Laila raised an eyebrow.
“I am assisting you, am I not?” she asked frostily.
“Yes.” Séverin pretended to adjust his sleeves. “We leave for St. Petersburg the day after tomorrow. We have much to do.”
“What about after we get the Tezcat spectacles?” asked Hypnos. “Will we tell the Order—”
“No,” said Séverin sharply. “I don’t want their interference until we know what we’re working with. Winter Conclave is in three weeks’ time in Moscow. If we have something by then, we’ll share.”
Hypnos frowned at this, but Séverin ignored him. He was not letting the Order take this from him. Not after so much had changed. As Séverin turned to leave, he caught sight of evening falling outside the stargazing room.
Once, this meeting room had served as a reminder that thestars themselves were within reach. Once, they could tip back their heads and dare to gaze at the heavens. Now, the stars seemed a mockery: teeth-white snarls of destiny and constellations, spun out into a celestial calligraphy that spelled unshakable fates for all mortals. That would change, thought Séverin. Soon… they would find that book.
Then, not even the stars could touch them.
6
LAILA
Laila watched Séverin leave the stargazing room, a tilted emptiness settling inside her.
On the one hand, she let herself hope for the first time in ages. If Séverin’s informant proved right, then perhaps she had more left of life than she imagined. On the other hand, Séverin stained all that fresh hope with hate. She hated the cold light in his eyes and the frigid tug of his smile. She hated that the sight of him twisted something inside her, forcing her to remember that, once, he had made her feel wonder.
Worse, she hated hoping that the moment he foundThe Divine Lyricswould be the moment he would return to who he had once been. As if some spell might be broken. Laila tried to push out that dream, but it was stubborn and stuck fast to her heart.
“My laboratory—” started Zofia, at the same time Enrique muttered about the library. Hypnos shushed them violently.
“Non,” he said. He pointed at the floor. “Stay here. I will berightback. I have a surprise.”
He fled the room, leaving the three of them alone. Laila cast a sidelong glance at Zofia. She’d hardly had a chance to speak to her before the meeting. Now that she looked at her, new details leapt to her attention… Zofia had not changed out of her traveling clothes. Violet circles haunted her eyes. There was a thinness to her face that spoke of worry. That was not how she should look after spending Chanukah with her family.
“Are you well? Are you eating enough?”
Before Laila had moved out of L’Eden, she’d written explicit instructions to the cooks on how to serve Zofia. Zofia hated when her food touched; didn’t like overly bright or patterned plates; and her favorite dessert was a perfectly pale and perfectly round sugar cookie. Laila used to do those things for her. But that was before. And the moment the question left her mouth, the more guilt sharpened in her heart. What right did she have to ask after Zofia whenshehad left? Whenshehad put distance between them?
Laila turned the garnet ring on her hand. Sometimes she felt her secret like a poison slowly leeching into her bloodstream. More than anything, she wanted to tell them, to free herself from this burden… but what if the truth repulsed them? Her own father could barely look at her. She couldn’t lose the only family she had left.
Zofia shrugged. “Goliath is losing his appetite.”
“Considering Goliath eats crickets, I’m not sure I blame him,” said Laila teasingly.
“He’s not eating as many crickets as he should,” said Zofia, plucking a matchstick and chewing it. “I made a chart documentingthe volume of crickets consumed, and the trajectory is descending. I could show it to you if you’d like—”
“I’m fine without,” said Laila. “But thank you.”
Zofia stared at her lap. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
Laila almost reached out to hold Zofia’s hand before pausing. What looked like love to her did not always look like that to Zofia. Zofia’s gaze lifted to the black cushion Tristan used to sit on, now shoved under the coffee table.
“Perhaps Goliath is grieving,” said Laila softly.
Zofia met her gaze. “Perhaps.”
Zofia looked like she would say more, but Enrique wandered over to Laila.
“We need to talk later,” he murmured before he sat in front of her.
“There’s little to say,” said Laila.
