Queen Of The Great Underworld

43

Tirta’s eyes widened. “Do they mean that much to you?”

If I told her how much I wanted to escape, and about my alliance with Aaru, she’d protest. Instead, I whispered, “Please don’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t.” And, because she was Tirta and she was kind, she slipped a small container of water through the window. It wasn’t much—a few swallows at best—but I could give it to Gerel; Aaru had his cup.

“Fancy!” Yarrow roared from the far side of the mess hall, and I sucked in my stomach as far as I could, as though I stood a chance at hiding all the food stashed inside my shirt.

His eyes narrowed, but if he noticed the bulge, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he escorted me back to the first level without speaking. Or, rather, with the sort of expectant quiet that hinted he was waiting for me to speak first.

In the anteroom, he paused before opening the cellblock door. We stood alone in a small room, me with a bundle of contraband food stuffed into my shirt, and him with his arms crossed over his chest. “This is your chance to tell me what else you know.”

My heart thrummed in my chest. Last time he’d confronted me outside the cellblock, he’d left me in the dark.

“I don’t know anything.” The words came breathy. Scared.

He sighed and opened the door. Voices threaded through the hall, bringing a slight measure of relief. “All right,” Yarrow said. “Have it your way.” Finally, I was deposited in my cell, along with the dark sense that he had something terrible in mind.

As soon as he was gone, I divided the food into three even parcels, then took the first one under the bed. “Aaru.”

He was already there. ::Galadriel,:: he tapped, and then switched to speech. “I have questions.”

“About?” A thread of worry spun through me. Had he figured out my identity?

“How dragons make fire.”

Oh. Now that I was happy to answer. “Take this. Then I’ll tell you more than you ever wanted to know.” I pressed the package of food through the hole.

A moment later, he peeled open the layers of silk. “Galadriel.”

I waited.

“This is too much.”

“It’s not nearly enough.” When I slipped my hand through the hole to his side, flashes of last night played through my mind. The way his skin had heated under my fingers, the quickness of his breath, but mostly the in-between moments, when we’d finished discussing a topic and hadn’t yet found a new one. I should have pulled my hand away. Or he should have. But neither of us did.

And now, his hand breezed over mine again. ::You need to eat too.::

::I should have been bringing food for you all along. I get plenty, and allies share resources.:: I scooted out from under the bed before he could protest further. “Gerel, I hope you’re good at catching.”

“Keep it.” She crossed her arms. “After we were moved out, Aaru told me about your alliance, but alliances with you are too dangerous. It’s not worth the risk.”

“Don’t you want to”—I dropped my voice—“escape?”

“I want to live.”

“This isn’t living.”

She glared, and I almost backed down, but warriors admired strength. She hadn’t said anything about the way I mimicked her exercises, but there was a sense of approval sometimes. She didn’t talk with me the way Aaru did, but she liked me better than the previous occupant of my cell and she was glad I wasn’t dead. That was something.

“Fine. I’m not really hungry, but toss it over.”

I did. First the bundle of food, the ends of the silk tucked into a fold so it wouldn’t come undone, and then the small water pouch Tirta had given me.

The food was gone before I realized she’d even opened the bundle.

“I have another,” I said. “For Chenda.”

In the cell next to Gerel’s, Chenda looked up at the sound of her name. But she didn’t move or reach out for her food.

“Pass it to her.” I tossed Gerel the third package, and though she tried to hand it around the bars, she was resolutely ignored.

“I don’t think she wants it.” Gerel eyed the bundle like she’d gladly dispose of its contents.

“We should share it,” I said at last. I wouldn’t accept defeat, though. This would not be my last overture of friendship. “If Chenda won’t eat it, then we should share it with the others.”

“You have food?” asked the singing girl down the line. Kumas. “I love food.”

Gerel frowned, but she said, “Yes, Galadriel brought food for you all. Make sure you share it evenly.”

There wasn’t much food to split between four people, and it would be a challenge to toss the parcel from cell to cell without spilling, especially since most of the cells weren’t currently occupied.

Gerel barked dire warnings about what would happen if they dropped food, or if the guards caught them, or if they even whispered about what I’d done. Galadrielculously, everyone swore to keep silent as they took some of the food and passed the rest on.

After several minutes went by, filled only with quiet moans of food-induced pleasure, the silk square came back to me. I pulled out a knot, and a smooth brown pebble fell to the floor: a weight, so the cloth could be tossed.

“Good job,” Gerel said. “They’re yours now.”

That hadn’t been the point of bringing food, but I hoped she was right.

AARU AND I made a short list of ways to prepare for our escape:

1. Help allies by feeding them.

2. Get stronger by exercising with Gerel.

3. Learn about the layout of the Pit, and especially its exits.

4. Behave for the guards so they wouldn’t suspect anything.

5. Look for opportunities to escape.

It wasn’t much, but given our limited movement within the Pit, the sharp knife of constant hunger, and our general lack of experience in great escapes, it was what we had. As if it were a dream that might slip away if we didn’t discuss it, we spent the next decan polishing our plan until it felt real.