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THIRTY

Grey

When i wokethe next morning, it took me a moment to remember where I was.

I sat up, rubbing my bleary eyes. Nedra was already dressed for the day, her long skirt flowing under a tunic, with a cloak over her shoulders, the big square pockets bulging. Her alchemical bag sat by the door, and I could see her crucible peeking out from inside it.

I stretched, yawning hugely. Nedra turned, watching as the blanket fell away from my bare chest, and a surge of heat filled me—I liked the way she looked at me. “We could stay for a little,” I said, lifting an eyebrow at her suggestively.

Nedra smirked at me, but she said, “I need to go.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“You don’t have to. It’s not like I’m getting extra credit or anything. Master Ostrum won’t even be there.”

“I’m not going for him,” I said. “I’m going for you.”

Nedra glanced at the window and the red light of the rising sun creeping through the curtains, then she turned to me, still mustering the energy to get out of bed. “You better hurry, then,” she said, mockingly. I faked a yawn that turned real, my jaw cracking. She laughed and dropped a kiss on the top of my head.

I liked that kiss just as much as the passionate one last night. This kiss was casual, easy, the kind of kiss people share when they’re certain of each other.

I dressed hurriedly in the same clothes I’d worn last night. As we left, Nedra made a point to check the lock on her door. “Thank you,” she said in such a small voice I almost didn’t hear.

“For what?” I asked.

“For being on that side of the door last night.”

•••

Blackdocks was already busy by the time we arrived. I could sense Nedra’s impatience with me; I was slowing her down from her usual schedule. Transport boats crossed the bay from the north carrying produce or tools and crafts—these were subjected to a new waiting period while one of the governor’s inspectors checked for signs of the Wasting Death among the crew. But there were ships from the mainland as well, and even some from Doisha and a grand caravel from Euris. Lunar Island was a safe port and restocking area for the surrounding island colonies and the countries to the east that traded with the Allyrian Empire.

The hospital had its own ferry that ran back and forth between the island and the dock, and there was already a large crowd waiting.

“Please,” a woman pleaded, making her way along the line of flat-bottomed boats that knocked against the stone steps of the dock. “Please take us now! I can pay!”

One of the boat drivers spit at the woman’s feet. “You couldn’t pay me enough to take a sickie.”

The woman begged some more, but a man pulled her away by the arm, saying something to her in a low voice. He led her to a group of people waiting for the hospital ferry to arrive. They huddled around a small boy with glassy eyes and blackened fingers, and my heart sank.

“There won’t be room on the next ferry for all of the sick,” Nedra said, her eyes scanning the crowd by the dock, her fingers moving as she took a silent headcount.

“We can leave room for two more seats,” I said. I went down the stone steps to the flat-bottomed boats used for local rides. “Take us to the hospital,” I said, tossing my coin at one of the closest ones.

The skipper caught it, but she looked at me questioningly. “You sick?”

“Do I look sick?” I said. Nedra held up her hands, turning them backward and forward to show that there were no inky stains on her fingers.

The skipper jerked her head for us to board her boat. The ride was quick and mostly silent. The skipper was so eager for us to disembark that she pushed her boat away from the hospital’s steps before I was even fully on the island. I slipped, almost falling into the water.

A large sign hung on a post on the steps leading up to the grand front doors of the hospital:NO VISITORS.

It was chaos inside. Aides directed people where to go, shouting down the usually peaceful corridors.

“No visitors,” an aide said when I stepped forward.

“I’m not a—”

She started to snap at me again, but then saw Nedra. “Oh, thank Oryous,” she said, rushing to her. “Can you help with the east wing?”