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And someone else

Maire sits down next to me on the ri out I can’t see what it is

"I thought you were in prison," I say

"The Council had so they needed me to do," Maire says, her voice dry "They let me out" She’s unescorted--no peacekeepers, no Council h--or need her badly enough--to let her free, even after the incident at the floodgates

"What was it they wanted from you?" I ask

She smiles "Don’t you want to save these questions for the shell?"

"No," I say

"That’s good," she says "Sos are better discussed face-to-face" She opens her hand and there’s a coin sitting in the middle of her palm "Take it," she says "Make a wish for yourself"

"No," I say "Thank you"

Maire shrugs and tosses the coin into the water Fifty-four She gives no outward sign that she wishes for anything

"I want to know more about the sirens," I say "Is it safe to ask you about them here?"

Maire doesn’t even look around to see how many people are near us But she tilts her head, and I realize she is listening "Yes," she says "For now"

I keeploved to hated?"

"There was a step in between," Maire says "They orshipped"

"What do you ods?"

Maire sods"

"I don’t understand," I say "The gods have existed since long before the Divide"

"People worshipped gods for thousands of years," Maire says "So yes, gods have existed long before the Divide But our gods--the ones you see in the teht down froed from the ancient cathedrals on the surface and used as decorations Eods at the time of the Divide It had been years since anyone believed in anything" Maire puts her hand in the water, trails her fingers through it "Then the sirens caical explanation for thean to turn elsewhere for an answer And when they looked up, they saw those statues in the tean to wonder They wondered if there were gods after all, and if they had sent the sirens Soods That’s when the ion all came about Did you know that the first Minister was a siren?"

"No," I say "They don’t teach us any of this"