“Iam not lost.” She cocked her head. “Are you?”
“No.” He sat back down.
The little girl scooted next to him. Her legs barely reached the ground. She dangled them, kicking the air. She didn’t have a jacket or a coat on, just a frilly lilac dress and a matching cardigan that looked too thin for the weather. A sparkly brooch was pinned to her cardigan, and upon closer look, Yiran saw it was in the shape of a skull with a rose covering one eye socket. It was odd, but who was he to judge what little girls liked?
She had to be a child of a guest at The Reverie. Maybe her parents were drinking vintage wine in a classy dining room, and she’d snuck out because she was bored.
The two of them sat in companionable silence. Yiran’s thoughts meandered back to his friends.Friends...Were Rui and Zizi his friends? Rui had said they were friends back at Song Mansion.You’re connected by the spell and her magic, that’s all. Don’t lose sight of your goal, Yiran reminded himself, annoyed with the part of him that was feeling guilty.
Squelch.
He turned to the little girl. She smiled, puffed up her cheeks, and squished them again.
He wagged a stern finger at her.
She giggled.
The night breeze skittered across the hill, rustling the leaves on the ground and ushering the scent of flowers and tea. The little girl shivered and rubbed her arms. Her face was looking pale to the point of being sickly. Yiran hadn’t noticed the bruised circles under her big, round eyes earlier either.
“Why don’t you go inside where it’s warm?” he suggested.
She shook her head and plucked a rose from a nearby bush.
“Want my jacket?”
She peered at him curiously, considering his offer. Then shook her head again.
“Don’t take things from strangers. Bet your mom taught you that.” He laughed.
“I don’t have a mom.”
Yiran wanted to kick himself. “I’m sorry.”
The little girl smiled. “Don’t be.”
His heart twinged. He saw himself as a young boy standing in the middle of the courtyard at Song Mansion, heard the sound of a gate closing.
“It’s not that bad,” the little girl reassured him. “I still have family.”
“I’m glad. I’m Yiran, by the way. What’s your name?”
“Seven.”
“That’s an unusual name. Very pretty.”
Seven gave him a toothy grin. “I like you. You’re nice.”
“Why, thank you, that’s a very kind thing to say.”
She placed her small hand on his much larger one and squeezed it briefly. Her skin felt like ice. Maybe shewasill. He should get her back to the hotel before her family blamed him for letting her catch a cold or something.
“I’m looking for my brother,” the little girl said suddenly. “You wouldn’t happen to know where he is, would you?”
Why would I?Yiran shook his head. “I’m sure he’s probably in the hotel.”
Seven scratched her nose and stared into the distance with a faraway look on her face, as if she were listening to the wind. “I don’t think so.” A different smile appeared on her face. It made her look like a feral fox cub. “Did you know there’s a library inside? It’s full of stories.”
“Aren’t all libraries full of stories?”
