“You don’t have to pay me,” Tseetsaa said to Sinchach as they walked.

They had gone out the back door of the inn while Cheeyt and Nuliyaa left through the front. Sinchach had looked around a bit nervously—though Tseetsaa wasn’t sure if he was nervous because of this wasn’t as high-class an area as he was used to, though it was nice enough to her, or because he was trying to put off seeing Tajak again—then Sinchach had turned to the left and led her onto the next street over.

“I think your sister would disagree.”

“Nuliyaa isn’t the one affected here. I am. I would rather finish my training as an assistant as soon as possible, not wait until you have the money to pay me.”

Sinchach turned onto another street, this one narrower with rows of long, short houses running down both sides.

“And,” Tseetsaa continued, “we can take on more work if we’re working together. Rather than you paying me, we could split the profits from whatever we sell.”

“As the mage, I should receive—” He stopped talking when he looked at her face.

“Half. I’m so glad you agree!” Tseetsaa noticed they were now walking much more slowly than they had been on the main street. “Have you spoken to Tajak at all since your parents fired him?”

He cleared his throat. “My parents sent him away as soon as we returned home. I didn’t have an opportunity to.”

Tseetsaa sighed. “It would probably be best if you let me speak to him first.”

“Oh, yes.”

She side-eyed him. “You were always going to make me do the talking, weren’t you?”

“The job is being offered by your sister.”

“You do realize you are going to have to apologize for this to work?”

“I can’t possibly matter here. We will both be employees to your sister’s company.”

“That means it matters more! You’ll be equals for the first time since he accepted the job with your family.”

“Equals,” he repeated, sounding stunned by the idea. He didn’t speak as they continued walking.

Their next turn was onto a street with houses that were slightly bigger than most of the others. Tseetsaa didn’t see as many children here and the area seemed quieter. “You seem to be very familiar with where we’re going.”

Sinchach flinched. “I had the steward tell me where Tajak is staying,” he said.

“This doesn’t seem like an area you visit often.” The houses were neat, but worn. The only reason she could picture Sinchach among them was because he was there at that moment.

“I created a map.”

He felt very guilty, then. This might go better than she was expecting.

They stopped in front of one of the houses. Tseetsaa squinted to make out the sign posted next to the door. Why did a house have a sign?

“Theses aren’t houses, are they?”

“Mawiya.” At her confused expression, he said, “Rent-rooms.”

“Like our apartment?”

“No. These are houses for people to rent rooms. My family has a few near our property for the employees to live in.”

“Your family’s employees have to pay to rent a room from you?”

His shoulders stiffened. “We don’t require them to live in our mawiya.”

“Hm.”

Since Sinchach was just staring at the door, Tseetsaa stepped forward and rapped on it sharply. A few moments later, an older man opened the door. “Health and safety to you,” he said, looking cautious.

Tseetsaa supposed they were an odd pair for him to find outside his door, a Keeylish woman and a Nengmekian who obviously had some money and status. “Health and safety to you,” she returned the greeting. “May we speak to Tajak?”

He scowled. “That one’s just been here a few days and you telling me he’s already in trouble?”

“He’s not in trouble,” Tseetsaa said, brow furrowing. She looked at Sinchach, wondering if there was something going on that he hadn’t told her about. He looked as mystified as she. “We are here to speak to him about a job.”

“Don’t know if you want that one for it. Apparently he was released from the last one without a recommendation. I only took him as a renter because of the money I was offered.” The old man jerked his head back to indicate inside the house. “I’ve got some others here with better recommendations if you’re looking to hire.”

Tseetsaa gave him the fake-polite smile she’d seen Nuliyaa use on people she found annoying when she didn’t want to anger them. “We are aware of his last job. Is he here?”

“Fine. No visitors allowed in the rooms. Wait here.” He shut the door.

Tseetsaa blinked at the door. “My guess is Tajak is not the one who chose this—what did you call it—mawa.”

“Mawiya,” Sinchach corrected. “The steward probably sent him here.”

“And paid that man to take him on?”

“They wouldn’t be allowed to leave him without a place to stay.” Sinchach frowned at her. “Is it not the same in Keeyl?”

“No. Do you not remember that Nuliyaa was let go in the middle of her work day? And she had to remind whatever his name is to give her her pay?”

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“Oh. That seems cruel.”

