“I don’t think you’re giving either of them enough credit. I think it’ll be good for them both. It may take several sessions for them to work out the wrinkles—”

  “Wrinkles? More like tsunami waves, and you know who's going to be drowned in the tsunami? I can tell you it won’t be Ursuna.”

  “Sábria. Listen to yourself. If it was any other shiv, you would have nodded and moved on to the next item in the morning’s report. Ailith doesn’t need kid gloves. Yes, she’s had a rocky start here. But if you’re overprotective, we’re going to see all kinds of problems with her and with the other shivs, who’ll be wondering why they’re second best in your book.”

  Gweyir walked out of the bedroom with a half-eaten apple in her hands. “Sounds like you’re treatin’ whoever yer talkin’ about with too much of Elyon’s bear and not enough of th’ beast.”

  Sábria rose and straightened the collar on Gwe’s tunic. “She’s been through a lot. She’s the Dreyuthan who rose to your bait last night.”

  “Th’ Dreyuthan? Yer treatin’ a peasant from the Dreyuthan Mountains with kid gloves? Are ye crazy, woman? There’s none tougher or crazier or wilder than a Dreyuthan peasant. If ya don’t keep yer thumb firmly pressin’ down on her head, ye’ll be shakin’ yer dizzy noggin’ when she blows up in yer face. Me second mate’s a Dreyuthan peasant. I threw him overboard one time because he sassed me in front of me crew. When he climbed back aboard, he pulled his forelock and apologized, then went on to eat his supper like nothin’ happened.”

  Sábria looked from Gwe to Shirin and then shook her head. “I have to admit, that’s exactly what Ailith does, too. The first time I met her, she made me so angry I whipped her before I’d even accepted her into the Blades. She basically pulled her forelock and looked at me like I’d whipped her with a wet noodle.” She held up her hands. “Okay, okay. I get it.” She walked Gwe to the door. “Will you be back this evening?”

  “I have a better idea. I come pick ya up, and we’ll spend th’ night in me cabin.”

  There’d been a few times over the turns where Sábria had slept on the Polperro. She’d loved the gentle rocking and the sound of the waves lapping against the side of the ship. “That would be wonderful.”

  Once Gweyir had gone, Sábria returned to the breakfast table and wrapped her arms around Shirin’s shoulders. She kissed her cheek and asked, “Now, how did you and three hundred people keep the secret that Gwe was alive and in Sarlogne from me, hmm?”

  Shirin took hold of one of Sábria’s hands. “Well, yesterday afternoon, I was eating at the Broken Tooth with Ursuna and Terrowyn. I happened to see the Harbor Master hurrying up the street toward the Temple. That was unusual enough that I stopped him, and he blurted out that he’d seen the Polperro sailing around the point. I ran back to the docks with him, and sure enough, it was the Polperro, and, well, the plan just formed in my head. I thought it would lift everyone’s spirits to be in on the surprise, and what better way to celebrate than to have a Bladefire night? When Gwe docked, she thought it was a wonderful idea and readily agreed.”

  Patting Shirin’s shoulder, Sábria snatched a piece of toast off her friend’s plate, and before taking a bite, she looked directly into her eyes. “I guess I’ll forgive you for not immediately bursting in here with the news. It was the most wonderful surprise I’ve ever had in my life. Thank you.”

  “You’re quite welcome.”

  “Now, at the risk of sounding like a mother bear, you said Ailith’s next session with Geller started at ten bells?”

  “It did.”

  “Then I’m going to check in to see how things are progressing.”

  “I’m coming with you. If I made a mistake, I need to be there to help fix it.”

  Apparently, they’d gotten off to a late start because Geller was just going into the bathing rooms as they came through the dormitory door. Rather than let them know they were there, Sábria chose to stand where they could look through the gap between the door and the frame and listen to what was being said.

  Ailith was soaking in the hot water when Geller returned with an armful of clothes. The Prime was wearing a stretchy pair of trews and a tighter-than-normal tunic. She tossed the pile of clothes at the shiv. “Okay, ya can get out. Put these on, and ye’ll wear ’em every time we meet.”

