Prized Read Free

and fragile, the baby was hardly more than a listless bundle of blankets. The Matrarc cradled Maya in one arm and ran quick fingers over her face and arms, settling at the baby’s throat.
    Up close, Gaia saw the Matrarc’s complexion was a deep tan, with darker freckles splayed across her nose and cheeks. Her wrinkles were few. Despite prematurely white hair, which was arranged in a soft, heavy bun, the Matrarc was in her mid-thirties, Gaia guessed, and obviously competent with a baby. The clear, translucent brown of her sightless eyes was lit by an alert, trenchant expression, and then she frowned with concern.
    â€œYou see?” Gaia said.
    â€œIt’s not good,” the Matrarc said. “When was she born?”
    â€œAbout two weeks ago. She was premature.”
    â€œWhere’s Mlady Eva?” the Matrarc said.
    A woman was hurrying across the commons carrying a baby of her own. “I’m here!” she called. Her apron had streaks of red, and her dark hair was coming loose from its ponytail. “I was just putting up my preserves, but Havandish told me this couldn’t wait. Why do you need my baby?”
    â€œYou’ll need him to get your milk flowing,” the Matrarc
said. “A baby has just arrived who’s too weak even to suck. Do the best you can for her. Mlady Roxanne, take them in. Quickly, please.”
    The Matrarc passed Gaia’s sister to a tall, angular woman who gave Gaia a swift look through her glasses, then took the baby into the lodge. Mlady Eva was untucking her blouse as she hurried after them.
    â€œWait for me,” Gaia said.
    â€œNo, stay,” the Matrarc said. “We need to get acquainted. What’s your name, child?”
    Gaia peered anxiously through the screen door, but already the others were out of sight. She tried to follow, but her legs were still too wobbly. “Where are they going? I need to be with my sister.”
    â€œShe’s not your own child, then?” the Matrarc asked.
    â€œNo. Of course not.” Gaia glanced at Chardo to find him regarding her with faint surprise, as if he had been operating under the same misassumption as the Matrarc. “I would never have been feeding her rabbit broth if I could have nursed her myself,” she said to him.
    â€œI didn’t know what to think,” he said.
    â€œObviously, you’ve been through an ordeal,” the Matrarc cut in, lifting a hand. “Let me see your face.”
    Gaia backed against the railing to avoid the Matrarc’s touch. “No,” she said.
    â€œAh!” said the Matrarc in surprise, dropping her hand.
    â€œMlass, you need to cooperate with her,” Chardo said.
    Cooperating, Gaia had learned, could be dangerous. “I need to be with my sister,” she argued. “Take me to her and then I’ll cooperate.”
    The Matrarc drummed her fingers on top of her cane. “You
have that backward, I’m afraid. How old are you? Where have you come from?”
    â€œI’m Gaia Stone,” she said. “I’m sixteen. I left Wharfton two weeks ago. Now let me in there. We’re wasting time.”
    A puzzled crease came to the Matrarc’s forehead. “Why do I know this name?” she asked. “Who are your parents?”
    â€œThey were Bonnie and Jasper Stone.” A thought hit Gaia. “Do you know my grandmother, Danni Orion? Is she here?”
    The Matrarc touched her own necklace, and took a long moment before she replied. “Danni Orion was the Matrarc before me. I’m sorry to tell you she’s been dead these ten years now.”
    As the Matrarc released her necklace, Gaia saw the pendant clearly for the first time. It was a gilt-edged monocle, and the familiarity of it stunned her. Years ago, in one of her earliest memories, she’d seen the same monocle in the sunlight as her grandmother twisted it to dazzle her.
    â€œYou have my grandmother’s