A Throne for Sisters. Морган Райс

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СКАЧАТЬ it was the way the river in front of them had sprung into life with the barges and boats hurrying to make the most distance upriver they could. Some moved with small sails, others with poles pushing them or horses towing them from the side of the river.

      Around them, Kate could hear the rest of the city waking up. The bells of the temple were sounding the hour, while in between, she could hear the chatter of a whole city’s worth of people making their way to work, or setting off on other journeys. Today was Firstday, a good day to begin things. Maybe that would mean good luck for her and Sophia, too.

      “I keep having the same dream,” Kate said. “I keep dreaming about… about that night.”

      They always seemed to stop short of calling it more than that. It was strange, when they could probably communicate more directly than anyone else in the city, that she and Sophia still hesitated talking around this one thing.

      Sophia’s expression darkened, and Kate immediately felt bad about that.

      “I dream about it too, sometimes,” Sophia admitted sadly.

      Kate turned to her, focused. Her sister had to know. She’d been older, she would have seen more.

      “You know what happened, don’t you?” Kate asked. “You know what happened with our parents.”

      It was more of a statement than a question.

      Kate scanned her sister’s face for answers, and she saw it, just a flicker, something she was hiding.

      Sophia shook her head.

      “There are some things it’s better not to think about. We need to focus on what happens next, not on the past.”

      It wasn’t exactly a satisfying answer, but it was no more than Kate had expected. Sophia wouldn’t talk about what happened the night their parents left. She never wanted to discuss it, and even Kate had to admit to feelings of unease every time she thought about it. Besides, in the House of the Unclaimed, they didn’t like it when orphans tried to talk about the past. They called it ungrateful, and it was just one more thing worthy of punishment.

      Kate kicked a rat off of her foot and sat up straighter, looking around.

      “We can’t stay where we are,” she said.

      Sophia nodded.

      “We’ll die if we stay here on the streets.”

      That was a hard thought, but it was probably true, as well. There were so many ways to die in the streets of this city. Cold and hunger were just the start of the list. With the street gangs, the watch, disease, and all the other risks out here, even the orphanage started to look safe.

      Not that Kate would ever go back. She would burn it to the ground before she stepped back through its doors. Maybe one day she would burn it to the ground anyway. She smiled at that.

      Feeling a hunger pain, Kate pulled out the last of her cake and began to wolf it down. Then she remembered her sister. She tore off half and handed it to her.

      Sophia looked at her hopefully, but with guilt.

      “It’s okay,” Kate lied. “I have another in my dress.”

      Sophia took it reluctantly. Kate sensed her sister knew she was lying, but was too hungry to deny herself. Yet their connection was so close, Kate could feel her sister’s hunger, and Kate could never allow herself to be happy if her sister was not.

      They both finally crept out of their hiding place.

      “So, big sister,” Kate asked, “any ideas?”

      Sophie sighed sadly and shook her head.

      “Well, I’m starving,” Kate said. “It will be better to think on a full belly.”

      Sophia nodded in agreement, and they both headed back toward the main streets.

      They soon found a target – a different baker – and stole breakfast the way they’d stolen their last meal. As they ducked into an alley and gorged themselves, it was tempting to think that they might live the rest of their lives like that, using their shared talent to take what they needed when no one was paying attention. But Kate knew it couldn’t work like that. Nothing good lasted forever.

      Kate looked out at the bustle of the city before her. It was overwhelming. And its streets seemed to stretch forever.

      “If we can’t stay out on the street,” she said, “what do we do? Where do we go?”

      Sophia hesitated for a moment, looking as though she was as unsure as Kate was.

      “I don’t know,” she admitted.

      “Well, what can we do?” Kate asked.

      It didn’t seem like as long a list as it should have been. The truth was that orphans like them didn’t get options in their lives. They were prepared for lives where they would be indentured as apprentices or servants, soldiers, or worse. There was no real expectation that they would ever be free, because even those genuinely looking for an apprentice would only pay a pittance; not enough to ever pay off their debt.

      And the truth was that Kate had little patience for sewing or cooking, etiquette or haberdashery.

      “We could find some trader and try to apprentice ourselves,” Kate suggested.

      Sophia shook her head.

      “Even if we could find one willing to take us on, they would want to hear from our families beforehand. When we couldn’t produce a father to vouch for us, they would know what we were.”

      Kate had to admit that her sister had a point.

      “Well then, we could sign on as barge hands, and see the rest of the country.”

      Even as she said it, she knew that was probably just as ludicrous as her first idea. A barge captain would still ask questions, and probably any hunters of escaped orphans would watch the barges for those trying to escape. They certainly couldn’t rely on someone else to help them, not after what had happened in the library, with the only man in this city she had considered a friend.

      What a naïve fool she had been.

      Sophia seemed to get the enormity of what faced them as well. She was looking away with a wistful expression on her face.

      “If you could do anything,” Sophia asked, “if you could go anywhere, where would you go?”

      Kate hadn’t thought about it in those terms.

      “I don’t know,” she said. “I mean, I never thought past just surviving the day.”

      Sophia fell silent for a long time. Kate could feel her thinking.

      Finally, Sophia spoke.

      “If we try to do anything normal, there are going to be just as many obstacles as if we shoot for the biggest things in the world. Maybe even more, because people expect people like us to settle for less. So what do you want, more than anything?”

      Kate thought about that.

      “I want to find our parents,” СКАЧАТЬ