“We also don’t have any idea where it might be in London. It seems odd that it would be at the hotel,” Aida pointed out. “I mean, they must only go there for meetings. I can’t imagine they run the business out of there.”
“Unlikely, unless MODA somehow owns the building.”
Felix chuckled. “Well, if you say we’re dealing with ancient gods, then why not?”
Her personal cell phone buzzed in her pocket. “It’s Luciano.”
“Go ahead, take it. We’ll watch.” Yumi exchanged an amused glance with Felix.
Aida rolled her eyes at them and took the call, smiling when she saw him brush away a lock of dark hair that had fallen into his eyes.
Yumi waved at her. “Tell him about the app!”
Aida turned the phone around to introduce Luciano to Yumi, who he hadn’t yet met. She gave him the lowdown on the voice-canceling app, then Aida told him about the two break-ins: their attempt at the laptop, and the chaos at Palazzo Spada. “But the good news is that I’ve got two weeks off—which is two weeks without Trista always bothering me.”
“They’ll still track you,” Felix pointed out.
“But it’s less suspicious if I go places on vacation.”
“I’m due for a vacation,” Luciano said wistfully.
Felix raised his voice. “Come to Rome. That’s where the party is.”
Luciano shook his head. “I’ve been thinking, if they are tracking us, they’ll see that we know each other, which is risky.”
Aida’s heart began to flutter at the idea of Luciano coming to Rome, but she knew he was right. In London, they were both supposed to be there. And now that she had explicit instructions to stop turning off her phone, that would make it even harder because MODA would track them to the same locations.
With a heavy heart, she changed the subject. “Have you had any luck with Dolores?”
Luciano shook his head. “I tried asking her more about MODA, but she seems suspicious of my motives. And I’m not sure I can trust anyone else in the château. I’m going to try a different tactic. Today, I’m working at the Luxembourg Gardens, focusing on the beehives and the beekeeping school.”
“Oh dear god, not the bees!” Yumi exclaimed.
Luciano nodded. “I know. But I’m going to see if I can learn more from the school headmaster about how MODA works with him.” He looked at his watch. “I need to get going. I’ll let you know if I learn anything.” He gave a wave, and then the call went black.
Felix began gathering his things. “I need to go too. Have a tour to give in twenty minutes. Stay out of trouble.”
Yumi plopped down on the couch next to Aida when he was gone. “Are you sure about the whole ancient god thing?”
Aida sighed. “You don’t believe me?”
“I do. You’re Miss History, not Miss Fantasy. But you have to admit, it seems so far-fetched.”
“I wish it weren’t real.” As the words left Aida’s lips, the emotion of the last few days overcame her, and she began to cry. Yumi folded her friend into her arms.
“We’ll figure it out. You aren’t alone in this,” she said, smoothing Aida’s hair. “We’ve figured out a lot so far, haven’t we?”
Aida nodded, then pulled away before she soaked too much of Yumi’s blouse. She wiped her eyes with her hands. “We have. And you know what I’m good at?”
Yumi raised an eyebrow.
“Research. I want to know everything I can about this whole thing. About these MODA gods, now that we know who they are. Maybe we’ll find a connection to a key.”
“Now you’re talking.” Yumi jumped off the couch to grab her laptop. “And we should search for information on Euphrosyne too. The database is only one component of this whole thing according to Sophie.”
Aida didn’t want to mention that it was likely the captive didn’t have the key to her own cage. But she couldn’t just sit there—she had to do something, anything, to not focus on the fact that everything she had once loved about her work in Rome had completely and utterly changed.
18
