‘Mmhm. Honey as usual?’ Steel waves the ladle.
‘Yes, love.’
‘What about you lads? It’s nothing fancy, petals and spices. A little bit of heat and sugar to keep the cold off.’
Quickfish has settled in a chair that looks big enough for two, but isn’t. Roofkeeper is balanced awkwardly on the arm.
‘Sounds essential. Thank you.’
The cups are small, sweet things, hammered copper that catches the light and sends little pulses of warmth through his fingers.
Steelfinder hands a cup to Roofkeeper too, then joins Icecaller opposite them.
‘So, what brings you to Thell?’
Icecaller snorts. ‘They are being very fucking coy about that, love. Aren’t you boys?’
Quickfish feels his chest tighten, feels Roof stiffen a little next to him too. It all seems friendly enough here, and there was no tea in the legends. But the legends were not kind, and visitors did not walk out of them.
Roof squeezes his hand and leans down. ‘We didn’t come this far …’
Quickfish nods, but there’s a catch on his tongue, a little latch of fear. His palm itches, and he rubs the cup against it absently.
Ice leans forwards, Steelfinder’s hand on her back.
‘Look, you can tell us. In fact, I think you want to tell us. I know it’s a big old scary place and my da’s a shit-your-britches story for you Hesper kids, but I’ve known him since before he had grey in his beard and he’s softer than you think.’
Quickfish frowns and sips. ‘It’s good.’
Ice smiles. A genuine smile. Not pretty, a bit weird on her stark face, but the first real flash of joy he’s seen from her.
‘Course it’s good. It’ll put a bit of fire in you.’
She toasts him. ‘You’ve come too cold, to a cold place, Quickfish, but that doesn’t mean there’s no hope.’
Steelfinder crosses to where Nigh is playing and takes her by the wrist, bringing her back to the group, tucking her between Ice’s legs and her own and stroking her hair softly.
‘You can trust us, Quickfish. I know they all say that, but you’ve come a long way to keep your own counsel. Besides’ – she elbows Ice – ‘you have a line to the top in this one.’
Quickfish drinks again, holding the sweetness on his tongue, and swallows.
‘Why would you help me? You’ve been pretty …’
‘Obnoxious?’ Steel finishes. ‘That’s her style. She thinks it’scharming.’ She nudges Icecaller. ‘We haven’t really cured her of that yet.’
‘I’m unsalvageable,’ Ice says. ‘But I’ll tell you why you can trust me, Quick. I am impatient, I am bored and I am way too ambitious to moulder away in this cold rock for my whole life.’
She sets her cup down and leans further forwards still. ‘If we help you, we’re back in the world whether my da likes it or not. Which means we get to go out in the world, and we have a chance todosomething decent out there.’ She waves a hand. ‘Look at this! Pretty. Cosy. Dark. Unchanging. We need out if we’re going to survive. Or some of us do, at least.’
Quickfish feels a pang of sympathy as he thinks again of those grey towers and those high Hesper walls.
Icecaller looks almost guilty for a second, then bats the thought away.
‘We bottled ourselves up in here because my da, and the rest of them, waded through blood to get us free. And then we’ve … stayed bottled up in here because the South burnt, and the waves from that splashed us, even here. Where we thought we were safe.’
There’s a shake to her voice. Steelfinder rubs her back a little more softly.
‘And it’sstupid. Because if the world can get us like that, what is the point of rotting in the dark? When we could go out and do something?’
