If things were different, if she were flush with money, if her parents’ future was secure, if there wasn’t Iovar’s threat that he’d evict them in less than two months… or worse. If the Merchant Bank decided their home wasn’t sufficient collateral, there were a hundred different, equally horrible ways for debtors to repay what they owed, and most of them weren’t suited for a sweet pie-making older couple who just wanted to sail around nearby islands and come home to take care of their winged cats.
These people will have to find someone else.
I’m not their savior.
She was just a daughter who had to help her parents. That’s all she could be right now.
If they asked, she was going to have to say no. She’d delivered the letter. They were going to have to find their own way to Belde. She’d counted on just bringing a reply and possibly one gardener back to Belde, leaving plenty of room for other cargo.I can do that much, but no more.This—translocating an entire family—was not in her plan.
Since it was clear she wasn’t going to find a job in Alyssium—at least not without staying longer and risking her boat and Perri and all of them, which she was absolutely not willing to do—then she was going to have to resume her normal routes and try to scrape together extra runs in the outer islands. At best, she could transport one person plus their luggage. Any more than that… it wasn’t going to be possible. She had to think about her parents and be sensible. She wasn’t and had never wanted to be anyone’s hero. Just a good daughter and a good sailor, that’s all.
Entirely too many people had poured out of the tent to cluster around Yarrow’s father and read the letter. It was passed from person to person, each of them murmuring louder and louder. She heard the hope in their voices, desperate and raw, and it tugged at her.
“If they ask,” Marin whispered to Dax, “I’m going to have to say no.” She hoped he understood why. She hoped he didn’t think less of her.
They didn’t ask, though.
Ree did.
The shrub leaned his branches against her ankle. If he’d had eyes, she knew he’d be looking up at her with them wide, tears pooled. “Marin, they’re my family.”
Marin sucked in air.
In her ear, Dax said softly, “It’s your ship, your livelihood. If you need to say no, then say no. Everyone will understand. Even Ree, eventually.”
I need to say no.
The tent was stuffed with all their belongings—she could see thetrunks and dressers and tables and chairs—which they’d undoubtedly want to bring with them, filling her hold with their bodies and their stuff. She’d been right: if she took them, she’d have zero room for any other cargo. Zero jobs for as long as it took to sail to Belde, when she needed every single bit of money she could scrape together to have even a chance of paying back Iovar by the deadline.
Dax’s hand was hovering next to hers, as if he was ready to take her hand, if she wanted him to. She twitched her fingers and brushed his. He closed his hand around hers. His hand was warm and soft, and she knew he meant what he said. Whether he agreed with her or not, he’d support her. Maybe he even understood why.
Yarrow’s family was watching her, silent, with eyes wide. One of the women had deep bruise-like circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. At Marin’s feet, Ree was trembling, his leaves shaking lightly.
Her resolve lasted less than thirty seconds.
She couldn’t say no to Ree.
Knowing she’d regret this, she asked, “How many in your family?”
“Ten,” Birch said.
“Twelve,” Rowan countered.
He looked at her.
She nodded at a pale green-skinned woman whose arms were wrapped around a toddler. Both had startlingly white hair. The woman was too thin, and the toddler’s eyes were too bright, as if he’d run out of tears and only had a sheen of liquid left in his eyes.
“Twelve,” Birch said with a sigh.
Ugh, twelve. Plus her, Dax, and Ree. It would be crowded, even with the sorcerer’s expansion. They wouldn’t all be able to be on deck at the same time, which meant her passengers would be stuffed inSilver’s hold for most of the trip. It wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone. But Ree was beside her, quivering.I can’t do it. I can’t say no.They needed an escape; she could give them one. “My ship, my rules,” Marin said in a low voice. “You gather your twelve and everything you want to bring. You tell no one you’re going. No goodbyes.”
A pale blue woman with apple-round cheeks asked, “No goodbyes? Why?”
“I am certain you aren’t the only ones who want to leave,” Marin said.
Softly, Birch said, “She’s afraid it’ll start a stampede. Or a riot.”
Exactly that.“Overloaded boats sink. You want to come, you come quietly.”
