Salvage (The Delphic Dame Book 1) by Jenny Schwartz

Author:Jenny Schwartz [Schwartz, Jenny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-21T16:00:00+00:00

Talking to Dylan was less fraught than discussing the federation with Hugh, but it presented a different kind of challenge. The kid was on a turbocharged growth path, at least by human standards. The development of his body and skills was one thing, but the maturing of his mind required honesty from her.

“You said you grew up in a slum,” Dylan said. “I read about the Angkorran towers in old Capitoline news stories.”

“Some of those are exaggerated. Outsiders like to consider us trash so they can justify leaving us there.”

He nodded an antenna. “Blaming the victim. I have heard of this.”

“In fairness, we have plenty of bad guys, too. The gangs are violent. What they call justice is actually about control, and on the whole, the police leave the gangs free to administer it.”

“How did you handle the change from growing up in the slums to living with your sister and the wealth and power she gained?”

“Whoo. Broad question.” Personal question. Describing how she handled the change meant discussing emotions, expectations, and relationships, not just listing the differences in the two socio-economic environments.

As she considered her answer, Cherry massaged a knot of tension in her neck. “You wouldn’t think that a towers brat could be naïve. Surviving takes street smarts. But there’s being savvy about the world you know, and then, there’s being smart about the wider world. I was dumb about Nora’s new world, about what we faced when we reached Capitoline. I’d gotten sucked into the fairy tale aspect of the story.”

She smiled partly at Dylan, but also at the bittersweet memory of those days. “It wasn’t just the money. Don’t get me wrong. The money mattered. Nora bought my indentured service contract, which meant I was free. But once the survival necessities were covered, what changed everything for me was the kindness. The people who coalesced to become the core of Clan Avestan are good people.”

“But what makes them your people?” he asked. “I get that you have a blood tie to Nora, but for the rest…?”

“I don’t know.” She smiled ruefully at the frustrated click-clack of his claws. “I really don’t. Sometimes a group comes together because they share a common goal, but then the group dissolves when the goal is achieved. There were gangs, criminal groups, in the towers. Shared values, survival, shared experience, all matter. But mostly, family just is. I can’t define why some people, and not others, are the ones you’ll walk through life with, but it’s what happens. You love people and they are part of your life, part of who you are, no matter how far away they are.”

She clasped one of his claws and drummed a nursery rhyme rhythm on it with her fingertips. “Aria, my niece, chose to stay on Capitoline. Nora adopted her after Aria’s parents died. For people who look at life as a scoreboard of who owes what to whom, Aria owes Nora. Nora doesn’t look at life that way. She and Liam wanted to return to Border Station.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.