“That’s because it’s difficult to expect much of yourself when the rest of the world doesn’t bother,” Nomi returned, staring out at the waves curling toward them.

“I can see that,” Malachi said, surprising her again. “But you believe yourself capable of, well, just about anything as far as I can tell. Why?”

Nomi leaned back against the gunwale and sighed. She thought about his question for a moment. Why had she expected she could sail a boat? Or read?

“I think it’s because of Renzo,” she mused. “My brother and I are twins, and I saw him treated differently… saw him go to school, leave the house and play with the boys down the street, come home dusty and happy and free. He never needed an escort. He was permitted to speak his own mind. And yet, it wasn’t because he was bigger, or smarter, or older. I could do everything he could do. I just wasn’t allowed. I felt the injustice early and often.” She brushed her hair from her face. “That’s what I’ve always wanted. The chance to speak, to choose, to control my own future, like Renzo does.”

Malachi was silent. She didn’t look at him.

More confessions, inexplicably, found their way to her lips. “I was so angry. All the time.” Asa’s boyish grin rose to her mind, unbidden. “Your brother promised me a future where I would have power, where I could give some of that power to all the women of Viridia. For me, it was a seductive dream.”

“That’s why he used it,” Malachi said softly.

“I know that now,” she snapped. She was still angry. So angry. Angry at her naiveté. Angry at Asa’s betrayal. “I would kill him, I think. If I could.”

She glanced back at Malachi. Her words hadn’t shocked him. He held tightly to the tiller and stared at the boards of the deck, his brow furrowed.

“That’s exactly what I plan to do,” he said grimly.

Nomi hissed a startled breath.

“Can you tighten that rope over there?” Malachi pointed.

Nomi did as he asked, and the boat surged forward, wind filling the sail. Beyond the tip of the bow, land was coming into view as a smudge along the horizon.

“How long do you think it will take to get to Porto Rosa?” she asked.

“Three days, maybe four,” he replied. “We’ll stay near shore in case we need more provisions.”

Three days on a tiny boat in the boundless ocean. Alone, with him.

Nomi stared at the great dome of stars above her, her jaw slack. In Lanos, the haze of industry dulled the sky, and the palazzo was always lit with endless strings of lights. She’d never seen so many stars in her entire life, and so bright.

Lying on her back, tears trickled down the sides of her face, wetting her hair.