They turned at the sound of her voice.
Zizi laid his pestle down and adjusted his cardigan.
Yiran had the decency to look a little guilty. He hooked his thumbs into his pockets. “Did we wake you, Darcy—uh,Rui? How are you feeling?”
There was a cut on his lip, the abrasion spreading to the side of his mouth. Rui suddenly had an idea of how Zizi got that bruise on his cheekbone.
“I feel like crap,” she replied. Then, grudgingly, “Thanks for bringing me here last night.”
Yiran rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well—”
“You didn’t tell Ash or your grandfather about this, did you?” she cut in. She didn’t want him to think she was excessively grateful or anything. He was just a stranger who was holding on to something of hers.
Yiran shook his head.
He looked so miserable that Rui almost felt sorry for him. He was probably in trouble with his grandfather. The Head of the Exorcist Guild wouldn’t be pleased that his grandson had gone to the Night Market. But that was Yiran’s problem. Not hers. He’d made a choice to be there. She wasn’t going to be a scapegoat for some rich boy’s mistakes.
She steadied herself against the counter. Her limbs felt heavy, and she longed for a hot drink to warm her body. But she didn’t want Zizi to worry, and she couldn’t let Yiran think her weak. Not when she needed him to do what she wanted. She straightened. Rest and sleep could come later.
“We need to talk about what happened last night,” she said.
Everyone in the room knew her statement translated toWe should all agree to tell the same story to anyone who asks.
She stared resolutely at Yiran, continuing, “I was in Tangren Quarter because I didn’t see the text from the Academy about the canceled patrol. On my way back to campus, I ran into a Revenant. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time. I killed the Revenant and saved you.” She pointed a finger at Zizi. “Youwill reverse the spell and transfer my spiritual energy back right now. Everything falls back into place. End of story. No one outside this room needs to know what actually happened.”
“Did the Revenant really have tentacles?” Zizi said.
“Why do you care?”
“Professional curiosity.”
“They grew from its back, and all its spiritual energy was concentrated there. After it was killed, it didn’t vaporize into smoke. There was a—a kind of body. It became like stone or a statue, and then it crumbled into dust.”
“That’s weird.”
“But it didn’t look human. I don’t think it was a Hybrid.” Rui bit back her disappointment.
There was a snort from Yiran’s direction. “Hybrid?Come on, they don’t exist.”
Rui ignored him. She didn’t owe anyone her past or her pain, especiallynot Song Yiran. She leaned close to Zizi, asking in a low voice, “Will you speak to your friends about this?” She couldn’t help feeling like a hypocrite. She’d asked many favors of him through the years because of his connections, and yet she’d made a choice to stand with the Exorcist Guild.
Zizi nodded. “Why don’t you take a seat? I’ll make you a hot drink.” He must’ve noticed how pale she was, how she was shivering under the enormous bathrobe.
Rui gave him a small smile and curled up on the old leather armchair in a corner of the parlor by the window, a place in the shophouse she’d come to think of as her special spot. Sunlight streamed in, and she held her hands up to warm them.
Yiran yawned. “You know, I could use some coffee.”
“There’s a joint two blocks south,” Zizi told him. “Heard their cappuccinos taste like dirty dishwater. Why don’t you give that a go?”
“I’m already here, and you’re makinghera drink.”
“Because it’sher.” Zizi gestured at the front door. “No one’s stopping you from leaving.”
“You’re so immature.”
“You accused me of being a witch,” Zizi said, looking gravely insulted.
“Wizard,” Yiran corrected. “Witch, sorcerer, mage—what’s the difference anyway?”