  The clothes were similar to what Geller had on, and since Ailith thought the Prime looked ridiculous, she scrunched up her nose and held the clothes at arm’s length. “Why? Bein’ naked don’t bother me none.”

  “Not that I need to explain myself to ya, Shiv, but I’m gonna do it anyway. Bein’ naked may not make ya nervous, but me touchin’ ya does. I figure th’ less nervous ya are, th’ less stupid stuff comes outta yer fanghole, so if we cover yer’ girl parts,’ as ya put it, ya don’t have to worry about me accidentally touchin’ ’em ‘cuz I gotta get up close to ‘em to massage and stretch that ligament area.”

  Ailith had been relieved to see that the Prime hadn’t followed up on her threat to bring her whip with her that morning. She was in the middle of pulling on the stretch trews when she heard the last bit of Geller’s explanation. “Yer what?” She blushed and stopped with one leg in the trews and the other out. When Geller just raised her brows, Ailith bounced around, trying to get the second leg in. “Yer no…yer…ya…fowk…what…?”

  Geller actually chuckled. “That just about covers it all, don’t it? Now get in th’ deeper hot one, and I’ll start gettin’ yer leg stretched out.”

  “I just go outta the hot—"

  Geller easily picked Ailith up and threw her into the larger bathing pool. When she finally righted herself, the Prime stepped down into the water and growled, “I don’t never repeat meself to shivs. Now get over on that bench.”

  When Ailith reluctantly did as she was told, Geller pointed to the leg. “Can I touch ya?”

  Swiping her hair out of her eyes, Ailith reluctantly moved to the bench and grumbled, “Ya don’t need to ask every fowkin’ time we do this.”

  Geller’s hand was around Ailith’s throat so fast, the shiv had no idea the woman had even moved. The anger in the Prime’s eyes was frightening, and Ailith leaned back to put as much distance as she could between them.

  The woman moved with her and spoke quietly as though trying to control her anger. The tight hold she had on Ailith’s throat spoke differently, though. “Here’s some rules, Shiv. I ask ya a question, ya answer politely. When ya do answer, ya don’t swear at me. Any questions about those two simple rules?”

  Ailith’s mouth had gone dry, so she just shook her head.

  Geller released her hold. “Sit.” She went through the same range of motion exercises as they’d done the night before, only this time, when it came time to work on the ligament, Geller placed her fingers on either side and lightly squeezed.

  There was no time to be worried about where the Prime’s fingers were because pain shot up Ailith’s spine and exited her mouth in a gasp. In the same instant, Ailith grabbed Geller’s hand off and held it away. “What th’ fowk!”

  Geller glanced down at the strong hand holding her wrist and waited for Ailith to release her. “It’s gonna hurt, Shiv, so grittin’ yer teeth will accomplish two things. It’ll help ya take th’ pain…” she grasped Ailith’s jaw in her hand and leaned in, and growled, “…and it’ll keep yer mouth shut since ya insist on swearin’ at me, which is gonna start all kinds of problems between us, ya ken?”

  “Aye, Prime. Ya just surprised me, is all, and when I’m surprised, usually th’ first word outta me mouth is f—” The fingers squeezed Ailith’s jaw tighter, and Ailith, who wasn’t slow by any means, stopped talking.

  Geller patted her cheek. “Better. See? Ya can learn, after all.”

  Out in the hall, Shirin scratched her head and whispered, “Well, Ursuna’s doing better than I thought she would.”

  Lifting a brow, Sábria reluctantly conceded the point and kept watching.

  Ailith braced herself when Geller put her fingers on either side of the ligament.

  “Now, I’m gonna massage th’ ligament while I push down on th’ leg. I’ll do it slowly, and ya tell me when to stop, aye?” She gently pushed down, then paused and shook her head. “Ya tightened up anticipatin’ th’ pain, so,” she touched Ailith’s thigh with her free hand, “close yer eyes and feel yerself relaxin’ this muscle.”

  Ailith did as she was told but couldn’t seem to relax that part of her leg.

  “Breathe in. Good. Relax right here.” She tapped the thigh. “Feel where me finger’s touchin’ ya, and concentrate on th’ muscle under it. Now, breathe out.”

