Chapter One
Responsibility was overrated. Sure, it sounded good â take control of your own life, make your own choices â but that also meant you had to pay for your own mistakes. And if your life and choices hadnât gone the way youâd planned, well, then your mistakes might reach deeper than your pockets could afford.
I hoped mine were deep enough for the mess Iâd caused.
I watered the lake violets in the front sunroom. Just busy work, but I had to do something other than sit in the town house worrying while my friends were out risking their lives. I should have been out there with them, but Iâd been recognised on our last rescue mission, and it wasnât safe outside for me any more. Not that Geveg had been all that safe in the five years since the Baseeri invaded; but being hunted by the Duke, his soldiers, Gevegâs Governor-General, and who knew how many trackers added a whole new level of danger.
âIs Aylin back yet?â asked Tali, lurking in the doorway. Some girls hovered behind her, a few Takers weâd rescued last week but hadnât managed to smuggle off the isles yet.
âNo,â I said, âsheâs still out looking.â So was Danello, but Tali always worried more about Aylin, which was silly. Aylin could take care of herself â Danello was the one with the street smarts of a hen.
âIs it bad that itâs taking so long?â
I hesitated. âI donât know. It depends if the recruiters are snatching people off the street again.â
The Takers behind Tali paled and backed away. None had been grabbed by the Healersâ Leagueâs new ârecruitersâ, but we all knew people who had been: pulled from their homes, dragged to the League, forced to heal â even if it killed us.
It was nine shades of wrong. The League used to invite only Takers with strong healing talents to become apprentices, those who had real futures as Healers. But now? You didnât have a choice. The Duke demanded that any Taker with even a trace of healing ability had to serve at the League. The lucky ones were trained. The unlucky â they wound up in a small, windowless room somewhere, being experimented on.
The Duke of Baseer had his war to win, whatever the cost to us.
âIâm sure theyâre fine. Thereâs nothing to worry about.â
I glanced at the Takers behind Tali, slipping away one by one to go cower in their rooms. It shouldnât be this way. The Healersâ League was supposed to train Takers to heal and help. Becoming a Healer used to be something every Taker dreamed of, like Tali had. Like I had.
Now it was just a nightmare.
Tali hadnât moved, and she had that little-sister-stubbornness look about her again. âShould we go look for her?â
If only I could. They had been gone an awfully long time. âYou know we canât leave the town house.â
âYou canât, but I can.â
âYou canât either. It was hard enough rescuing you from the League once. Iâm not letting them get you again.â
She pouted, her brow wrinkling the way it always did when she was trying to decide if it was worth an argument or not.
âYou can help Soek with lunch,â I offered. âYou know how much he needs it.â
âHeâs making that fish stew again,â she said. âTook me three days to get the smell out of my hair last time.â
âMaybe you canââ
âNya, I can help with the Takers, you know I can.â She stared at me, defiance in her brown eyes, and tucked a curl behind an ear. Sheâd dyed her blonde hair red, like Aylinâs used to be, and it had put some fire into her as well.
âItâs just too dangerous right now,â I said more gently this time. âCan you please check on the others and make sure theyâre OK? You know how scared they are. Iâm fine here, really.â
Tali didnât say anything, but the defiance was gone, replaced by concern. âAre you sure?â
âYes.â
âReally? Because you donât seem fine.â
âThatâs âcause someone keeps pestering me while Iâm planning how to smuggle people off Geveg.â I meant it as a tease, but Tali folded her arms and frowned.
âYouâre not planning, youâre watering lake violets and looking miserable.â
âI can do both.â I grinned, but she clearly wasnât buying it.
âNya, you donât have to be miserable.â
My grin vanished. Iâd earned my misery, but Iâd paid the price for Taliâs life willingly, a life for a life. It shouldnât be easy to toss that guilt overboard. Besides, everything here in Zertanikâs town house, was a constant reminder of what Iâd done, who Iâd killed. It didnât matter that he didnât need it any more, or that it made the perfect hiding place. There was some justice in selling off his stolen loot to help the very Takers heâd tried to hurt, but not enough to make it right.