“They will soon enough,” said Delphine. “It’s a secret that neither I, nor Patriarch Ruslan nor Patriarch Hypnos, have the right to keep from them when the Winter Conclave begins in three days.”
“Then I suppose we’d best hurry,” said Séverin.
Ruslan gestured toward the door, and with that, the two of them left the library. Laila made her way to Zofia, who nibbled on the edge of a sugar cookie.
“Not as good as yours,” said Zofia.
“I’ll make them again. When we go home.”
Zofia looked up at her, confusion giving way to happiness. Beside them, Enrique had just finished swallowing half of a large piece of cake.
“Begin,” said Séverin.
Enrique took a swig of tea. He still looked bruised and weary, but there was a new sheen to his eyes. A sheen he only got when curiosity grabbed hold of him. Before he looked at the symbols, he looked to her, and his expression was full of hope.
“The top set of symbols is what we found on the girls,” said Enrique. “The bottom set is from the leviathan—”
Laila frowned. “Where exactly did you find those symbols on the leviathan, Zofia?”
“I walked inside its mouth.”
Laila rubbed her temples. “Alone?”
“There was something inside. And it had stairs.”
“Zofia, that’s too dangerous to do alone,” said Laila. “What if something happened to you?”
Zofia’s gaze turned bleak. “What if something happens toyou?”
That took Laila aback. Her palm pulsed with the memory of Zofia and Enrique tending to the wound on her hand just outside of St. Petersburg. They cared, and every time she remembered it, it felt like a beam of unexpected sunlight.
Hypnos shuddered. “That leviathan is a monstrosity—”
“It’s not a monstrosity,” said Zofia, a touch defensively. “Automaton pets are not so far out of the norm—”
“Pet?” repeated Hypnos. “Did she say pet?”
“A pet is a dog or a cat—” started Enrique, appalled.
“Or a tarantula,” said Zofia.
“I beg your pardon—”
“There’s no need to beg,” said Zofia.
Enrique scowled.
“I can’t imagine someone naming that thing and looking upon it fondly,” said Laila.
Zofia seemed to consider this. “… I would name it David.”
All of them went silent.
“David,” repeated Enrique. “A tarantula named Goliath and a metal leviathan namedDavid.”
Zofia nodded.
“Why—”
