Thief's Cunning

by Sarah Ahiers

  I laughed and Night kicked his legs beneath me, tossing his mane in the wind.

  And by the time the sun was setting we’d reached a monastery, the same one Faraday used to call home before he’d joined the Saldanas as our Family priest. The brothers fed us and housed us overnight, while the ghosts pressed against the gates and fence of the monastery, held back not by the iron but by the holy ground and the faith of the priests. The ghosts could not walk on ground blessed by Safraella.

  In the morning, after a dreamless sleep, we left the monastery behind and continued south to Lovero and the Lilyan gate.

  Finally, as the sun sank toward the horizon, we crested a hill, and there stood Lovero and all her cities.

  “Look!” I pointed, unable to help myself.

  The last bit of sunlight sparkled on the river and Lovero spilling across the other side of it, just waiting for us. It seemed to fill me up with its light until my body warmed and I grinned.

  Night trotted in place beneath me and I held him still.

  “That’s Ravenna.” Lea gestured to a sprawl of city to the west. “That’s Genoni to the east, where we’ll find the palace and the fealty. And in between them, at least here on the northern border, is Lilyan, where we’re headed.”

  I lingered on Ravenna. That’s where the Da Vias lived. And that was where I would find the old home of the Saldanas.

  But now that the Saldanas lived in Yvain, this trip was a homecoming for Lea only.

  “There’s a shrine in Ravenna, right?” I asked. “For our Family?”

  Lea nodded, lips pressed together.

  “Can we see it?” I asked.

  Lea snapped her face toward mine. “No,” she said. “There’s no going into Ravenna, not for any of us. It’s not our territory. We would not be welcome.”

  “But it’s a shrine to us—to our Family. And the king promised us safety. Surely—”

  “No,” Lea interrupted. “Surely nothing. We cannot go into Ravenna, and that’s final.” I sighed. Everything was always “final” with Lea. From the small, inconsequential things like how many tullie blossoms to infuse in the perfume to what jobs we took.

  But “final,” I’d learned over the years, really only meant “don’t get caught.” It was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission with my aunt.

  Les flicked the reins on the cart horse and we continued down the road toward the crooked bridge that would let us cross the river.

  The final, small distance of our journey seemed the longest. It took less than an hour to reach the crooked bridge, our horses’ hooves clipping on the stone, the cart creaking and moaning as Les maneuvered it over the sudden twist in direction—to prevent the ghosts of the dead plains from crossing the moving waters of the river—but it felt like days. And then we still had to reach the gates of Lilyan, which looked more rusted and useless the closer we got.

  The sun had set now, and Night picked up on my excitement and trotted in place, mouth foaming as I kept him in check.

  I looked over my shoulder at Lea. She stared to the west and Ravenna. Her thoughts probably bitter and sweet and complicated.

  “They don’t even try to keep the gates in working order?” I gestured ahead to the rusted metal on the ground outside the walls of the city. The walls were in a similar state of disrepair, large pieces of stone fallen to the ground, their mortar crumbled away. I wrinkled my nose. The walls and gates of Yvain were tall and clean and without breach. What if the rest of Lovero matched these walls? What if, instead of finding glamour and lavish parties, I found rot and ruin?

  I squeezed the leather reins in my palms.

  Lea shrugged. “There’s no need. You rarely see ghosts on this side of the river, and why spend the money and manpower to keep walls and gates in repair when Safraella keeps the ghosts out?”

  “Maybe because it would look better,” I mumbled under my breath. Lea didn’t hear, but Les barked a laugh from the cart beside me.

  I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “Where are we staying? With the Caffarellis?”

  Lea snorted and shot me a look of disbelief before she managed to cover it. “No. We will not be staying with the Caffarellis. We’re a different Family. It’s not done.”

  “But we’re kind of the same family. Emile and Elena are going to be married. And you’re Brand Caffarelli’s cousin. And there’s all that ‘peace between the Families’ thing you’re trying to do.”

