The man outside the prison who worked toward freeing Raya was named Saring. His letters were the only thing that kept Raya sane throughout her isolation. She asked him why he offered his help to her—he said only that his life had been forfeit the day Raya had spared him. She asked what his plan was to free her—he wrote back that he thought their days in the yard were the best opportunity. Raya and her friends had only been allowed to walk around the yard once so far. Today was their second opportunity.
Raya spoke quietly with Benn and Dondar, while Avri paced anxious circles around them. “He said that the Delivered are at war with the City Watch now. Sounds of fighting are heard daily. The roads between Pranan’s Hill and Massed Alley are filled with blood.”
“And Hallist? And your people, your faction?” Dondar asked.
“They were forced to join with the Delivered,” Raya said quietly.
Avri cracked her knuckles loudly and turned to face Raya. “It’s my fault we’re in here, Raya. I am sorry I did not save you from Axar.”
“It’s not your fault,” Raya said. Avri had repeated similar apologies when Ramas’ sergeants had first arrested them.
“It is,” Avri insisted. She slid onto a simple log bench nearby and Raya stepped closer to listen to her explanation. “On the day we freed prisoners from Pranan’s Hill, I watched Axar walk to a specific cell and free a specific woman. I didn’t know her, and I did not hear what he said to her. All I know is that she left the prison separately, so as not to join our group. I knew then that Axar schemed apart from you…. I should have spoken of it that very day, but I waited to see further proof of his betrayal. Alas, I waited too long, and we rot here because of it.”
Raya could scarcely understand the schemes that had centered around her, let alone Axar’s other actions. How could I have been so blind…? she wondered. She shrugged and looked at Avri with sympathy. “I don’t blame you, Avri. Axar fooled us all. If Saring’s plans work, we’ll have an opportunity soon enough.”
“How soon?” Benn asked. “You’ve been coughing all morning and you’re pale….”
“I’ll be fine, Benn,” Raya insisted.
Dondar leaned against the bench beside Avri. “How soon?” he repeated. His features were more gaunt than usual. They had all been living in the prison for two months now, and they were all growing thin and unhealthy.
Raya didn’t have an answer, but their attention was distracted suddenly by the noisy roll of a wagon. The two-horse vehicle pulled crates and supplies away from the main building and down the cobblestone path toward the front gate of the jail. Raya noticed a bundle between the boxes at the back of the wagon—a human shape, wrapped in funeral clothes, and being brought away for a more permanent interment elsewhere.
An idea occurred her quite plainly. I could be that body, she thought. She could ride the wagon out without anyone being the wiser, if they thought she was dead. Or even if she hid in a crate. That was a way in and out of the prison.
“Someone out there is watching us,” Benn said, bobbing his head toward the gate.
Raya followed his gaze. Sure enough, a man wearing a long tan cloak stood amidst the passersby across the street. He looked familiar to Raya, and soon enough she placed him. That must be Saring. He gave her a nod, for a wave would have been too conspicuous. She nodded back.
As the guards escorted the prisoners back to their cells—and Raya to her room—rain began to fall over Ith. That evening she wrote another note to her hopeful rescuer and suggested the wagon. Of course, she needed to spare her friends their captivity as well. It seemed unlikely to fit all of them into the wagon and there seemed to be no schedule to their yard days.
Raya couldn’t see the rain from her bed, but she could hear it. She let the gentle sound lull her to sleep.