“You have one, too,” Enne whispered. “That’s why Reymond said you’re her favorite.”
His nostrils flared. “Of course I have one.” He turned away from her and paced around the living room. “As if Ichoseto start a scheme that was born to fail. I’ve been scrambling around for months trying to clean it up. Meanwhile, the Irons are as good as broke. They can barely look at me anymore. I can barely look at myself anymore.” He stopped pacing, but he still never faced her. “I was supposed to be something. Instead, I’mhers.” His voice grew hoarse at the last word, as if he might also break down. He fiddled with something silver in his pocket.
“Is it truly unbreakable?” Enne asked quietly. She couldn’t tell who was supposed to be comforting whom. She didn’t know what scheme he was talking about.
He turned to look at her. “Yes,” he whispered hoarsely. “Unless she dies.”
She gave him a questioning look.
“I’m not a killer, no,” he murmured. “But, oh, I would. But I can’t. We can only pray someone else does.”
Any lingering anger she had left disappeared. She’d never seen someone else’s expression so perfectly reflecting her own. They were both trapped. And he hated Vianca. She could hear it in his every word.
Leaving him to cool down for a moment, she brought in a plate of cookies from the kitchen. Six for her, two for him. She sat on the couch, her knees against her chest, making herself small. She ripped a cookie in half and nibbled it from center to crust. Eating felt normal. She’d barely eaten all day.
Levi sat opposite her in an armchair. “I’m sorry.” He said it like he meant it. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“I know.” And she really did.
“What did she make you do?”
“She didn’tmakeme do anything.” Enne moved on to her second cookie, her voice low and cold and unrecognizable. “Initially, she did. But by the end, I wanted to, and I don’t feel guilty in the least bit. I’d do it again.” She paused to examine his reflection for any judgment, but his face was unreadable. “Does that make me a bad person?”
“I suppose it depends on what it is you did,” he said uneasily.
She braced herself for the omerta’s constrictions, but felt none. “In Luckluster Casino, Sedric Torren is likely overturning his dinner, and he deserves it.” Apparently, once the secrecy of the omerta was broken, Enne could speak the truth freely. She sighed with relief.
Levi froze while reaching for a cookie. “You poisonedSedric Torren?”
“He’s not dead—just sick.” Enne shuddered. “There was a childish pink dress. Vianca made me wear it. And it worked. Vianca dressed me up to send me to the slaughter.”
A long moment passed before he whispered, “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not crying.”
“I said I’m not hurt.”
“But you cried all morning.”
“I’mtired,” she seethed. And if he kept prodding her, she would cry. It wouldn’t take much. She wasn’t trying to be strong. She just didn’t have it in her to be anything right now.
She stood and grabbed the orb she’d left on the table earlier for Levi, thrusting it at him.
“I’m not taking that,” he said defiantly. “It’s my fault that she found you.”
“You said the Irons were broke.”
“And that’s my fault, too.”
“So fix it.” She shoved the orb into his chest.
“Does she know that you’re Alfero’s daughter?” he asked, and she shook her head. “Good. She can’t know.Ever.” He laid the orb back on her table. “I’m not taking it.”
“But—”
“Don’t you get it?” he yelled. “Sheownsyou. For as long as she’s breathing, you’re trapped in New Reynes. There’s no way out. All those things you said earlier about wanting to return home in the fall? Wanting to finish school? You’ll be lucky if you ever see Bellamy again. You’ll be lucky if you make it out of this city alive.”