  “He is my cousin, but when Elena leaves with us she will no longer be a Caffarelli, but a Saldana. And regardless of how fond I am of Brand, and he’s easy to like as I’m sure you’ll see, he’s still a Caffarelli and we are Saldanas. Staying in their territory is a huge show of trust. A public display of how the Caffarellis are aligned with the Saldanas. It may seem small to you, but that’s because you’re unfamiliar with the ways of the Loveran Families.”

  She’d said all this while leading us away from the river. “I need you to listen and understand this like your life depends on it, because it might. Outside of the Caffarellis, you are not to socialize or fraternize with any other clippers. You are not to speak to any of them, except to respond, and I expect you to respond in a way that will bring an end to any conversation they may try to start.”

  Emile shook his head. “I know all this.”

  “You think you know it, but you don’t. You were too young to really understand what it’s like.”

  “I remember the fire,” he snapped. Les and I exchanged a look. Emile rarely angered, and never at Lea. His nervousness over meeting Elena must have been getting to him.

  Lea sighed. “I know you remember the fire. But as bad as that was, it was still only a single instance, a moment in a country filled with moments, any of which could be a spark that could lead to more moments like that in the future. Many of the Families don’t like us. Many don’t like me. There is nothing you can say or do to improve upon that and plenty you could say or do that could make things worse. This is why I’m struggling so hard to build a lasting peace. I tell you these things not because I think you’re children, or prone to stupidity. I say these things because I don’t want you getting hurt. And this is a place where people would desperately love to hurt you, and they would be celebrated for doing so in many cases. If someone hurts you, I will have to hurt them. And I’d really like to escape this visit without spilling more blood.”

  I wrinkled my nose. Sure, the Families knew we were coming, but really, there wasn’t anything they could do about it. We would be staying in Lilyan with the Caffarellis, so if they wanted to reach us, they’d have to go through them. And the Caffarellis were the third Family. It seemed unlikely one of the lower ranked Families would risk a move against us, no matter how scorned they’d been.

  And then, all thoughts of Families and politics and rules from Lea fled because we’d reached the gates of Lilyan and walked through them without hesitation.

  We’d reached Lovero. Land of clippers and Safraella and freedom, for me.

  six

  THE STREETS OF THE CITY OF LILYAN WERE WIDER than the streets of Yvain.

  This was my first thought in a new country, and dumb though it may have been, it seemed like the streets stretched forever between the buildings, leaving plenty of space for horses and carts.

  In Yvain we used canals to transport goods and people. There were no canals in Lovero, so they needed wider streets.

  The streets seemed dull, too. The flagstones were smoother than the cobblestones of Yvain, and there were no fragrant mosses growing between the stones. No real flowers anywhere, actually.

  And the people. I craned my neck as we passed a side road, and then an alley that just ended at a wall instead of a canal. I’d been raised to believe that once the sun set, the streets of Lovero flowed with revelers, but here the streets were almost empty.

  Tonight was the beginning of Susten, a three-day holiday celebrating Safraella and how She had freed Lovero from the grip of the angry ghosts. The Sapienzas had timed t
he fealty to coincide with the festival. Maybe everyone was just waiting for the official start.

  Or maybe it was only Ravenna where the night came alive.

  I looked over my shoulder, to the west.

  My knowledge of Loveran geography was not great, but I knew the cities weren’t so big that I couldn’t walk to Ravenna easily enough, if I found some time alone.

  But a block later, people started to fill the streets. Many of them wore traditional Susten Day masks, colorful feathers and beads decorating half masks, but plenty went barefaced.

  I resisted the urge to touch my own face. We’d elected not to wear our leathers and masks as a Family when we’d left the monastery. We didn’t want to draw more attention.

  Lea led us south, farther into Lilyan, until finally she called a halt in front of a small building with a fenced courtyard and a small stable in the back.

  “This is it,” she said, sliding from Kismet’s saddle.

  “We’re staying here?” Emile looked up at the second floor of the boxy house.

  “We got a good deal.” Les stepped off the cart. “Brand knows the owner and they were happy to cut the price for clippers.”

