The cafeteria was the largest room in the building Damian had seen so far, with two dozen tables absolutely packed to the breaking point with children. Against one wall was an opening where they could go get food, which Damian saw looked to be soup and bread. Even from a distance, Damian could tell the soup was watery, and the bread looked almost as unappealing.

  A kid, maybe eleven, with short brown curls like Damian’s, turned and lit up when he saw Konrad. He pointed a little finger at Konrad, his face splitting with a grin. “Hey! Kon-man’s here! Everyone look, it’s Konrad!”

  Several hundred heads turned all at once, an ocean of hair becoming round faces and crooked teeth set in genuine smiles. What had been a low murmur filling the room exploded into noise as the children began to call out to Konrad, standing and running over. In an instant, they were surrounded by reaching, babbling, laughing children. Konrad was chuckling, reaching out to ruffle hair and call out some names. As the crowd continued to build, Konrad started handing out the meat buns he’d stashed earlier, and Damian noticed most of the kids who got a bun would pass it on to the next child behind them, distributing them outward from the center of the crowd.

  “I don’t have enough for everybody,” Konrad warned in a shout. “But I’ve got honey candies if—”

  The cheering drowned out whatever Konrad was going to say. He was taller than almost all of the children, but Damian was decidedly not. The crowding was a little overwhelming, all the pushing arms and screaming voices. Pulling away from Konrad, Damian started trying to push through the crowd toward one of the corners of the room, where he could get away from the crush.

  “Hey!” Konrad shouted. “If you want the candy, let’s line up! You’re crowding my friend. Two lines, please.”

  Damian froze as Konrad called him out, then blinked in surprise as the children reorganized themselves into lines in record time. It took only a ten-count for the pressure of the crowd to turn into an organized formation, with the older children getting the younger ones situated at the front before moving to the back themselves. Konrad looked at Damian, grinning. “See? They can be good.”

  “I…” Damian trailed off, noticing all the expectant faces were looking at him too. It made him want to run out of the room, but he swallowed that feeling as best he could. “Never doubted them.”

  “Here,” Konrad said, stepping closer to Damian and offering him a fistful of paper-wrapped candies. “I’ll take one line, you take the other. Don’t let anyone get back in line. They’ll do that if they can get away with it. One candy each first, yeah?”

  “Sure,” Damian said, licking his suddenly very dry lips.

  Konrad nodded at him, then raised a hand over his head and pointed a finger at Damian. “Hey everyone, this is my friend, Damian. He’s gonna help me pass out candy. Say thank you, Damian.”

  “Thank you, Damian!” the entire assembly chorused, and Damian blushed furiously.

  He watched as Konrad started passing out the candy, giving each child a wink, ruffling their hair, or commenting on how much they’d grown since he last saw them. Damian felt something tug on his sleeve and turned, realizing the kid at the front of his line was looking up at him expectantly.

  “Oh,” Damian said, blinking in surprise. Separating one piece of candy from his horde, he offered it to the girl. She couldn’t have been older than eight, one of the youngest he’d seen. “Here you go.”

  The girl beamed up at him. “Thank you, Mr. Damian, sir.”

  “You’re, um, very welcome,” Damian said, feeling like his cheeks were on fire.

  Then the next child stepped up, and he gave them a candy, too. Almost every one of them thanked Damian, and after the tenth, the awkwardness of being suddenly thrust into the spotlight started to wear off. When he wasn’t feeling terribly embarrassed for himself, Damian realized just how cute the children were. But by the twentieth piece of candy, he also started to notice other things about them that made his chest get tight.

  For starters, they were all thin, but most of them were painfully thin. Clothes hung loose on shoulder bones jutting out from taut skin. A lot of them also had bandages or cloth wrapped around their arms, and on occasion, Damian would spot scars or welts on the arms of those who weren’t wrapping theirs.

  A girl, maybe thirteen, accepted his candy with nothing but a small nod. She was one of the ones who wasn’t wrapping her arms and had visible welts. As she turned to leave, Damian caught her attention with a gentle hand on her shoulder. It was only then that she lifted her chin to actually look at him.

  “What happened here?” Damian asked, nodding at her arms.

  The girl glanced down at her arms, then crossed them over her chest, glowering at Damian. “Mrs. Lemke asked me to recite the third commandment of the Word, but I forgot it. And... I got caught with a few copper coins.”

  “You’re not supposed to have money?” Damian asked, furrowing his brows.

  The girl frowned at him. “No? The [Teachers] and [Caretakers] need the money to feed us. You didn’t grow up in the orphanage, did you?”

  For a while, Damian’s face had been hot, but he felt it run cold as the blood drained from his cheeks.

  “No... I didn’t,” Damian admitted. He offered the girl another piece of candy. “Here, have a second.”

  For a moment, she hesitated, considering it. Then she glanced over her shoulder and looked back at Damian. “No thank you. Maybe after everyone gets one. Can I go now, Mr. Damian?”

