The Diminished

by Kaitlyn Sage Patterson

  My heart raced. This knowledge, that the Queen had chosen me for her heir, even though I was a twin, even though everything dictated that it was a role I should not hold—it bolstered me. She, at least, believed I would make a good king. And she was the only person who could say so, really. “Then why not tell me the truth?”

  “And risk you telling someone? If the Suzerain find out who she is, they’ll use her to control you. They’ve been looking for a way to take more power than they’ve already managed to steal from the throne, and I refuse to let those graspingly devout charlatans take any more control of this empire. You’ve not said anything to anyone, have you?”

  I paled, thinking of Claes. Runa, her eyes sharp as a hawk’s, must’ve caught my expression. She ran a hand through her hair, and a moment later a filthy, dangerous-looking woman sidled up to the table.

  “Your contact in the Shriven. How quickly can you get information from her?” Runa asked.

  “Before night’s end, I expect,” the woman said in a harsh voice.

  “I need to know if the Suzerain have called a meeting of the Anchorite’s Council in the past day. If they have, I need to know everything you can learn about that meeting. Also, find out if there’s an Obedience Abernathy—Vi—on their list.”

  The woman nodded, and a moment later she was gone. Runa drummed her fingers on the table. “Who was it? Who did you tell?”

  I swallowed. “My cousin, Claes. But he’s dying. And he loves me. He’d never...” A pit opened up in my stomach, and my hands grew cold. I didn’t know anymore. I didn’t know anything. “Where is she? Where’s my...” I choked, unable to say the word, that single, beautiful word. “Where’s Vi?”

  Gerlene coughed. “She’s in Ilor. She was sent to do labor for the temple there as punishment for stealing. I’d planned to use back channels to see that she was released from her sentence as soon as possible. She could, at the very least, live comfortably in relative safety there with a share of your father’s wealth, so long as no one knows of her connection to you.”

  Runa took a deep breath through clenched jaws. “We’ll have to wait,” she said. Rage and betrayal coursed through my veins like fire and ice, burning in equal measure. Seeing the expression on my face, Runa added, “I’d planned to reunite you eventually, Bo. We could have manipulated the laws, tempered the influence of the Suzerain. Their power comes from the people’s terror of the diminished and the odd mix of fear and safety the Shriven bestow upon them. That, and their belief that only the singleborn can sit on the throne. Let’s hope your Claes has kept his mouth shut.”

  We waited in tense silence, the pasties on the table growing cold. Our eyes burned from the smoke in the air for what may’ve been minutes or hours. I’d not thought to bring a timepiece, and in the dismal, endless anticipation, time seemed not to exist. The lateness of the hour, it seemed, had no effect whatsoever on the number of patrons occupying the filthy tables of The Turnspit Dog, for each rough character that left was replaced by someone dirtier and meaner-looking.

  Eventually, after what seemed to be forever, the woman reappeared and whispered in Runa’s ear. The Queen braced her fingers against her temples and let out a long sigh.

  “According to Tove’s source, the temple received a letter this afternoon. Soon after, the Anchorite’s Council was summoned by the Suzerain for a meeting. Not even their secretaries or attendants were allowed into the chamber, and they’ve been sequestered ever since. Tove’s source says the letter came from Claes.” My heart sank as Runa continued. “So it looks as though your cousin could not be trusted after all. It will take some great effort for them to find the connection between you and Ina and Vi, but I have no doubt that they’ll learn the truth eventually. You’ll have to be extraordinarily careful.”

  “And Vi?” I asked desperately. “Do they know about Vi?”

  Runa shook her head. “Her name isn’t on the Shriven’s list. Not yet.”

  “It’s only a matter of time,” Gerlene said. “I should leave immediately. Perhaps, with some luck, I can get her out of the temple in Ilor before they discover the rest of the story.”

  Runa nodded. “Get on the next ship. Do you have sufficient liquid capital to keep yourself from being traced?”

  “I’ll go,” I blurted. “Let me go.”