  Les led horse and cart to the back of the house and I followed, securing the biggest stall for Night. There was fresh hay waiting for us and I filled his net before heading inside.

  The ground floor of the house was made up of a kitchen, dining, and seating area. The upstairs held the bedrooms. The floors were worn, wooden planks, where Yvain floors were typically tile. Tile added more color, like the flowers found in Yvanese windows and streets.

  “It’s just for a few days.” Les spoke behind me.

  I turned and smiled. “I love it.”

  And it was true. It was so different from our home in Yvain. It was my first taste of freedom and all the tarnish in the world wouldn’t hide its gleam from me.

  Les squeezed my shoulder, then headed out the back door again just as Lea walked in, carrying bags.

  A gust of wind blew through the house and for a moment I caught the scent of salt before it was erased by horse manure.

  Lea set the bags down. “Do you smell that?”

  “I smell horse.”

  Lea laughed. “No, the other scent, that sort of brininess. It’s the sea.” She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. “In Ravenna you can practically taste the salt on the wind. I wish I could show you all that water stretching out to the horizon.”

  She smiled at me again, more wistfully this time.

  The sea. I couldn’t even imagine so much water. It was something that called to me, deep in my chest.

  But the city of Lilyan was landlocked. Just one more reason Ravenna wanted to be my destination.

  “I would like to see the sea,” I said to Lea.

  She took one more deep breath, then shook her head. “One day, perhaps.”

  A knock at the door interrupted our conversation. Emile, needing help with more bags. I walked to the foyer.

  “Emile.” I grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. “If you’re able to knock I’m pretty sure you’re able to open the door . . .”

  It wasn’t Emile, but a stranger. He had pale skin, like many of the Loverans I’d seen tonight, blond hair, and a nose that had clearly been broken more than once. He looked me up and down, and then smiled, creasing the lines by his eyes.

  “I am indeed able to open doors, but it seemed a rudeness to simply enter without being invited in. You must be Allegra Saldana.”

  “I am,” I answered. It seemed a safe response.

  He watched me for a moment, then chuckled and looked at his feet. “Not much of a conversationalist, I see. You must get that from your aunt.”

  From behind me I heard the sound of footsteps. “Allegra, what are you—Oh.”

  Lea stepped beside me and the man’s face split into a wide grin. “Lea.”

  “Brand. I didn’t expect to see you so soon.” She looked over at me. “Why didn’t you let him in?” She pushed me out of the way and opened the door so Brando Caffarelli, head of the Caffarelli Family, could step inside.

  “I would offer you some refreshments,” Lea said, gesturing to a chair for Brand as she took the one next to it, leaving the couch for me, “but we’ve only just arrived.”

  I felt a bit like an extra dose of poison. I could have gone out back to help Les, but I also wanted to know what Lea and Brand were going to discuss. My curiosity won out and I sat down.

  I could recognize some resemblance between Lea and Brand, mostly through their hair color, but also in the shape of their eyes. He was taller than her, which wasn’t hard because I was taller than her, too. But Brand was almost as tall as Les.

  “The Da Vias asked for permission to enter our territory tomorrow, pass through Lilyan for the fealty,” he said to Lea.

  I leaned forward. I’d definitely made the right choice to hear this.

  “And?” Lea asked.

  “We denied it, of course. They can make their way south to their own Genoni border. Even if you weren’t here, I would have denied them. I’d say I feel bad for the Addamos having to grant all the Families access to their territory in order to reach the palace, but they can drink their own piss for all I care.” He laughed at his own joke, and his laughter was so infectious that I found myself laughing along, and Lea, too. We’d never had guests at our house in Yvain. We didn’t have friends, just customers in the shop and marks in the night. It would be so different, living in Lovero, not having to hide who I was. Making friends, maybe.

  “So,” Lea said, “tomorrow we have the fealty.”