  They did that several more times before Ailith finally felt the muscle relax a minute amount.

  “There ya go. Now….” Geller slid her palm beneath Ailith’s butt.

  Ailith almost said something rude but pursed her lips to stop herself.

  “This is a big muscle. I want ya to feel me hand, concentrate on what yer feelin’, and relax that muscle just like we did on th’ thigh.”

  After a time, Ailith was able to relax the butt muscle, which, for some reason, loosened the ligament in front a tiny amount.

  As soon as Geller felt the ligament loosen, she pinched a little tighter and ran her fingers along its length. When Ailith pulled in a painfilled breath, the hand stopped and moved back the way it had come. “There, Lass. Relax yer butt again, close yer eyes, there ya go.”

  She spoke so softly that Sábria turned and blinked at Shirin in surprise.

  For her part, Shirin, who was just as surprised, blinked back and cocked her head.

  Sábria took her friend’s arm, and together they retreated to the courtyard. “Well, a bit rough at first, but I don’t think I need to worry about Ursuna sending her to the Goddess any time soon. Maybe you’re right. This might be good for both of them.”

  “Well, I have to admit, I was a little worried when she grabbed her by the throat, but…it all worked out in the end.” She grinned at Sábria’s amused eye roll.

  One of the Blades came to ask Shirin a question, and Ailith was forgotten as the normal daily activities began.

  CHAPTER 35

  Ailith sat in her room after the morning session, wondering what she was going to do with the rest of her day. Geller had threatened her with unspecified dire consequences if she undid all their work by visiting the ‘poxy noble,’ so she’d decided to put that little diversion on hold until her leg healed.

  Even though she’d need to walk through the Codpiece, the thought of visiting her friend, the jokester, appealed to her. She hadn’t been down to the docks in quite a while, so she tucked her book in the back of her pants, adjusted her knives until they were comfortable, and headed out. As she was pulling the door shut, she glanced back at her sword standing in the corner of the room. She still wasn’t in uniform, but the idea of walking through the Codpiece without it gave her pause.

  Realizing she’d rather anger some people than end up dead, she reentered her room and strapped on her sword. The gate guards nodded at her as she left the compound, and as she walked away from the Temple, the bright day cheered her. She smiled as she looked up at the few clouds floating above the taller buildings blocking the horizon.

  The stench of the Codpiece met her before she saw it, and she wrinkled her nose. That smell of rotting food, piss, and unwashed bodies always took her back to her childhood when she’d had to pick through the maggots and other trash to find an apple core or a piece of rotten meat that hadn’t yet turned green. Even now, her stomach twisted into knots, ready to heave up her breakfast if she dared think too hard about what she’d had to eat as a seven or eight-turn child.

  She saw several skellies and nints along the way, reminding her to keep an eye out for the curly-headed mop that covered the head of Terrowyn’s Ghost. She squinted, trying to remember if she’d seen the irascible Senior Guardian at the Bladefire. Mentally searching each group of women in her mind, she realized that unless she was badly mistaken, Terrowyn hadn’t shown. She wondered whether that was because of the whipping Shirin had given her for treating the healer the way she had or whether there was a more practical reason.

  Word was that Terrowyn searched for the skelli during her shift as time allowed, came back to the Temple to sleep for a few candlemarks, and was back on the streets again after a quick meal. Remembering all the cases of wound rot she’d seen over the years, Ailith focused a bit more of her attention on finding the skelli.

  When she reached the docks, she saw that the Boulston was gone, and another, smaller ship was tied in its place. She walked below the pier and pulled out her book. No one was around, and she made herself comfortable against the pylon and started on her letters.

  A half candlemark passed before her friend, the jokester, pushed his head above water. “Hey, yer late.”

  The jokester bobbed his snout up and down and then leapt backward and swam a little way down the length of the rock-strewn beach. Ailith went back to her book but soon heard the distinctive chitter she’d come to recognize as the jokester’s way of speaking. When she looked up, the beast leapt backward again and swam the same direction down the beach.

