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I’m not here for what you can do for me, Cirri said firmly. I’m here because of what I can do for you.
“Is that so?” Sifka picked up a pipe from her messy desk, striking a match and lighting it; pungent smoke billowed as she eyed Cirri. “And what might that be?”
Cirri hesitated only briefly. You may have heard the rumors that the lai Darrans are all dead. I’m the only one left.
“We might’ve heard something of the sort.”
The rumors are true. This is the estate key. Cirri touched the knobbled key around her neck. Whoever possesses it now owns the deeds and rights to the lai Darran lands and fortunes.
“Well, la-dee-dah,” Sifka snapped, sending another plume of smoke into the air. The tiny room was now harder to penetrate than the mist of the Rift; from the pungent scent, the quality of her tobacco had gone the same route as the rest of the Cathedral. “Are you here to rub my nose in it? I gave you away, and now you need your last laugh? Good for you! How wonderful that you’ve inherited yet another vast fortune on top of your marriage! Is that what you want to hear?”
No. Cirri unclasped the chain in one quick motion, holding out the key. I’m here to give it to the Sisterhood.
Sifka stared, frozen with the pipe at her lips, as Cirri held it out. A long, still moment passed. My wife finally gave up, dropping the key on top of a stack of papers, and Sifka leaned forward with sudden snake-like quickness.
“What in the Lady’s name makes you think I want your charity?” she spat. “Do you know what they say now, when they say your name? That even the Sisterhood’s acolytes love the vampires.”
To my surprise, and the Eldest’s—Sifka reared back in affront—Cirri rolled her eyes upwards for a moment.
It’s not meant as charity, she said, signing with sharp, snappish gestures. And I can’t help what they say. I’m here becauseI want nothing to do with those lands—I have no good memories, nothing tying me to them. But they’re rich in farmland, in apiaries and silkworms. It’d be irresponsible to let them fall into total decay.
I’m offering it to the Sisterhood as repayment for my education. I owed you fifty more years of indentured work. If not for that education, I wouldn't be where I am now. The Sisterhood ensured not only my life, but my life’s work, then gave me away with the debt intact, and I’m trying to repay that.
Sifka sucked her lower lip, gimlet eyes peering at Cirri over the fug of pipesmoke. “Repayment, eh?”
There was another long silence that stretched between them, but this one was less awkward, and more of a silent understanding.
You know the vampires are here to stay, Cirri said. The blood shops grow ever more popular. I’ve heard some weddings have even taken place here. The Sisterhood as it stands now will die a slow death. But you don’t serve yourselves; you serve the Lady of Light. If I can repay my fifty years of debt with this key, then I too serve the Lady in my way. Bring the Sisterhood to the estates and start over. It’s good land, good money. There’s no need to cling to a dying tradition in this city when it’s already moved on without you.
Sifka made a face at that, her wrinkles deepening for a moment, but she puffed the pipe in contemplation.
When the silence stretched too long, Cirri sighed. It’s not charity. It’s years owed for an education. The Sisterhood did save my life once; now I can repay that.
“No strings attached?” Sifka asked sharply. “I won’t have you as our overseer.”
No strings, Cirri promised. Rename the estate what you want. Make the most of it. It’s no longer lai Darran land and I have no desire to see it, nor hold a single coin of its profits, ever again.
The Eldest Sister stared at her hard, and finally snatched up the key. She tucked it into her robes, hiding her shaking hands. “Well, then.” She exhaled, puffed the pipe, peered at me. “Well,” she repeated. “Debt’s paid, then.”
I wish you all good fortune, Cirri said sincerely. May the Lady smile on you.
She turned and had nearly managed to scrape past me to the door when Sifka coughed and barked out, “Wait!”
Cirri turned, her eyes gleaming even through the smoke.
Eldest Sister grimaced, hesitating, and finally said, “It was kindly done, Cirrien.” She looked as though she were in physical pain from the not-quite-gratitude.
Cirri nodded, smiled, and swept through the door. Both of us breathed deeply of the air down in the hallway, the dustiness a thousand times cleaner than the cheap tobacco.
“Not even a real thanks,” I grumbled. “You handed them a fortune. That was worth far more than fifty years of servitude.”
Cirri glanced up at me sidelong, amused. Nobody likes to think they need charity. It wounded her pride. Besides, I didn’t do it for thanks. I really did sell them fifty years of my life for an intense education, and I feel that the Lady, or Mother, or whoever might be out there, would be a little miffed if I ran off on the debt after it brought me to where I am now. It’s only right that I pay what I owe, and give the Sisterhood a way to start over into the bargain.
The Silver Sister who had let us in opened the cathedral door, hiding in the shadows until we passed.
It was the last time I ever needed to step foot into the Silver Cathedral; I gave it one last glance in farewell. It was where I had met Cirri, which made it special in some way, but it was more of a memory of the place she’d escaped than anything special.
I held the carriage door open for her.
I couldn’t just let them die out, she said suddenly, still standing in the street. They take girls from all walks of life. If not for them, Light knows where half of the Sisters would’ve ended up. My parents might have just tossed me in the street to fend for myself. But they bring the girls in and give them an education and keep a roof over their heads. It was the only home I’d ever really known. Yes, Eldest Sister is horrid, and yes, they hate vampires, but they do some good in this world and I couldn’t stand to see it ruined.
“You don’t have to justify yourself. That was entirely your choice, and I believe it was a good one.”
Cirri stared up at me, the white towers reflected in her green eyes, and suddenly smiled. Her shoulders relaxed, the tension flowing out of her. From the moment the steward brought the key to Ravenscry, putting the lai Darran estates and family burials into her hands, she had been knotted up with worry of what to do about it.
Now it was gone, her decision made and carried out.
It was the right choice, she said. The only choice. And now I’m completely free.
With that, she ducked into the carriage, pulling me in after her. I barred the door, grabbed my wife, and pulled her onto my lap before knocking on the ceiling.
The carriage lurched into movement, and Cirri tipped her head towards me, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth.
To hell with this trip, she said suddenly. Let’s go home.
“So desperate to get back to work?” My tongue flicked out, playing over the smooth skin of her throat, and she shivered with pleasure.
A little, she admitted.
I raised my brows and tilted my head, angling my mouth towards that delicate point on her throat where her pulse danced just under her skin.
Mostly desperate to be away from here, she said, and I kissed the soft thump of her pulse, feeling its speed as she gazed out the window. This place is the past to me now. It’s meaningless. I want to be at home with you.
“And your books and pens and quills and stories…”
Cirri gri
“I do understand what you mean.” I glanced out at the streets of Argent, the choked rows of houses, stacked one on the other, the ever-present smog. I missed the cool, clean air of the Rift, the winding forest paths we could walk together. “To home, then, Lady Scrollkeeper. The work won’t wait, and neither will the bed.”
How glad I am that you know me so well. She pressed her forehead to mine, eyes closed. You hear me, and I love you.
I wrapped my arms around her, a far cry from that first carriage ride, holding her close and savoring the beat of her heart under my palms. With my blood in her veins, it would beat for eternity, binding her to me more closely than any charm ever could.
My Cirri. The fire of my life, the light in the darkness.
I took her hands, kissing her silver-laced fingers, and slowly, carefully formed words in her language as her smile widened.
You see me, and I love you.
THE END