  “The ball, yes. After that it’s still Susten Day and your time will be your own, though I hope you will have a meal or two with us? My wife, Robinia, is desperate to get to know you. I think once she does it will put her mind somewhat at ease over Elena leaving. She can be suspicious of clippers.”

  “Isn’t she a clipper?” I asked.

  Brand shook his head. “I stole her from the cleaners when I realized no other clipper would compare to your aunt.”

  Lea studiously ignored my gaze. “You two were betrothed?”

  Lea shook her head.

  “We put in an offer,” Brand said. “Unfortunately, things didn’t go my way, and not just because the Da Vias played their insane hand. Where is Les, by the way?” Brand craned his neck, looking around the room.

  “Right here.” Les stepped inside from the back door, arms full of bags from the cart.

  I jumped to my feet and took the bags from him, grunting at their weight. I set them at the base of the stairs.

  Brand and Les hugged, pounding each other’s backs in the way that men always seemed to do.

  “I wanted to tell you,” Brand said, “that there’s a traveler menagerie in town, taking advantage of the fealty and Susten Day, I suppose. Maybe they’re relatives of yours?”

  “What kind of animals do they have?”

  “I haven’t gone yet, but one of the children went and said he saw snakes, birds, and horses.”

  Les shrugged.

  “Though he also said he saw a dragon, so I don’t know that we can fully trust his information. Going to need to work on his scouting some.” Brand laughed and squeezed Les’s shoulder.

  “Even if they are relatives, they cut their ties with me long ago. I’m a Saldana now.”

  Brand nodded. “And a good addition you’ve been, judging by how well you and Lea have done in Yvain, even with all the required secrecy over there. I don’t really know how you do it.” He said this last part to Lea.

  She shrugged. “We make do.”

  Emile walked through the front door. He saw me and scowled. “Thanks for the help, Legs—” He caught sight of Brand and stopped.

  “You must be Emile,” Brand said. “You look much like your father. Elena’s excited to meet you in person. So am I.”

  “I—thank you—” Emile seemed confused by Brand’s rapid-fire comments.

  Brand nodded and then c
lapped his hands together. “Well, Saldanas. Let me or any of my Family know if you need anything. You’re guests in our territory. Otherwise, I’ll see you again tomorrow at the fealty.”

  And with that he strode out the front door.

  “Who was that?” Emile asked, looking between the three of us.

  “Brando Caffarelli,” I said. “Elena’s father.”

  His neck flushed and he closed his eyes. “I looked like an idiot.”

  “You could look like the biggest idiot in the world and it wouldn’t matter because the marriage has already been agreed to.”

  “Allegra,” Lea scolded.

  “It’s true,” I said.

  “Nothing is ever set in stone,” Lea said. “Not even Family ties.”

  She walked to the bags at the bottom of the stairs and picked hers up, and I couldn’t help but wonder if what she’d said was a clue to the truth of everything, if I had the courage to unravel it.

  “I’m going to head out,” I said from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Allegra, wait!” Lea called from above.

  I backed away slowly. If I made it outside without rushing, then I could claim I hadn’t heard her.

  Footsteps pounded on the stairs and I sighed.

  “You unpacked already?” she asked me.

  I pointed to my birthday scarf twisted around my neck as proof. Of course, unpacking just meant dumping all my things on a chair in my room, except my leathers and dress for the fealty, which I hung carefully in my wardrobe.

  “I think maybe you should stay here,” Lea said.

  I snorted. “Stay here and do what? Sit in the house? Sharpen blades and mix poisons?”

  “That would actually be helpful, yes.”

  I scowled. “I want to see Lovero! You’ve spent my whole life talking about it and now that I’m here, I’m not going to hide from it. It’s Susten! Shouldn’t I be celebrating Safraella with the common?”

  Lea hesitated. I knew throwing the worship of Safraella at her would trip her up. She was Safraella’s chosen one, after all.

  “It might not be safe,” she countered.

  “How so? We’re in Lilyan. Caffarelli territory. You’ve spent years working toward building peace between the Families. How do you think it will look if you say you believe in peace but not enough to let your Family out of their house?”