  By the fourth time this happened, Ailith was wondering if the big animal was trying to tell her something. Setting her book down, she walked to the edge of the water and waited for it to reappear. The smooth, round head emerged, but instead of lifting out of the water, it swam to the side and stared at her out of the small round eye on that side of its head.

  Ailith thought an experiment might be in order. She stepped the opposite way it had swum, and the animal immediately rose up in the water and began chittering. When she turned around and headed the way it apparently wanted her to go, it submerged and slowly swam in that direction.

  Watching the fin as it glided through the relatively still ocean waves, Ailith grabbed her book and stuffed it down her pants. “Okay. Yer th’ boss.” She had to climb over and around several jagged rocks, and when she felt her thigh muscle pull more than it should have, she stopped and glared at the fin. “Fowk. She’s gonna think I were havin’ fun with Ryn and won’t believe I was out here followin’ ya around like some fool idiot.”

  The jokester noticed she’d stopped, and it circled back and waited for her to start walking again.

  “Okay, okay. I’m comin’.” She walked, climbed, and slid over rocks for a quarter candlemark or so before the beast raised up about ten yards in front of her and began chittering again. When she came opposite him, she searched the water, trying to see what had him so agitated.

  He swam forward, apparently as far as he could, turned and swam away from shore, and then swam violently forward again, sending a splash of water onto the shore. He did this two more times until Ailith climbed over the largest rock to peer down on the other side.

  She didn’t see anything at first, but then she realized that what she’d mistaken for brown seaweed was the exact same color as Ghost’s hair. “Oh no. Goddess, no.” She slipped down the other side of the rock, pulling her muscles even more. As she stepped closer, Ghost’s head and the rest of her body came into view.

  The skelli was halfway submerged, and the only reason she hadn’t been washed out to sea was that she was wedged in between two large rocks. Ailith put her fingers to the girl’s neck like she’d been taught in the army. The girl was burning up, and Ailith was shocked to find a steady pulse beneath her fingers. She wondered whether the fever was what had driven the skelli to the cold ocean waters. Even though the girl was wearing trews she’d probably stolen from the Temple, Ailith could see her one leg was swollen to twice its normal size.

  She carefully pulled the emaciated body free and hefted her into her arms. Before leaving, she glanced out at the jokester, who seemed to be smiling at her. “Thank ya, me friend.” The beast chittered a happier sound this time, bobbed its head several times, and swam out to deeper waters.

  There was no hope for it. She had to scramble back over the rocks trying not to injure her leg any more than she already had. When she reached the dock, she turned up the narrow back road leading to the alley that would take her to the Broken Tooth. With any luck, she’d find a Blade there who could help her take Ghost to the Temple. Normally, it wouldn’t be any difficulty at all carrying a chit that didn’t way more than a copper coin, but her leg was throbbing now, and she knew that carrying even the little extra weight was doing more damage to her muscles.

  When she limped out of the alley onto Coral Lane, someone up the road at the Broken Tooth jerked upright before leaping over the table and sprinting toward her. She recognized the Senior Guardian immediately.

  The dawning shift Prime had jumped up in response to Terrowyn’s quick departure. She was faster than Terro and had almost caught up with her when the Blade pulled up short and stared at the limp body in Ailith’s arms.

  Osstendler grabbed Terro’s arm. Whether to steady her or to keep her from attacking her, Ailith couldn’t be sure. Osstendler quietly said, “Is she…?”

  Coming late to the realization that both Osstendler and Terrowyn thought Ghost was dead, Ailith opened her eyes wide and practically shouted, “No! She’s alive. We just need to get her to the Temple, is all!”

  It seemed to Ailith that Osstendler had to prop the Guardian up before Terrowyn regained her composure. After a moment, Terro came forward and gently took Ghost from her arms. The two women turned and began walking toward the Temple, expecting Ailith to follow.

  Instead, Ailith had to prop her hands on her knees for a moment, waiting for the pain in her leg to subside.

  Osstendler said something to Terro and then came back to where Ailith stood. “What’s the matter, Ailith? Are you all right?”

  Ailith straightened and smiled, “Oh, aye. I’ll be fine.” She couldn’t help cringing each time she set her left foot down, though, and knew the Prime would figure out what had happened.