Another woman with short, light-brown hair and amber eyes—traits I recognized from Radiant Tomorrow citidome, on the far side of Iamos—stepped forward. This, I assumed, was Syrin. “We’d be happy for them to enter our household, if the citizens are amenable.”

Eos tugged his earlobe and stood. He called something out in the old language. I couldn’t quite translate it, but I remembered it from my studies with Gitrin—a phrase from one of the old regional republics, before the Progression. At his words, the people around us all stood. Apart from the other outsiders, I didn’t see anyone who remained seated.

Ceilos leaned over to me. “Stand to be counted,” he whispered. I tugged my earlobe. Like Gitrin said—it was a vote.

The Ferre smuggler smiled. “Wonderful. Thank you, friends.” She turned to the plivoi couple and said softly, barely loud enough for me to hear, “Welcome. After the forum, Syrin and I will get you settled in our household.”

As they took their seats again, Gitrin rose beside me. Like the smuggler, she began, “Degiim, friends. Our next refugee pair also comes from Hope Renewed. They are two youths, raised in the underground, who are in desperate need of sanctuary.” I noticed that she didn’t name us, nor did she mention just who we were. I wondered if that was deliberate. “Like most of us, they have been persecuted by the geroi. They have escaped from a very dangerous situation, and risked much to come here. I would like to request they be allowed to stay in my household, if the citizens are amenable.”

The crowd before us had fallen silent. Unfamiliar eyes stared at me, their expressions wary. The smiles and pleasant murmurings that the plivoi couple had received were nowhere to be found. I shifted awkwardly in my seat, and Ceilos put a hand on my knee.

Finally, a woman near the back stood. She glanced at me, then said, “Gitrin, you cannot conceal it from us. We all know that these children are geroi’s blood.”

Marin stood up. “Come now, Giulin,” she said, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. “We are not the geroi, with their sects and castes. The doors of Elytherios are open to all who wish to embrace a life of liberty and equality. Remember who I was. Everyone can change, and they deserve that chance.”

A man rose from the bench across from us, holding a sleeping child against his chest. “But you were not geroi’s blood. These two will not be permitted to simply disappear. The geroi will be looking for them—they probably already are. If they find them here, we’ll lose everything.” His arms tightened protectively around the child. “Every moment we allow them to stay here, our families are in danger.”