“Which is?”
“We don’t know where Kirja’s being kept.”
There was a knock at the door. Silver grinned. “Right on time.” She threw the door open.
Mele stood in the alleyway, still wiping sleep from her eyes, holding a small plate of herby eggs.
“Good morning, Mele,” Silver said. “Brajon and I have some questions for the girl who hears everything in this city.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Mele’s eyes widened and she turned to run, but Silver grabbed her by the arm. She pulled the girl into the room, then slammed the door shut.
“Ow,” Mele said. “You’re strong for someone so small.” She glared at the cousins and rubbed her arm.
“I need you to help us,” Silver said. “Since we’re both friends of water dragons, of course. We need you to take us to the woman called Arkilah. She reads the stars in the Maze Market.”
“The Maze Market is three levels and many streets deep. You think I know where one woman is in that labyrinth?” Mele said. But Silver saw the way Mele’s eyes darted to the door.
Silver folded her arms across her chest and moved to block Mele from escape. “Last night you said you hear everything—”
“Everything about the races,” Mele said. “But there are hundreds of thousands of people in this city. I don’t know the whereabouts of one!”
Silver nibbled her bottom lip. Mele definitely had information Silver wanted, but how to get it out of her? She reached into her bag and pulled out a silver coin.
Mele’s face went dark. “You think you can bribe me?”
Silver hesitated, but she held out the coin anyway. “Think of it as a token of appreciation. You also said last night that this was the closest place to the water dragons.”
Mele took the coin, dropped it in her apron pocket, and shrugged. “It’s closest to the palace, and everyone knows the dragons are near the palace. That doesn’t mean just anyone gets access to the Royal Pools.”
“But you also said you couldn’t leave. Couldn’t. Not that you don’t want to leave. Why do you have to stay close to the water dragons?”
“None of your business,” Mele said. “I shouldn’t have helped you two. I thought you were a friend to—”
“I am a friend to water dragons.”
Silver took a deep breath. This was the riskiest part of her plan. What if she was wrong about Mele? She continued talking, more softly now. She had to be right. “But I know what I heard in your voice last night. I know how you feel, because that’s the same way I feel. I know what it’s like to be bonded to a water dragon. To an Aquinder.”
Mele gasped, and her eyes sparkled dangerously.
Silver rushed on, the words tumbling out. “I know what it looks like. And I see it in you.”
Mele froze, and her expression went blank. Silver’s heart thumped in the too-long silence, and she became convinced that she had been wrong to reveal her secrets. She glanced at Brajon, prepared to run for it.
But then Mele’s chin quivered. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know because—”
Mele whipped around. “No! You don’t know what they’ll do to us if they find out about the bond.”
“Then tell me,” Silver cried. “What will they do?”
Mele’s eyes went wild, and her fingers clenched and unclenched. “I can’t tell you anything. I don’t know everything anyway. But I do know one thing: I’m safe here, and my water dragon is safe where she is. I can feel it. That’s the best we can hope for right now. Probably ever. Maybe someday if I earn enough money, I can buy—”
“Her freedom?” Silver said. “Why should you have to when you belong together? Mele, help us. If we can only find Kirja, the Aquinder I’m looking for, we can make a plan to rescue her. You can release your dragon, too. We’ll all flee together.”
Mele licked her lips. “An Aquinder?” She laughed quietly. “I didn’t think they existed.”
“No one knows. Please don’t tell.”
“I won’t,” Mele said.
“Thank you. Now, if you can help us find Arkilah, she’ll help us get Kirja out of Calidia before the races start.”
Mele shook her head. “Sorry. I can’t risk everything for a couple of strangers who actually believe Aquinder exist. For all I know, the desert might have muddled your brains.”
The old Mele was back. Right when Silver was starting to like the girl.
Mele sighed. “I can tell you two things, but after that, I’m done with you, and with the races. Leave me out of it. Deal?”
Silver shared a look with Brajon, but she knew all the treats in the world couldn’t coax a desert fox if it was too skittish. And Mele was certainly skittish.
“All right,” Silver said. “Tell us what you can, and after that we’ll never bother you again.”
“There’s an unofficial prize for the winners of the Autumn Festival semifinals. Have you heard of the Winners’ Audience?”
When Silver shook her head, Mele’s expression went smug. “Well, you hardly know anything about the races, so I’m not surprised.”
“Get on with it,” Silver groaned.
“If you’re one of the five qualifiers, you earn an invitation for a dinner and an audience with the queen in the palace that night. She allows each winner to ask her for one favor … Within reason, of course,” Mele said. “Most of the time, racers ask for money. It’s so common that I’ve heard there’s a little table set up next to her throne in advance with a line of boxes filled with coins.”
Mele leaned in conspiratorially. “One year, a racer asked for his greatest rival to be killed.”
“Killed?” Brajon looked nervously at Silver.
“Don’t worry. Queen Imea laughed in his face and dismissed him from the palace. Rivals have been killed before, but not as official royal protocol.”
Silver winced. Dragon theft … huge bets … murder … Water dragon racing was turning out to be more dangerous than she’d anticipated. But none of it changed her mind. Silver rubbed the water dragon mark on her wrist again. Racing was what she was made for.
“We don’t want anyone killed,” Silver said.
“No, but if you’re one of the five finalists, you get to ask Queen Imea for a favor, and—”
“Kirja,” Silver breathed. “I could ask for her freedom. How do I become a finalist?”
“You start at the bottom,” Mele said. “The top two from each semiqualifier move on to the five qualifying races. Then, it’s win at all costs.”
Brajon opened his mouth as if to protest, but nothing came out. Silver was filled with triumph. Finally, things were going her way.
“Thank you for this information,” she said. “Now, we need to find Arkilah. That’s our first plan. I also need to get down to the seawall and get registered to race, just in case Arkilah doesn’t work out. Winning will be our backup plan.”
Silver tossed her bag over her shoulder and got ready to leave, but she paused when Brajon spoke up.
“Wait! Mele had two things to tell us, remember? What’s the second thing?”
“Oh, that.” Mele shrugged. “Only that the woman you seek, Arkilah, is very likely dead.”
Silver’s mouth dropped open. “No!”
“Arkilah was famous around here,” Mele said. “She used to take most of her evening meals at the inn. One day, she told us she’d been invited to the palace. She went in, and that was the last anyone has seen or heard of her. That was three years ago. Most people think she told someone a bad fortune and was disposed of.”