Page 82 of The Freedom You Seek
Dion’s expression morphed into a more relaxed one. “Lor? That was your name, wasn’t it? Last night is a bit foggy in my memory.”
“I can imagine, Timenth.”
I scanned this Lor, who was speaking with too much familiarity to Dion. Her voice was definitely female, although she wore masculine clothing, and the length of her straw-colored hair was against all the unwritten rules that society was saddling women with. “You know each other?”
“Ah, that’s the woman you had trouble with yesterday?” I didn’t like the smile Lor sent to Dion or the fact he’d shared our fight with a stranger.
“It was just a minor misunderstanding.” Dion glared daggers at her and tugged me closer to him until I was almost on his lap. This time, I didn’t mind too much.
Fig interrupted us yet again. From his posture, he must’ve decided to hear Lor out. “You know where the seer is?”
Lor lazily cocked her eyebrow while slowly examining Fig, judging him with an unimpressed expression. “You’re the one in charge?”
“I am. So, are you willing to part with your information?”
“I wouldn’t have approached you if I wasn’t. But I require payment in exchange.”
“If you can guarantee that your knowledge is genuine, and we’ll find the seer with your help, we can surely agree on a suitable payment. But I need to know how reliable you are as a source.”
“The reason for the specific payment I want is linked to where I got my knowledge from. And of course, you have to give me your word that you’ll keep my secrets just as I’ll keep yours.”
“You have my word of honor. What is your price?” While Fig discussed this with Lor, I could feel Dion trying his best to avoid joining the conversation. He was basically vibrating with nervous energy, and I was curious for how long he could resist the temptation to steal the attention.
“I want you to take me with you when you leave Kalcas. You’ll have to get me out of the city undetected, and you need to ensure that you can do so. I want to vanishwithout a trace.”
“That doesn’t sound like a problem you’d need our help with.”
“Oh, but it is. See, my name is Loreli Miriana Kalcas, first daughter of Lord Osario Kalcas, precious jewel of Marsia, and I’m currently hiding from my family. When I first escaped, my disguise protected me for a while, but it won’t for much longer. Especially not if I want to leave the city—thanks to the excessive controls. Get me out and I’ll guide you to Larithia—and make sure she’ll talk to you instead of just chasing you away.”
“Fuck me sideways.” Dion’s rude curse resulted in pursed lips and a critical glare in his direction, but he didn’t seem apologetic in the least. Instead, he simply grinned back.
Fig scanned Lor thoughtfully. The final confirmation of how hard it was to leave Kalcas unnoticed was important, but we’d all wished it wouldn’t be so dire.
“Seems to me you underestimated the controls. Getting into Kalcas? No problem at all. Getting out? Almost impossible if you have something to hide. And I know for a fact that you have a strong interest in leaving the city unseen as well. And soon. My sources tell of an Ivreian convict who was spotted. Blonde, petite, in the company of five men—does it ring any bells?” Lor looked openly at me, which made me nervously bite my lower lip.
“I can easily bring us out, Fig, and you know that. The time for subtlety is over.” Dion acted bored as he casually inspected his fingernails, another one of the gestures he regularly used. “By the way, Lor, my name isn’t Timenth, it’s Dion. The others are Fig, Antas, Ireas, Thain, and thishere is Nayana. We’ll leave Kalcas through the eastern gate in three hours.”
A vein on Fig’s forehead throbbed as Dion nonchalantly trusted Lor, making a decision without discussing it with him. “And who gave you the power to overrule us all, Dion?”
“Fig, you know as well as I do that you’d have agreed on the deal as well, but only after a lot more discussing, pondering, and losing time. We have no other option. I just sped things up.”
Fig slowly rose to his feet, seething with so much rage that I was afraid the vein in his forehead would burst. Gone was the stoic man, and in his stead was one who wanted to tear Dion’s head off.
The tension only broke when an unusual sound broke the silence. A deep laugh rumbled through the room, and I had to look twice to believe who so vocally showed his amusement—it was Antas, mirth written all over his face.
My head spun to him because his outburst was just as rare as Fig losing it, and according to the other men who were staring as well, no one was used to hearing him laugh so openly. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to revolt, Dion.” Antas sounded almost proud.
“Was bound to happen. Just surprising that it took him so long,” Thain said grumpily.
Not for the first time, I felt like everyone was in on something I wasn’t, and I scowled at Dion.
“Be that as it may. I’m still in charge. But I’ll approve your plan, Dion. Just remember who you are.Youwanted it this way.” After he’d had the last word, Fig stood up andleft, and somehow, I wasn’t so sure if he’d alluded to the plan with his annoyed parting line.
It was early afternoon when we met up with Lor again. She’d left us to pack her bags and was supposed to find us near the eastern city gate.
Dion had insisted on going there earlier to monitor the situation. According to him, he’d take charge of getting us out, and if the concentrated wrinkles on his face were any indication, then he’d take the whole operation very seriously. So I was already sitting astride in front of him for a while, and even I could see Lor hadn’t exaggerated. The gate was heavily fortified, something I hadn’t realized when we’d entered Kalcas or last night when I’d wandered out. Dion had every right to be mad at me for my reckless behavior yesterday. Hot shame rushed to my cheeks, andI hid my face as I addressed Dion. “Do you suspect they control like this because of Lor?”
“Maybe. Or it’s because their prison burned down half a winter ago, and all kinds of criminals poured into the city. A lot of them went into hiding, biding their time.”