Eluvie clawed at the edge of the tub as soon as the wooden cover was removed, but her arms lacked the strength to pull her up. She was forced to wait the interminable seconds until someone pulled her out and dumped her onto the floor. Then, she lay, weak, helpless, and coughing up the liquid, while they dried her off. Someone removed the cloth stuffed into her nostrils and she drank in sweet, clean air while they gave her a fresh blindfold.

"Sit up," Lady Mirab said.

Eluvie tried to obey, but her arms would not move.

Someone kicked her - perhaps an attempt at forcing obedience - but it proved fruitless. Lying down and gulping down air was all she was capable of.

"It seems that I'll be seeing you tomorrow then," Lady Mirab said.

Her steps seemed to echo all over the bathroom as she left. In her mind, Eluvie begged her to return, but her voice was as weak as the rest of her body.They brought her food to the bathroom. She heard the plates clatter to the floor beside her head. Someone nudged her with a foot.

"Eat," Bitu said, "don't stall."

Eluvie didn't move and, thankfully, they didn't bother her. They were being more accommodating today. The last two days, when she still had enough strength to respond to Lady Mirab, they had forced her to quickly eat and then sent her back in. Now, she supposed, they needed her to be well enough to eat. She could survive without air, apparently, but not without food.

"What will you do about the rent?" someone asked. It was Piri, the second-newest attendant. She had been around for barely six months.

"I'll try to find some extra work," Bitu said.

Piri scoffed. "No, really. What will you do?"

Bitu said nothing.

"Hasn't she done this before?" Piri asked. "How did you survive?"

"We've lost a month's pay before," Bitu said, "but not six months. My landlady knows that I have a good job, so she'll allow the occasional late payment. Not for free; her interest rate is diabolical. But I don't think she'll let me live for free for six months. What about you?"

"My rent is due tomorrow," Bitu said. "We were supposed to be paid today. My landlord is a demon. I'll be sleeping on the streets tomorrow night. Say, do you have extra room?"

Piri chuckled. "You can sleep under my daughter - as long as you pay the penalty my landlady will demand."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Bitu groaned loudly. "What does she expect us to do?! I won't last a week on the streets."

"A night," Piri said. "You won't survive a night. If you can, try and hide in the palace. If you don't know where to hide in the city, it's brutal. And she won't change her mind. She never does."

"Then, how does she actually expect us to live?"

"She doesn't. Some of us won't make it till the end. Those that do won't make a mistake in the future."

Eluvie spoke for the first time. "It won't end," she said.

She kept silent until Piri prompted her for more.

"Tomorrow," Eluvie said, "I plan to bite Lady Mirab." She could lift her head, but she smiled anyway. "That will extend your punishment by one month. The day after that, I'll spit on her. That will be another month. Even if she doesn't consider that rebellious enough, I'll find a way. And you'll never be paid again."

"She isn't that unreasonable," Bitu said.

Eluvie laughed and Piri, surprisingly, joined her.

"We'll just tell her about this plan," Piri said.

"Go ahead," Eluvie said. "Let's see what good that does."

"And how will it help you?" Piri asked. "How does it improve your situation? It doesn't. Do you know what I heard from Lady Mirab's attendants? She doesn't plan to stop punishing. She says that you're only well-behaved when you're being punished. So, she'll never stop. If your mind gets damaged, she'll put you in the sun, let you heal, and then keep going."

Eluvie gritted her teeth.

"So, who do you think is worse off?" Piri asked.

Eluvie pulled herself up with difficulty and adjusted her blindfold.

"Congratulations," Eluvie said. "You're better off." She felt around for her plates until she found them: two slices of bread and two eggs. Even when they increased her allotment, they did it ridiculously.

“Anyway,” she said, “You don’t have to worry about your rent. I have money.”

She could feel their confusion.

“What do you mean, you have money?” Piri asked.

“I have money,” she said.

“On the second floor,” Eluvie said, “leave the clinic and head toward the grand hall. In the hall before the staircase, count fourteen steps from the first pillar. There is a gap between two floor tiles. There is a diamond in there.”

“Where would you get a diamond?” Piri asked. “And why would you give it to us?”

“You have odd priorities,” Eluvie said. “You can’t get full price for it, but you can definitely cover this month’s rent. I think. I don’t know how much your rent is.”

“Where did you get it?” Piri asked again.

“I have many more,” Eluvie said. She tore off a chunk of bread and put it in her mouth. “Every time Mirab gets too close to me, I take a jewel from her sleeve. I don’t know how she hasn’t noticed it. Or perhaps she doesn’t care.”

“You -” Piri took a calming breath. “How much do you have?”

Eluvie had lost count. “Enough,” she said.

“And why would you give it to us?” Bitu asked.

Eluvie shrugged and continued eating. “You want all my reasons? Naturally, to make you grateful to me. To tie our fates together. For the next six months - no, even longer - how you feed your families, how you stay out of the rain, when you don’t get assaulted on the streets at night; all of that will be my gift to you.”

“Why?” Bitu asked again. “No matter how indebted we are to you, we can’t help you.”

Couldn’t they? She had five watchers - excluding the guards posted around the palace. With this scheme, she gained partial control of two of them. But, most importantly, she gained control of Piri. Piri had worked there for six years, the longest tenure besides Madam Ria.

So, in a few days, when she pushed Madam Ria down the stairs, Piri would become the leader, the person in control of hiring and scheduling. And when Eluvie threatened to expose Piri’s collaboration with her, the woman would be entirely under her control.

That plan, however, required Piri to accept the diamond now.

“I think your goodwill is payment enough,” Eluvie said. “Take it or leave it. Your family’s safety is your problem, after all.”

They were silent for a long while.

“We won’t take it,” Piri said. “Bitu can sleep in the palace. I’ll find a loan. We can survive six months, but I don’t think we can survive your blackmail.”

Eluvie shrugged, though her heart was sinking. “Suit yourself,” she said.

In their place, she wouldn’t accept it, either. She knew the true extent of her own hatred for them and she knew that she had no plans for them that they would enjoy.

Eluvie returned to her meal and sent a desperate prayer to the creator.

Let them accept it.

They needed it, and she needed them trapped.