  “Yeah,” Damian said quietly, and she walked off to find her seat and suck on her honey candy.

  Damian’s line ended up being shorter than Konrad’s, so once he ran out of children to pass candy to, he stood behind Konrad and just watched. Even though Konrad had warned Damian not to pass out candy to the kids who’d already gotten one, Damian watched him do just that multiple times, usually accompanied by a gentle admonishment. After ten minutes, the entire cafeteria had calmed down as the children spread out to eat their candies and lick their fingers clean of the honey.

  It was only then that Damian noticed a woman in robes standing at the far end of the room, glaring daggers at Konrad. She must’ve been in charge of keeping order in the cafeteria, but she hadn’t stopped Konrad, and Konrad wasn’t acknowledging her, so Damian decided to cautiously ignore the death stare. A group of the older kids had cleared some space at the end of the table closest to Konrad, and they were talking in low voices.

  “Janey got better?” Konrad asked, leaning in conspiratorially.

  One of the older boys, near Damian’s age, nodded. “Yeah, thanks to you. But Ernst… didn’t make it. Laura and Otto are sick now. Got more of your magic?”

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  Konrad winced. “Yeah, here. Remember, just a few drops.”

  Reaching into his bag, Konrad offered the boy two more paper-wrapped candies. Except they definitely weren’t candies—they were small glass vials. The boy nodded and tucked the not-candies into a pocket in his pants.

  “Also, we’re having problems with drugs again,” one of the older girls spoke up. “Dunno where they’re getting it. Probably when we go to the docks.”

  “Mist?” Konrad asked, scratching his chin. “If it’s somnara, I can think of worse things.”

  “Mist, yeah, but we can deal with that,” the girl admitted, wincing. “There’s been this new drug going around—Saint’s Breath? Albert and Simon and some others were high out of their minds. Mr. Schneider caught them, and they’re in the cold rooms for a month. Annie was bringing them food and said they’re super sick.”

  Damian’s breath caught in his throat as he watched Konrad freeze. For a moment, his jaw worked silently, chewing the words but refusing to spit them out. His face looked a little green in the low light. When he did speak, the words came out as a constrained hiss. “And you’re telling everyone off the mist?”

  The boy who’d taken the vials rolled his eyes at Konrad. “Of course we are. But you know how it is. A little mist... takes the edge off.”

  “Takes the edge off?” Damian asked.

  All heads turned to him as if they were just realizing he was there. Around the group, expressions hardened, as though Damian were something stuck to the bottom of their shoes. It was a girl who hadn’t spoken yet who responded to him. He noticed her eyes were a stunning green, even in the low light of the room.

  “Yeah, it makes it better,” she said with a scowl. “You didn’t grow up in the orphanage, did you? You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Enough,” Konrad said harshly. “He’s a friend.”

  The girl had the wherewithal to look abashed.

  For a minute, the silence stretched out awkwardly. Then the boy who’d spoken first—who Damian was beginning to realize was serving as some sort of leader figure for the group—cleared his throat. “When can we expect you again, Konrad? You’ve been gone for months.”

  Konrad winced, glancing at Damian. “I... I’ll try to be back soon. But I can’t promise anything. You guys might be on your own.”

  This time, the silence was tense.

  “You’re abandoning us?” the green-eyed girl said, clenching her fists.

  “No,” Konrad said quickly. “I want to come back. I just don’t know if I can.”

  The leader boy leaned back on the table, resting his weight on his arms and smiling slyly. “Getting out finally? With your, ah, friend?”

  Both Konrad and Damian blushed at the same time, but Konrad shook his head. “No, guys, it’s not like that. There’s just... stuff.”

  “Fuck you,” the first girl who’d spoken broke in suddenly—the one who’d mentioned the Saint’s Breath. “After Ida… you know what, forget it. I hope wherever you’re going, you’re happy. C’mon, Julie, let’s go.”

  The older girl grabbed the green-eyed girl’s hand, and the two of them quickly moved across the room, back to where they’d left their food. After a moment, a few of the other kids glanced sheepishly at Konrad, thanked him for the candy, and stepped away themselves. Then the oldest of the kids, the one with the vials, sighed and pushed off the table, giving Konrad a once-over.

  “Don’t listen to them—soon as they’re out, they’ll make a run for it themselves. We’re really grateful for everything, you know that. But you deserve a life, too.” The boy smiled and stuck out a hand to shake. Konrad took it hesitantly, and the boy shook it once. “Don’t look back, yeah? We’ll be fine.”

  Damian watched as Konrad’s eyes wetted, and he wrapped his other hand around the boy’s. “Take care of yourself, Hugo. I hope this isn’t goodbye, but...”

  “Nah, I hope it is goodbye,” Hugo said back, winking. “Go be happy.”

  They stood there for a moment longer before Hugo pulled his hand free. He lazily saluted Konrad with two fingers as he spun on a foot and sauntered back into the room. The remaining kids waved, and Konrad huffed out a huge breath, turning and nodding at Damian. “Ready to go?”

