Page 74 of The Lost Reliquary

“Better, now. With any luck, it may even be done with soon.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“What?”

He sits. “It’s only that you sounded a touch disappointed.”

Had I? Did a sliver of emotion slip out unintended? Maybe Nolan isn’t the only one who’s not quite as in control as usual. “I suppose it would be a shame to leave behind Cyprene’s charms so quickly.”

“She is stunning. But your work must take you many interesting places.”

“Actually…” I gaze into the amber drink, at a fragment of leaf drifting on its surface. “I haven’t gotten to see as much of the world as I’d like… yet.” Rion gives me a questioning look. “Bit of a strict upbringing.”

“Ah.”

Thankfully, he doesn’t inquire further about that. “Have you always lived on the island?”

“Oh, no. I was born on the mainland. Been years since I was last there, though.”

“What brought you to Cyprene?”

Rion’s smile lessens a little. “Well, the freedom to broaden my wares, for one. I was… hmm, I suppose you might have called me a historian. More than texts, though, I collected information. Or tried to. Much of what I considered valuable, the Goddess’s devoted deemed… inappropriate.”

“I understand completely.”

“That made me a few enemies over the years,” he continues, “and I don’t mind the healthy distance between me and them.” Rion brightens. “But that’s ancient history. I’m one who prefers to focus on the future.”

Me too. I think of Cleophas, and theSquid. Wonder where they are now, whether they’ve returned to where we started or are making their way to one of the ports I saw on the captain’s charts. “Have you ever traveled farther than Cyprene? Beyond the Devoted Lands?”

“Alas, only in books. Is that where you’ve got a mind to seek your fortune? Or does a financial motivation only appeal to your employer?”

I give a little shrug. “We’re definitely not after the same thing.”

“Hmm,” he says carefully. “If you don’t mind me prying, whatareyou seeking?”

“I… don’t know.” The honesty slips out before I can stop it. Freedom, yes, but as to what shape that takes exactly? A harder question to answer. Cleophas’s maps were full of places I could go yet can’t imagine myself in. Not because I can’t picture them—chains of islands as lush as the green ink they are painted with, a land full of vast, sweeping plains, markings that tease cities unlike any in the Devoted Lands… No, it’s the possibility I’ll feed those dreams, fatten my desires, only to arrive at a moment where they become truly, entirely unreachable. The disappointment that would bear… I shy away from the thought. For all the progress made on our hunt, the reality of being no longer bound to the Goddess remains a shimmering, distant thing.

Rion’s observations have been on the mark, though. Even as my tether to the Goddess continues to tighten, if we found the reliquary tomorrow, I’d hate the sight of Cyprene growing smaller in the distance. “At least, I’m not sure,” I explain. “Not yet. But there’s certainly a lot to offer in Cyprene. With less restrictions too.”

“Enjoying the reprieve from the holy law of the land?”

Fear jolts me, as if my secrets have been spilled into the open. But new arrivals marveling at the looser, freer way of life here must be a common occurrence. “I can’t deny it.”

“Yet another reason I stick around.”

“Who else is going to peddle the divine smut?”

Rion laughs, then quiets briefly. “People come to Cyprene for many reasons. Some they stay for, others they don’t. But I have noticed that it offers a… a sort of clarity not found elsewhere in the Devoted Lands. Perhaps your stay here can help you to find what path you wish to follow.”

“Maybe.” I wish it were as easy as saying so.

“Tch.” Rion sits straighter. “I’m keeping you from what you came for. You’re welcome to browse the shelves. Or I can dive into the mess if there’s a particular story or topic you have in mind.”

I almost turn him down, enjoying the relaxed, almost cozy comradery (this,I think,thiswould be a welcome regularity), but he’s right. I came here for a reason. A historian, he’d called himself. A collector of information. “Do you have anything old? Like really old, from whenallthe gods were still alive?”

His brow furrows. “A strange request.”

“Nothing heretical.” I don’t know why I say it. Why would he care? “More like… books or stories about what life was like then. It’s all curiosity,” I add. “I’ve always wondered, but it’s not something one should ask about back on the mainland, y’know?”