  Gerlene looked at me aghast, but I saw a spark in Runa’s eyes. As we’d waited, I’d considered my future. I’d thought about the heavy weight of knowing that my sister, my twin, was somewhere else. I’d thought about going the rest of my life without meeting the girl who’d been with me in my mother’s womb. And I’d wondered if I could live with the guilt, the fear of being found out—and the aching loneliness that’d haunted me every day of my life.

  “She’s my sister,” I said pleadingly. “I can’t go my whole life without knowing her. Let me go. You said yourself I can’t go home. Tell the world that I’ve sequestered myself in Denor or on your northern estates. Tell them that I’m grieving.”

  “And what of your tutors?” the Queen asked, eyebrow raised.

  “They’re on Patrise’s payroll and at their parents’ house outside the city. Have them arrested, tell them they’ve been dismissed. Hell, give them a minor title and a bit of land. That’ll shut Thamina up in a hurry.”

  “You cannot mean to let him travel to Ilor on his own,” Gerlene hissed at Runa.

  The Queen gave her a look that would turn a shark into a quivering, fearful mass of gelatin.

  “I’ll go whether you give me permission or not,” I said, reckless bravery going to my head.

  “You are a particular kind of foolish if you think that’s true, but be that as it may, I think you’re right,” Runa said. “You should go. See what kind of girl your sister has become. Find a safe place to settle her in Ilor until I think of what we will do with her.” She turned to Gerlene. “See that he’s given passage on a ship and has access to adequate funds once he reaches Ilor. Your mother—” She stopped herself. “Myrella bought land in the colonies. Perhaps that can serve as a refuge.”

  She leveled one last hard gaze at me. “There will be little we can do to help you once you arrive in Ilor. See that you make it back in one piece.”

  PART THREE

  “There is joy that can be found in ignorance, but true bliss, true freedom may only be found in the profound knowledge of self. In the peace of total self-awareness, fear fades into nothingness. It is in this fearlessness that true power may be found.”

  —from the Book of Magritte, the Educator

  “In the wash of the ocean and the caress of the rain, you will find my strength. In the rivers and lakes and springs—therein lives my forgiveness. Each time you bathe your face, each drink you take, let it cleanse you of anger, fear and regret. With my water, start each day anew.”

  —from the Book of Hamil, the Seabound

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  VI

  Nothing I’d read could have prepared me for the reality of Ilor. The air was thick and damp, like breathing through a wet cloth. And the heat! The heat flat took my breath away. Somehow, in that moist oven of a land, plants grew with a fervor I’d never seen at home. They sprouted from the ground with enormous, wild enthusiasm. Flowers, like ladies in bright silks, sprang up from every patch of dirt and hung from every branch.

  I did my best to distract myself from the overwhelming anxiety blossoming in my gut by spending every waking second out of doors. I studied the outrageous birds that mimicked folks’ voices and giggled at the antics of the small, funny monkeys with long fingers and furry yellow cheeks. Mal said that great big cousins of the mischievous fellows lived in the mountains, and I longed to see them. Sloth bears lived in the mountain hollows, too, smaller than the great gray bears that terrorized the northernmost parts of Alskad—gentler, too. There were dozens of creatures here that I’d only read about, and even with the breakneck speed of A
lskad’s colonization, much of Ilor was still unsettled wilderness.

  The Whippleston house was in the center of Williford, the largest of the port towns. There were three rambling floors, all rung round with covered porches. A huge walled garden surrounded the home, complete with a springhouse and burbling fountains. They set me up in a fine, wood-paneled room with a delicate net draped over the bed. A fan spun lazily on the ceiling, and its winding cord only needed to be yanked every half hour or so. Wide, slatted windows let in the jungle breeze, and the room opened onto the third-story porch. From there, I looked out over the town’s roofs to the shining promise of the harbor.

  Mal found the record of Sawny’s and Lily’s contracts before I’d even unpacked. They’d gone to Phineas Laroche, the man with the amalgam wife. Never in my life had a piece of luck felt more like fate. As the days passed, and I grew increasingly anxious about who might purchase my contract, Mal tried to tempt me with flowers and fruits I’d never seen before. He told jokes and read to me from novels set in Ilor, but none of his distractions could stop me from worrying. I’d hung all of my hopes on the slim possibility of being reunited with Sawny and Lily, but I didn’t even know if they’d be happy to see me when I arrived. I couldn’t manage to think of anything except the uncertainty of my future, and the dreamy reminders of the kisses I’d shared with Quill.

