Divined by Emily Wibberley

and Clio realized he was young. Maybe even her own age. His hair was curly and brown, and his skin was dark, darker even than her own.
    “Where am I?” Clio asked, pushing off her blanket and finding that someone had dressed her in a thin, plain shift.
    “In a small inn in the western quarter of Cearo.” He knelt at her side and ran a hand lightly along her stiff bandages.
    The room was bare, with only a small fireplace and bedding for three. There was a narrow window set in one wall, and Clio caught a glimpse of a red tower outside.
    “Cearo?” she repeated, confused. Cearo was days from the Empire’s border.
    “The Red City,” the man said, not unkindly.
    “I know what Cearo is. It’s just, how did—where are my—I was travelling with two young girls,” Clio stammered, not wanting to tell this strange man too much.
    “Your sisters are at the market. They asked me to check in on you while they were gone.”
    Clio grabbed his wrist, pushing his hands off her. “No offense, but my sisters and I are private people. I’m struggling to understand why they would trust you enough to leave me alone with you. Who exactly are you?” Ixie and Ashira should have known better than to let this man in unguarded. It would be all too easy for someone to find out who Clio was and what she would be worth to the Emperor. Even outside the Empire, greed and politics could easily send Clio straight back to Morek. They needed to keep to themselves.
    The man laughed. “To be honest, I don’t think your sister Ixie likes me very much. But I’ve been checking on you for several days now, and Ashira really needed help at the market today. My name is Ealis. And you are?”
    “You don’t know my name?” Clio looked to the door, hoping Ixie and Ashira weren’t far away.
    “Your sisters didn’t say. They don’t talk much beyond asking how you are doing.”
    “Maia. My name is Maia,” Clio said quickly.
    He looked at her a moment too long as if he knew she was lying. But the moment passed, and he smiled at her like nothing was wrong.
    “It’s nice to meet you, Maia.”
    Clio nodded, uncomfortable. “Did my sisters say when they would be back?”
    “They didn’t.”
    “I suppose I can’t convince you I’m not in need of watching?”
    Ealis’ grin broadened. “Probably not. Can you stand?”
    “Of course,” she answered, desperate for this man to leave. There was something about him. As if he knew too much or he was hiding something. Maybe both. Either way, she didn’t trust him.
    “Would you be so kind as to demonstrate for me?” he asked, returning to his stool in the corner of the room. He didn’t think she would be able to do it.
    Clio bit her lip. She pulled her knees to her chest, sucking in a breath at the sting the movement caused in her side. Blowing it out, she placed her hands beneath her, ignoring the stiffness in her scarred palms as she tried to push herself to her feet. She almost got to her knees, but then something seemed to tear in her gut as her muscles failed, and she crashed back into her bed, biting back cries.
    “So you’re from the Empire,” he began, settling more firmly on his stool, clearly without any intention to leave Clio alone.
    “I didn’t say that.” She felt her side, feeling the thick row of stitching holding her flesh together.
    “You didn’t. But Cearo is one of the few cities safe from the Emperor’s reach. With the increased offerings, more and more people have been fleeing the Empire and seeking shelter in Cearo. I just assumed you were one of them.”
    “And your king simply lets all these runaways in? I would think it hard to resist the demands of the Emperor.”
    Ealis straightened his robes. “Cearo doesn’t have a king. We are ruled by the Council of Six Prophets. And no, the council doesn’t mind. Slavery is not tolerated in Cearo. For generations, slaves from every land imaginable have found their freedom here. We see no man as greater than any other.