We race toward the rail where the Nameless have gathered, and, impossibly, they are jumping over the rail and running toward us. I don’t know what to expect: that they’ve seized the opportunity to come for me or that they’re after Hat. But something in my heart soars as I realize they’re rushing to protect us from the guards.
I lift Hat as we get to the rail, and a tall, burly Nameless man in a heavy jacket and crooked cap reaches for her. Any other day, I might have been scared of this man. But he takes Hat from my arms and sets her on her feet on the other side of the rail as I clamber over myself.
Belrosa is shouting something incoherent behind me. The crowd is surging. Legals and Royals flee the area as bullets rip through the air. I run toward the open city gates, and I don’t dare look behind me. I grip Hat’s shoulder to keep her moving forward to the nearest building, needing to round a blind corner so that no one can get a fix on us with their rifle sights. I try to focus my thoughts enough to make Hat and myself invisible. But all I can think is run faster, run faster.
As we careen around the corner, someone else skids around the other side. It’s Glenquartz, holding his rifle in his hands, face red from exertion. I pull Hat up to a short stop, twisting her behind my body, wishing I had a weapon, any weapon. Glenquartz’s shoulders slacken when he sees us unharmed, and he gestures for us to follow him toward the city.
Of course, Glenquartz. Of course.
A large stretch of empty space stands between us and the city—a lot of open ground. But we don’t have any choice. We race onward.
One of Belrosa’s guards is gaining on us. I glance behind me. He’s pulling his pistol from his holster. A gunshot cracks, and the man collapses, blood spurting from his leg. My attention snaps forward, and I see Devil standing at the gate to the city, peering around the corner with her long rifle in her hands. The bodies of two posted guards are at her feet, and I don’t have time to ask if they’re alive or not.
As we rush through the gates, Devil abandons her post and joins us. “I knew you’d escape. You care about that one too much.” She gestures at Hat. “I thought I’d give you some cover.” She grins.
I smile back.
Together, we run.
CHAPTER 11
Once we’re inside the city, my first instinct is to run to the abandoned library at the western edge of the Inner Ring. Instead, I follow Glenquartz. He leads us through West Market and into the Royal Court. Everything in my bones burns at the idea of returning to the palace, but it’s the last place they’d search for us. Yet Glenquartz leads us to a collection of simple brick houses on the outskirts of the Royal Court. I hold Hat close as we walk. Glenquartz has draped his jacket over her shoulders so that no one can see her shackled wrists behind her. As soon as we find a concealed alley, Glenquartz fumbles through his pockets until he finds his keys. He frees her and throws the shackles angrily down the alley. I take quick note that even the alleys in the Royal Court are cleaner. Neat, tidy drains that funnel water into the sewers.
Glenquartz leads us down another couple of streets before he opens the door to a small house. He ushers us into a bright living space. Devil stays outside, saying that she’ll keep watch on the streets for a while to make sure no one is following us. As soon as Glenquartz shuts the door, he rushes to close the curtains. Dim shade fills the room like silence.
He checks the bruises on Hat’s wrists. “You’re all right?” he says, more a sigh of relief than a question.
She nods, choking back tears. She’s been in Seriden’s prison longer than most Nameless. I raise an eyebrow in concern, and she won’t meet my gaze.
My heart tightens, and I pat Glenquartz’s arm. “Can you bring her some water and food?”
He doesn’t want to leave her side, but Hat’s hand flutters to her stomach, and the hungry pinch of her lips sends him fumbling his way into the kitchen.
I sit beside Hat and gently put my hand on her shoulder. “Tell me.”
Instead she shows me.
Her ribs. Her ankle. The back of her neck. Cracked, twisted, and bruised. She tells me about her cell, the food she could hardly eat, the water she was scarcely given, and the fight with another prisoner that she barely survived.
At last, she looks up. I can tell she wants to wrap her arms around me, but I hold off for a moment.
“Don’t look down,” I say, and my voice cracks. “When you tell the truth, don’t ever look down. Don’t be ashamed and don’t be afraid. The truth isn’t something you control. It’s something you live with, and if you want to let it make you stronger, it has to be something you own.”
Silently, tears slip down Hat’s cheeks. She looks up at me and nods. I pull her against me, breathing the scent of sweat and dirt from her hair.
“Things happen to us,” I say, “things we can’t control and things we don’t want. But we are more than what happens to us.” I say it as much to myself as to her.
She sniffs, pulling out of the embrace. “There’s something else. It didn’t happen to me. It was someone else.” She takes a moment to steady her hands. “There was a Nameless boy in a cell near mine. Not quite across. I couldn’t see his face. I could see his arm if he reached out, but…he was arrested sometime before I was brought in, and three nights later he was taken.”
“To the gallows?” I ask gently. “Or…”
“No. Some kind of soldier took him in the middle of the night. They kept it very quiet, and I saw it because I couldn’t sleep anyway. They took him, and they walked out and never came back. I don’t know what happened to him.”
“Was it the Royal guards?” I ask.
I sense Glenquartz’s aura sharpening in the kitchen, and I know he’s listening. I ignore him.
“I don’t know,” she says. “They had weapons like the ones I’ve seen the guards carry. Rifles or muskets, I’m not sure which. They were wearing similar clothes, but it was too dark, and I couldn’t see whether it was the Royal Guard uniform or not. I don’t think they were, though.”
I pat her shoulder. “Everything will be okay.” It feels like a lie, but it’s the best I can do.
The soldiers she’s talking about could be foreign soldiers from another city. But if I had to guess, it makes the most sense for them to be Royal guards, which means they’re probably answering to General Belrosa.
Glenquartz returns into the doorway. “I’ve warmed up some vegetables and corn bread for you.” He brings a plate to Hat and then me.
“Thank you.” I scan the room quizzically as Hat scarfs down her food. “This is your home.”