  I hardly saw Quill at all during the day; he and his uncle, Captain Hamlin, were kept busy negotiating contracts for the other workers who’d come over from Alskad, making preparations for their new business office in Williford and arranging interviews for me. But every night, long after darkness fell and the chorus of cicadas started outside my windows, Quill tapped softly on my door. He sat on my bed and told me everything he knew about Phineas Laroche and his amalgam wife. I was determined to mold myself into the most appealing candidate possible.

  When I was done peppering Quill with questions, we found our inevitable way into each other’s arms, and together, we discovered all the ways a person could be kissed. Our time together was vastly and horribly limited, but that wasn’t enough of a reason for me to stop kissing him. I didn’t think anything could make me want to stop kissing Quill Whippleston.

  On the morning of my interviews, I woke to a cacophony of birds jabbering outside my window. I lay in bed, wanting desperately to suck every last drop of pleasure from the feather bed and the cool white sheets. But if I was to be honest, I would admit that I was scared. Scared of diving headfirst into unknowable waters, scared of losing my heady new connection with Quill.

  I sat up and scrubbed my hands through my snarled curls. I couldn’t afford to go down that gloomy road on a day already so fraught with emotion.

  As if he’d read my thoughts, Quill suddenly bounded into my room, limbs flying.

  “I can’t believe you’re still in bed,” he cried. “We’ve got so much to do. You’ve got to bathe and wash your hair, and then we’ve got to get you dressed. Do you remember what you’re to say?”

  “At least let the poor girl have breakfast and a cup of tea before you start in on her, Quill.” Mal followed his brother into the room, smiling. He carried a tray laden with tropical fruit, a mound of pastries and a glass pitcher of creamy tea beaded with condensation. The housekeeper, Noona, kept big jars of water, tea and fruit juice in the springhouse so there was always something cool to drink, a true luxury in the oppressive heat.

  Quill made a face at his brother, and Mal set the tray down on a little table. “You look like you’ve been sucking on limes, brother mine. Careful your face doesn’t stick that way.”

  I snorted and tried not to laugh. I’d tried to eat one of the sour little fruits the day before and had spent the next ten minutes spitting and scowling at Mal, who’d howled with laughter.

  “Don’t you have business that wants tending?” Quill asked. “Maybe a friend to see in town?”

  Mal rolled his eyes at Quill. “I do have to run, but good luck today, Vi. I can’t wait to hear how it all turns out. Just remember to be yourself and choose the person who’ll treat you with the most respect.”

  When the door closed behind Mal, Quill stuck out his tongue and made a rude gesture, sending me into peals of laughter.

  “He’s always been too serious,” Quill said. He waggled his eyebrows and handed me a tall glass of strong, milky tea. “Are you ready for this?”

  I grinned at him. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  The rest of the morning passed in a blur. I took a long, cool bath, and the housekeeper’s freckled, redheaded twin, Ophenia, told me stories in her lilting accent as she washed my hair. I sat in the garden, wrapped in a bright cotton robe, and listened to the little monkeys chatter as my curls dried in the sun.

  The scent of unfamiliar spices wafted out of the kitchen and made my stomach growl. Frustratingly, when I finally sat down to lunch, I was too nervous to eat more than a bite of the spicy fish stew. Captain Hamlin stomped around the house, directing servants as they cleaned and arranged vases overflowing with tropical flowers. Mal and Quill’s father, Jeb, had absented himself almost as soon as we arrived, and I hadn’t seen him since.

  Noona did her level best to help me dress, but I’d done for myself for so long that I felt like a fool even letting her try. I’d kept the trunk of clothes Mal had given me, but most of them were impractical to the point of foolishness, having been made in Alskad with its dreary gray chill in mind. There were a handful of light silks that might have been made to work, but Quill insisted that I have something special for the occasion, so he’d brought a seamstress in to rush a dress for the auction.

