Silver hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Think about Hiyyan waiting back at the river caves,” Brajon said. “He probably misses you. If he’s still even there.”
“Don’t say that,” Silver cried. Then she lowered her voice so passersby wouldn’t overhear. “Even if our plan goes as easily as you just laid it out, we can’t leave before the afternoon. If I don’t race Hiyyan … if I don’t claim him, he could be as easily stolen as Kirja was.”
“Race him? No way. Why can’t he hide? Kirja was in hiding for years.”
“But Kirja was found. And now that Sagittaria knows that Aquinder exist, it’ll only be a matter of time before Hiyyan is discovered. I have to do everything I can to protect him.”
“Our focus is to rescue Kirja,” Brajon said as he threw up his hands. “Not for you to go off and race water dragons for a thrill!”
“It’s not about the thrill!” Silver shook her head. “You don’t understand. I know that what’s best for my water dragon is to make sure he can never be stolen. If you want to go, then go. I can find Arkilah myself. Maybe I’ll ask the cleaning girl for help.”
“That’s it?” he said. “You want me to just go?” Brajon’s face was turning pink. “After everything I’ve done. You couldn’t have gotten this far without me. You would have been run down by that cart if not for me. You would have been torn to shreds by that cave monster and sucked alive by the worms and—”
“If not for you, I could have swum Hiyyan through the cave river, arrived a day ago, rescued Kirja, and gotten back to Jaspaton by now!”
“Then take that creature and fly to the other side of the world. Maybe there, you’d find people who actually like you.”
Silver sucked in a pained breath. Brajon had never spoken to her that way.
“I’d rather have a Flying Black-Eyed Scorpion help me than a two-faced Dwakka like—”
“Be quiet, you two!” There was that fierce whisper again. The cleaning girl had appeared out of nowhere and was glaring at them both. “Follow me.”
She darted to the end of the road and turned the corner. Behind the buildings, a narrow alley bathed in shadows stretched farther than Silver could see. The girl disappeared into it.
“Come on,” she said over her shoulder.
Silver avoided her cousin’s gaze as she went into the alley. Brajon followed behind her, but only after sighing loudly to let her know how irritated he was.
“Here,” the girl said. She waited for them, holding a plain door open.
Silver stepped inside. It was a tiny room with only a single small square window to let in what little light from the Calidian lanterns could find its way there. When Silver’s eyes adjusted, she saw a mat with a blanket on one side of the wall, a small ceramic bowl, and a pitcher filled with steaming water. There was also a small pile of clothes, neatly folded, in one corner.
“Where are we?” Silver asked.
“In my room. This is the back of the inn. Well, a little cubby in the back of the inn.”
“This is your home?” The cleaning girl’s face closed off at Silver’s tone of disbelief. Silver’s cheeks flushed. She hadn’t meant to upset the girl, but she was taken aback. The girl didn’t have books or pictures or cushions or anything that made it seem like it was hers. “What I meant was that we can’t stay in your home. It’s too generous.”
“I’m not offering it out of charity. You said you could pay.” The girl rolled her eyes and held out her hand.
“Oh.” Silver reached for her coins, counted out enough to fit in a circle in her palm, and passed them to the girl, who scrutinized them.
“I was hoping for more, but this will do,” the girl said, tucking the coins into her apron. “Since you’re a friend to water dragons.”
“What do you mean?” Silver asked.
“I overheard one of the men in blue talking about a street urchin with badly cut hair who stopped the theft of their dragon. I assume that was you.” The girl pinched her nose. “Not too many people in this area fit that description.”
“We’re not street urchins,” Brajon said. “We’ve just been traveling a long ti—Ow!” Silver was grinding her heel into Brajon’s toes.
“We helped a water dragon, yes,” she said.
The girl nodded. “A friend of water dragons is welcome here.”
“But where will you sleep?” Silver looked around the tiny room.
“In the kitchen,” the girl said. “I sleep there half the time anyway. The cook loves to give me tasks in the middle of the night and she doesn’t want to come all the way back here to wake me up.” She put on a defiant face, but Silver saw her exhaustion.
The girl pointed to the basin. “I brought you hot water for cleaning.”
“We got the message from the owner of the inn. We smell,” Brajon said drily.
“Mr. Homm would never let dirty kids like you in there. Besides, we’re full until the dragon races are over, at least. Better get down to the seawall early tomorrow if you want a spot to watch. People start heading there before sunrise.”
Silver bit her lip. They had to find Arkilah and get Kirja soon. “And where do we find the seawall?”
The girl shot her a quizzical look. “Don’t you know anything? It’s the wall that meets the ocean, of course. First through third are south of the docks. I’m going to try to watch some of them. If Mr. Homm lets me. There are more than a hundred dragons in Calidia right now trying to qualify. Or just be registered.”
“You know a lot about these races for a cleaning girl,” Brajon said.
The girl glared at him. “You don’t know anything about me,” she said, but then turned away and swallowed hard. She seemed to pick her next words carefully. “I know how to listen. No one thinks much of someone like me, so they talk freely. I know more gossip than anyone in this city. You should see all the racers and squires sitting around, boasting about their dragons. They’re all sure they’re going to qualify here and then win the final cup at the Spring Festival. The deals, the treachery, the amount of money that exchanges hands as bets…” The girl shook her head. “I could start my own kingdom with it. Anyway, I have to get back to work, or Mr. Homm will come looking for me and we’ll all be sleeping down at the docks tonight.”
“Wait,” Silver said. “What’s your name?”
“Mele,” the girl called over her shoulder. Then she disappeared around the corner, and Silver and Brajon were left alone in the tiny room.
TWENTY-FIVE
Silver sighed with happiness as she lowered her hands into the washbasin. Brajon had offered to wait outside to let Silver wash up first: his way of apologizing for their argument. There was a small piece of soap in the basin, so Silver wet her new scarf and lathered it up, then wiped down her skin. When she finished, she tried to wring the dirt out of the scarf, but it was stained. So much for that pretty orange color she’d loved.
She poured some water over her head, watching gunk and suds rinse out of her hair. The water in the basin was now black. She could hardly blame Mr. Homm for turning them away. Especially when there were guests as smartly dressed as those men in blue they had followed into the inn. She wondered where they were from and what kind of water dragon someone had tried to steal from them.
Brajon rapped on the door. “Are you done yet?”