As soon as she was gone, Octavia seized my arm. “Have you lost your mind? Those meetings are treasonous. If we’re caught, it’s not just punishment — it’s execution.”
“You know Tarshi is half-Talfen,” I replied quietly. “What do you think the Empire would do to him if he stepped out of lineeven once? You saw how Drusus and the others treated him and he was a slave just like us.”
“I don’t know why you trust him so much, even now.”
“Tarshi is one of us, Tavi. He fought with us, bled with us. He has protected me with his life more times than you know.” I shook my head. “The Empire has spent generations teaching us to fear the Talfen, to see them as demons rather than people. What if it’s all lies? What if people like Suura and Tarshi are just caught between two worlds that refuse to accept them?”
Octavia ran a frustrated hand through her hair. “This isn’t about prejudice, Livia. It’s about survival. These gatherings are dangerous. People disappear for less.”
“My parents died trying to broker peace with the Talfen,” I said softly. “Did you know that? They believed the war was wrong, that there could be another way besides endless bloodshed.” I touched the blue beads in my pocket. “I’ve spent so long focused on vengeance that I forgot there were other dreams they had — dreams of peace.”
Octavia’s expression softened. “You can’t save everyone, Liv.”
“No, but I can listen. I can try to understand.” I squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to come. I know it’s asking too much.”
“And let you wander into a den of potential Imperial spies alone?” She rolled her eyes. “I’d never forgive myself when they dragged your stubborn corpse through the streets.”
“So you’ll come?”
“Yes, but if we’re arrested and thrown into the Emperor’s dungeons, I’m blaming you entirely.”
I laughed, surprising myself with how genuine it felt. “Fair enough.”
Octavia shook her head, but I caught the ghost of a smile. “You’re impossible,” she sighed.
“But never boring,” I countered, linking my arm through hers as we began making our way towards the warehouse district of the city, and towards yet more danger.
The night bell had sounded by the time we reached the old tannery, its crumbling walls barely visible in the dim light of the quarter moon. The stench of the tanning pits still lingered faintly in the air, enough to keep most people away — exactly why it made the perfect meeting place for those the Empire would rather silence.
Octavia squeezed my hand as we approached the weathered door. “Last chance to change your mind.”
“And miss this chance to see others fighting for change as well? Never.”
I knocked as instructed — three sharp raps, a pause, then two more. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then the door cracked open, revealing a burly man with the distinctive amber flecks in his eyes. He assessed us silently.
“Suura invited us,” I said quietly.
He nodded once, then stepped aside to let us enter. “Keep your voices down and your hoods up,” he warned. “For your safety as much as ours.”
The tannery’s main floor had been transformed. Gone were the vats and racks, replaced by scattered seating where two dozen people already gathered in hushed conversation. Candles burned in recessed alcoves, casting just enough light to see without being visible from outside. Some faces bore the telltale blue tint of Talfen blood, but many were fully human, their presence surprising me more than anything.
“I didn’t expect so many…” Octavia whispered.
“People who see through the Empire’s lies?” a familiar voice finished.
I spun around, my heart lurching painfully in my chest as I came face to face with Tarshi. He looked different here — more himself somehow. Taller, if that was possible.
“Livia?” The shock in his voice mirrored my own. “What are you doing here?”
Words failed me. I hadn’t seen him since the night before. I frowned. Was that a bruise on his cheekbone?
“I could ask you the same,” I finally managed. His gaze flicked to Octavia, then back to me, and I knew he was worried about her. She hadn’t exactly been one of his biggest fans so far.
“This isn’t a game, Livia. These people risk everything to be here.”
“I know.” I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “I’m not here to play games, Tarshi. We met Suura today, and when she invited Octavia to this gathering... I thought of you. Of what you face every day. I wanted to come.”
Tarshi’s eyebrows shot up. “Suura invited Octavia?”