  The dress was a loose, sleeveless style that Noona claimed was popular in Ilor. I didn’t have much practice wearing dresses, and I hated the pale pink, tissue-thin fabric Quill had chosen. He claimed it would highlight my blushes becomingly. I’d knocked him hard in the arm for that one, face reddening all the while. Noona chose a bright orange shift to complement the pink, and she helped me tie the garment in place. I stared at myself in the mirror. The dress had a straight collar that fell just under my clavicle, and a scant inch of cloth covered each of my shoulders. The sash was tight around my ribs, and the full skirt fell loose to the floor. My dark curls wafted around my shoulders, and I suddenly felt an overwhelming surge of sadness. Hideous pink or no, this was the first garment I’d ever owned that hadn’t been handed down to me—and it would be the dress that I wore on the day I said goodbye to Quill.

  As I studied my reflection, I couldn’t help but picture Lily and Sawny getting themselves ready to meet Phineas Laroche, just as I would in a few short hours. Lily would have fussed over Sawny, her nervous energy sending her flying around the room. I could almost see his slow, tolerant grin as he waited for her to settle. Just like them, I was being prettied up for an uncertain fate, and I could only hope that I would find a way back to my friends.

  Noona saw the tears welling in my eyes and patted my cheek. “It won’t be so bad, dear. There are many who find good placements, and sign contract after contract with the first folks who hire them. You needn’t be nervous.”

  I sniffled and grasped for a lie. “Thank you, but I’m not so worried about the contract. There’s naught I can do about that, is there? I suppose I’m overwhelmed.”

  “Oh, you poor, dear little bug. No one’s ever been even half-decent to you, have they?” She wrapped me in her arms and squeezed. “Be kind to the folks you come across who aren’t so fortunate as you, eh? Though I think you’ll have a hard time finding any.”

  I hugged her back, hard, and did my best to choke back the tears. There was a knock at the door, and Quill slipped in.

  “No, no, no!” he exclaimed. “I won’t have you all red-faced and weepy! Today’s the day that the bright, shiny part of your life starts.”

  Noona ducked out of the room, leaving me alone with Quill.

  “Do you want to take it back?” Quill asked. “I
can go down there and tell them all to go away if you want.”

  “No,” I lied. “I’ve no desire to turn myself over to the temple now. Not after we’ve both put so much into this. It’d only bring you to their attention, and neither of us wants that.”

  “You don’t have to do either,” Quill said. “Ilor is a big country. You could start a new life.”

  I laughed through the tears, but I didn’t let myself dwell on the idea for even a minute. “I am starting a new life. And if you do your part and negotiate well for me, I’ll be wealthier than I could’ve ever imagined.”

  Quill wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close to his chest and tucking his chin on top of my head.

  “You are going to be amazing. I’ll come to bring you down in half an hour.”

  I rubbed the tears out of my eyes, blew my nose and went over my mental notes about Phineas Laroche one last time. If ever you wanted to intervene with the gods in my favor, Pru, I thought, now would be the time to lend me a hand.

  I knew Quill would see me well settled, no matter what, but I wanted to make sure that I did everything in my power to see that Phineas made an offer. To make certain sure that I found my way back to Sawny and Lily.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  BO

  After spending an uncomfortable night waiting, at Gerlene’s insistence, in a fleabag inn near the wharf, it was a relief to be shown to my cabin aboard the Adelaide. Despite her initial protestations, Gerlene had eventually stopped trying to convince me to change my mind and booked a first-class passage for Bo Abernathy on the next ship leaving for Ilor. The pseudonym had been her idea—Abernathy was Ina’s surname, so I supposed I had a better claim to it than I did to Gyllen. More importantly, though, it was a name that linked me to Vi.

  She’d asked, over and over, if I wanted to go back to the house in Esser Park and say a final goodbye to Claes, despite the danger such a venture would present. I’d nearly gone, but the fury and betrayal overwhelmed everything else I’d ever felt for him. I didn’t want to give him a chance to explain—I knew what he’d say, and I had no interest in his excuses. The Claes I’d loved was really and truly gone, if I’d ever known him at all. Everything I’d understood about him, about us, had been ripped away when he told the Suzerain my secrets.