  “Sure,” Damian said, feeling quite overwhelmed.

  They pushed out of the cafeteria and walked down the hall, stopping at the front reception room with Emma. Just like the first time, she lit up when Konrad stepped in, but she turned to address Damian first. “So, what’d you think?”

  The question caught Damian off guard. Honestly, pretty awful. But Emma was so cheery that Damian didn’t want to upset her. “Um… it was good to see the children are being taught.”

  “Oh yes!” Emma said, clapping her hands together gently. “The [Teachers] here are the best. And they work with the [Priests] to make sure all our wards learn the Word front to back. Most of our children go on to be productive citizens in the city.”

  “Here’s my donation,” Konrad said suddenly, cutting her off and putting a small pouch on her desk. “It’s not as much as I wish I could give, but—”

  “Oh nonsense,” Emma waved Konrad off, swiping up the pouch. “Any bit helps, and Marduk smiles on all who give.”

  Emma didn’t seem to notice Konrad’s awkward pause, but Damian did. In the end, he just nodded. “Right. Well, we need to be off. It was good to see you, Emma.”

  “You too, Konrad,” Emma beamed at him. “Safe travels!”

  Grabbing Damian by the arm, Konrad quickly retreated from the room with him. Damian was about to ask if he was okay as they walked the few steps toward the front door when Konrad froze. Looking up, Damian saw a young woman standing in the doorway, frozen like a deer staring down a hunter’s drawn bow. She was tall, almost as tall as Konrad, and wore a simple but elegant dress. Ruddy red hair was done in braids and wrapped atop her head like a crown.

  She was quite pretty, but her beauty was somewhat ruined when her face twisted into a scowl.

  The woman’s boots clicked on the stone floor as she started to walk past them. Konrad swiveled as she passed, eyes locked onto her. It wasn’t until she had passed that he finally spoke.

  “Ida, I—”

  “No,” Ida spat, turning around and snarling at him vehemently enough to make Damian flinch. “I have nothing to say to you. Just... just leave.”

  Without waiting, she turned and continued quickly down the hall. Konrad watched her for a few heartbeats before turning back to the door and dragging Damian with him. His grip on Damian’s arm was tight enough to hurt, but Damian didn’t complain. It wasn’t until they were past the metal gate that Konrad let Damian go, pausing to lean over, resting his elbows on his knees and sucking down air like he’d just been drowning.

  “You okay?” Damian asked, concerned but giving him space.

  “Yep,” Konrad answered in a voice that didn’t convince Damian in the slightest. “Just need a minute.”

  True to his word, Konrad stood there for a minute longer before straightening and running his hands through his hair. One deep breath later, he pivoted on one foot, brushing past Damian and walking back the way they’d come. Damian quickly fell into step next to him.

  “Hey, you okay?” Damian asked again. “Like, really okay? That was a lot.”

  “Yeah, I’m—” Konrad cut himself off, glancing over at Damian. “Oh gods, are you okay? I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you. I didn’t… I didn’t know all of that was going to happen.”

  Damian licked his lips again, which were persistently dry after the cafeteria. “I’m okay. You grew up there? Was it always so... like that?”

  “No,” Konrad said quickly, looking away. “It was worse. A couple of us have been visiting and trying to help since we aged out, but you know we can only give so much. Most of us who graduate aren’t exactly first in line to become successful [Merchants]. Emma’s line about most of us becoming productive citizens is total bullshit. Most of us get a shit job or leave. Nobody’s well-off enough to give back unless…”

  “Unless they’re selling drugs,” Damian finished in a low voice.

  Konrad glanced over at Damian with a guilty expression. “I didn’t know that Saint’s Breath was making it into the orphanage, I swear. You have to believe me.”

  “I believe you,” Damian said earnestly. Konrad had looked like he was going to vomit when he’d found out. “But why are the [Caretakers] even allowing that to happen? How is any of that allowed? They’re beating the kids.”

  Without missing a step, Konrad rolled up one of his sleeves and showed Damian his forearm. His skin was dappled with thick scars from a few inches behind his wrist all the way up into where the sleeve still covered his arm. Damian wondered how he hadn’t noticed before.

  “It’s not a sin if you’re teaching a child to follow the Word,” Konrad said with a sneer. “They don’t care if we survive. We were written off the moment our parents gave us up. They’re just hoping to add a few more [Zealots] to the population.”

  “By literally beating it into children?” Damian asked incredulously.

  “It works,” Konrad said in a tired voice. “More often than you’d think. You get told something enough, you start to believe it.”

  They walked in silence for a while, then. Damian noticed they weren’t headed back to Konrad’s lodgings—not quite. But he didn’t bother to ask where they were going.

  “Ida,” Damian said suddenly, and Konrad nearly missed a step before catching himself. “Is she a [Zealot]?”

  “I don’t know if she has the class,” Konrad admitted. Then, a moment later, he added, “Maybe she’s just doing what she has to do to survive. I don’t know. But she’s no sister of mine. Not anymore.”