skin. The reflection off the bay was blinding. Even the birds seemed too cheerful, chattering away in the trees.
“Remember—we didn’t hear anything,” I whispered. But Arden’s lips were pressed into a thin line. She’d never been good at pretending. Back at School she’d been in a miserable mood in the weeks before her escape. She’d separated herself from the rest of us, standing at the sink in the corner as she brushed her teeth, not looking at us as she hunched over the dining hall table during meals. I’d suspected she was planning something that night before graduation, but had assumed it was another of her stupid pranks. I never would’ve guessed the truth.
We wound down the narrow, vine-covered path until it emptied out to the waterfront. The skeletal remains of boats were piled up on the rocks, their windows smashed in, their paint peeling away. A few rested belly-up. Out across the bay, the rest of Marin was just a green mound, the trees growing between the houses, hiding them under their leaves.
Arden pulled the linen shirt around her thin frame, steeling herself against the wind blowing in off the water. “I could barely look at Maeve at breakfast,” she said. Heddy walked beside us, her black fur shining in the sunlight. “Knowing she’s planning to—”
“We can’t talk about this here,” I said, glancing at the row of shrouded storefronts. The front window of a café was covered with newspaper, but I could hear women cooking—pots clanking against one another, water sloshing around in the sink. “Wait until we’re on the boat.”
It was impossible to find privacy in the small city, which housed over two hundred women. A few of the shops and restaurants along the shore were in working order, while others remained hidden and unused in the dense brush. Every woman had carved out a place for herself, a purpose.
“Good morning, Eve!” Coral, one of the oldest Founding Mothers, called as she came down the path. She was carrying three chickens to slaughter, their bodies paralyzed as they hung upside down by their feet. Heddy barked at the birds, but Arden yanked her back. “Beautiful day, isn’t it? Reminds me of life before.” Coral glanced at the sky, the green, tangled hillside, the broken dock that stretched into the water.
“Lovely,” I said quickly, trying my best to smile. I had taken an immediate liking to Coral when I’d arrived. She’d spent her whole life in Mill Valley with her husband. They lived as Strays for three years before he died. I loved the stories she told, of how she’d grown her own garden and cooked on an open fire in her backyard. She’d once lured a gang across town so they wouldn’t discover the stockpile of goods in her storm cellar. But now even she seemed unfriendly. I wondered if she knew about the plan. I wondered if she’d always seen me as a way of negotiating Califia’s independence.
The old woman passed. Up ahead, Maeve and Isis were coming along the path on a horse, towing a cartload of reclaimed clothes. Every month they traveled to a different town beyond Muir Woods and searched the houses to find goods to distribute or barter at the shops in Califia.
I glanced sideways at Arden, then at the rowboat tied to the dock. It was one of the few boats the women had restored, its insides coated with a thin layer of wax. “We better go now,” I said. I could feel Maeve’s eyes on us. She had dismounted and approached the shore as we started toward the dock.
I untied the boat, looking over my shoulder to address her. “Thought I’d take Arden and Heddy out on the bay today. Show them what Califia has to offer.” I climbed in, trying to keep my movements calm and deliberate. I took an oar in each hand, thankful when the wood dipped into the water, the resistance steadying my shaking fingers. Arden lowered herself into the boat and called for Heddy to follow.
“What about the bookstore? There’s work to do,” Maeve said. She stepped over the slippery rocks and into the shallows, letting her hiking boots get wet.
I just kept rowing, my body relaxing with each yard I put between us. “Trina knows I’m not coming in. She said it’s fine.”
Maeve crossed her arms over her chest. She was the most muscular of the women, with a chiseled stomach and legs thick from running. “Be careful of the current! And sharks! One