Crueler than firing an employee because he hadn’t stopped Sinchach from going home?

Tajak opened the door, hesitated when he saw them, then slowly stepped out. The old man appeared in the doorway before it shut. “They said they have work for you. Your rent runs out here in two days. I suggest you don’t turn down work in your situation.” He shut the door firmly.

Tseetsaa raised her brows at Sinchach. His parents had paid for Tajak’s rent for four days? Oh, yes, the Nengmekians were much better at taking care of their former employees.

Tajak had flicked a glance toward the old man when he started speaking, but when the door shut between them, he looked at Tseetsaa. And waited.

Tseetsaa looked from Sinchach to Tajak, then back to Sinchach. Sinchach seemed frozen as he stared at Tajak.

Tseetsaa sighed. If she waited for them, they would be there all day. Which would probably bring the old man back out to yell at them for blocking the door.

“My sisters would like to offer you a position with the company as a guard,” Tseetsaa said. She gave him a wide smile as she spoke, hoping that would encourage him to accept. She couldn’t imagine being on the road without Tajak’s steadying presence.

“Are they sure they want a weak-willed child who can’t follow simple orders?” Tajak asked. He seemed focused on Tseetsaa, but it was like his words were directed at Sinchach.

Sinchach flinched again. “I didn’t say that!”

“He also didn’t object when his father called me that,” Tajak informed Tseetsaa. “He didn’t inform his father that he gave me orders that contradicted his parents’, or explain that he had told me he would keept his parents’ anger off of me.”

And this was where she needed Sinchach to make that apology. She looked at him, tilting her head slightly toward Tajak.

“You were planning to leave your position when we returned anyway,” Sinchach said.

Oh, that was the worst thing to say. Tseetsaa shut her eyes.

“I didn’t know I would be leaving without a recommendation or my years of service pay!”

That was the first time Tseetsaa had heard Tajak raise his voice outside of the fights on the road. She crossed her arms. “Sinchach, go wait on the street.”

He opened his mouth. She gave him Cheeyt’s glare and he went. Then she turned to Tajak. “I know you feel like he betrayed you.”

Tajak just looked at her. “Yes, I know, he did betray you. I don’t know why someone who handled people trying to kill us so well couldn’t open his mouth long enough to defend you.” She dropped her eyes then, her cheeks growing hot. “Could you accept the job for me? I want you to come with us.”

“Us?” He glanced toward Sinchach. “I thought you had just asked him to show you where I am. He’s working for the company again?”

“Apparently he had a disagreement with his parents. He couldn’t defend you specifically, but he did at least recognize his family was not behaving their best.”

Tajak reached for her hand, his thumb brushing across her knuckles as their fingers laced together. The way she shivered had nothing to do with the unfamiliar briskness of the Nengmekian air. “I want to accept,” he said.

“But you aren’t going to?” Tears pricked at her eyes and clogged her throat when she woudn’t let them loose.

He sent another glance Sinchach’s way. The young mage was pacing with his arms wrapped around his chest, hands gripping his upper arms. “He is easy to ignore,” Tajak said.

Tseetsaa’s joy and relief felt like a flower blooming in her chest. “He spends most of his time staring at a book,” she agreed. “You’ll never have to talk to him.”

He smiled at her, a wide smile that reflected everything that was burning through Tseetsaa at that moment. He leaned forward slightly. Her breath caught. Was he going to kiss her?

“Tajak, I have something to say to you.”

At Sinchach’s words, they reared back from each other, both blinking rapidly before turning to the mage. He had walked back over to them, eyes down and hands still tight around his upper arms.

He continued in a rush. “I apologize for not speaking up on your behalf to my parents, your lead, and the steward. You were punished for my decisions and it was wrong.”

“That was a good apology,” Tseetsaa whispered, surprised.

“It was,” Tajak whispered back. “Thank you. I will accept the job.”

“Good. Let’s return to the inn.” Sinchach turned back around. Tseetsaa thought she heard him mutter, “Sharing a room with three others is much preferable to this.”

“I need to get my belongings.” Tajak reached for the doorknob.

“I have everything you left in my pockets,” Sinchach said.

Tseetsaa sighed. “And were you ever planning on returning those to him?” She hadn’t thought this through. Her role in the company was probably now going to be “taking care of Sinchach.”