“None of your damned business,” Vada replied. “And remember, no more Kaolish. From now on, you speak only Pelagan.”

Leo huffed and made a face, but Vada’s back was to him, already striding down the gangplank, leaving him no choice but to follow.

The docks were swarming with people, mostly sailors and other rough types with weathered faces and tough, tanned skin. But there were Misarros too, striding through the crowds with imposing looks, various metals glinting at their necks and on their arms. Leo thought they would easily give the Old Port City police force a run for their money.

“I am not liking this one bit,” Vada muttered as a Misarro with a moon on her tunic grabbed an urchin boy by the collar and dragged him off. Leo kept close as they headed toward the entrance to the market, a huge archway in the center of the red-roofed structure with the words MARGORA DE ARBAZ carved above it. A woman in dark pants and a green vest eyed him as she twisted a sapphire ring the size of a walnut on her finger. There was a young man behind her about Leo’s age, with long brown curls and a slim figure. He wore a silk shirt open to his navel, and pants so tight Leo thought they must have been painted on. The woman whispered to the boy and he sashayed up to Leo.

“Looking for a date?” he asked coyly in Pelagan.

Leo had never been propositioned by a man before. “No,” he replied in Pelagan without even really thinking about it. Vada grabbed his hand and pulled him away.

“Stop that,” she hissed.

“Stop what?” he said. “I didn’t do anything.”

Suddenly, he was caught up in the crowds pushing and shoving to get through the arch, and he had to struggle to keep sight of Vada and her auburn braid. The white building was a massive portico that stretched out as far as Leo could see in either direction, its stone halls reverberating with the sounds of so many people. Then he emerged into the market itself and Vada was dragging him toward a golden building about the size of a small house, with a striped awning. Leo didn’t need to use his Pelagan to understand the sign posted on its face.

KROGERS—AURUMS

Vada turned to him, her voice low. “Okay, jackass, let’s see how precious this face of yours truly is. And act like everyone here is beneath you. Shouldn’t be too hard, no?” He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as she started shouting, “Out of the way! Mr. Byrne coming through! Make way for the Byrne!”

Leo watched in awe as the crowds parted and people in line stepped aside to usher him and Vada to the front. Many of them looked at him wide-eyed or bowed their heads when he passed.