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came in and found Zusia sitting next to me as I ate the stolen bread, her face almost split with her smile of joy. She beat Zuzu really bad. When she was done, she left her just lying there at my feet. I felt like I was going to be sick, and I was so ashamed that I started to retch. Zuzu just pushed herself into a sitting position and told me that if I wasted the bread after all she had gone through to get it, she would never speak to me again.
    I got some water and a basin and one of the cleaner rags from the pallet where I sleep, and I washed her up as best I could. She never made a sound, but her tears slipped continuously down her face as I worked.
    I don’t know what made me do it, but I kissed her cheek.
    She smiled then, and it was like the sun had come out from behind a cloud. She started talking about what she would steal next and where she had gone wrong this time out. She was going on and on, and I couldn’t understand what had happened to change her mood so fast. I will never understand girls, I really won’t.
    Oh, and, Father–the name of the Breken mistress who beat Zuzu is Mili. I think I will have to kill her .

Chapter 6
    Each day aboard the ship blended with the day before. Though Dearra was not as ill as she had been during the first few days, she still didn’t trust her stomach not to rebel at the very first opportunity. She ate small, bland meals, and sipped water almost continuously in order to fight off dehydration. She stayed below deck as much as possible. The pitch and roll of the ship seemed so much worse when she stood on deck watching the sea as it fretted and foamed.
    Carly spent more and more time on deck with the others, leaving Dearra to stew alone in her room, but today she perched herself on her bunk. She did not speak, but sat, arms crossed, staring at Dearra in irritation. She waited that way for quite some time, until the afternoon sun started to dip low on the horizon.
    “Carly, what do you want from me?” Dearra finally said, breaking the silence. “I told you there’s nothing to say. Darius and I just had a falling out. Everything will be fine. I just need to give him time.”
    Carly’s legs dangled over the side of her bed, her foot tapping in mid-air. Neither her expression nor her position changed, as she waited for a more thorough explanation.
    Dearra sighed low and long as she weighed her options. Carly had obviously come to the end of her patience. In truth, Dearra was pretty impressed. If the shoe had been on the other foot, Dearra doubted if she could have waited even a few hours to hear the truth, let alone the many days Carly had endured. Though it would probably feel good to get it off her chest, she didn’t look forward to the scolding she knew she was going to get. Dearra took a steady breath, and began. “Okay, Carly,” she said. “You win. I’ll talk.”
    Carly uncrossed her arms, braced her hands on the bunk, and leaned forward in expectation.
    “The short story is that I should have listened to you and Brin. And Darius too, I suppose. I went to his room to show him something, and when I got there I…well…I teased him. I was pretty wanton. I just couldn’t imagine anything bad coming from something that felt that good.”
    Dearra glanced up at her friend, trying to gauge her reaction, but Carly only sat stone-faced, waiting for Dearra to continue. “I don’t know how it happened, but one thing led to another, and we ended up on his bed, kissing. I really wasn’t worried until I realized I was pinned beneath him, and I couldn’t move. I told him to stop, but…”
    Carly couldn’t contain herself any longer, so she sprang off her bed and went to Dearra, wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace. “Oh, no! He…he…” The thought was so hideous, she couldn’t bring herself to even think of the word, let alone say it.
    “No!” Dearra cried out, allaying her friend’s fears. “Brin stopped him in time, but it was close. If Brin hadn’t