. They were all deemed too radical, too dangerous.”

“So, you found someone who would fund your ideas.”

It wasn’t a question but Shannra nodded anyway. “By the time I fully realized how he was using my work, it was too late.”

“He had enough information on you to get you thrown out of the guild.” Under Dragon law, being exiled from your guild meant death. Florence finished the story in her mind, a simple, cautionary tale central to the Revolvers’ Guild itself: just because one could, didn’t mean one should.

“It doesn’t really matter now. The vicar knows of my involvement with Louie because of all this. I suspect the only reason he hasn’t kicked me out yet is because Loom is so short on manpower. Especially the Revolvers.”

“So why stay with Louie then?” Florence crouched down again so that way she could speak in the quietest voice possible. “He doesn’t have anything on you anymore. And even if you do get kicked out, the guilds are reverting back to what they were before the Dragons. There are no more death sentences. There’s nothing keeping you to a single guild or location.”

“Yes, that may be true. But if I’m kicked out, I have nowhere else to go.” Shannra picked up her gun parts, slowly assembling her weapon once more. “And if that’s the case, I would rather stay in the company of someone who will actually appreciate my work.”

Florence had always thought of Louie’s lackeys as greedy bottom-feeders, hungry for the payout that his jobs brought. Or people with such wretched histories that they had no other option than to associate themselves with the gremlin of a man.

But Shannra’s story was relatively benign; if anything, it made her association with Louie borderline normal. For a moment, Florence wondered if, under a different set of circumstances, she would’ve ended up in Louie’s service, too.

For all that she’d thought those on Louie’s payroll were loyal because of the money, she realized now it was because he offered something far more valuable: a place for wayward souls to call home.

“I appreciate your work.” Florence grabbed Shannra’s hand. “And many others will, too.”

Shannra stared at the initiated contact and gave a small laugh. “You have no idea how good it feels to hear someone say that.”

Florence did. In that moment, she was veca away from the dark cavern and back in her and Ari’s flat in Old Dortam. She heard Arianna’s first praise of her work keenly, felt her chest swell with phantom pride.

“I do, actually,” Florence whispered.

“It feels good to hear you say that.” Shannra turned her head, their noses almost touching. “I want to always be there to appreciate your work, Florence.”

It’s not your appreciation I want, Florence realized suddenly.

She was shaken to her core by the revelation, but in the same instant, so was Loom’s fragile reprieve. Gunshots echoed from some faraway location.