“Why do you care?”
“As you might imagine, your death would inconvenience me greatly.”
That stung, although it shouldn’t have. “Because you need something from me.”
“Because,” Kane corrected her, “we have a mutually beneficial agreement.”
She scanned the lines of his face, looking for some evidence that he was being disingenuous. He had seemingly perfect control over his features, which just now appeared hewn from granite. She found her focus drifting down to his mouth and wondered vaguely whether he’d become a con because he was handsome enough to sell water to a drowning man.
“Miss Mendoza?” he said, and Zaria realized she had missed his next question.
“Yes.” She forced her gaze back up to his. “What?”
“Isaid, what was this client’s name?”
“Oh—Vaughan. I’ve no idea if it’s an alias or not.”
“Interesting. Well, I’ll make sure this MisterVaughan’s apparent bloodlust doesn’t impact our deal.”
Zaria lifted her chin. “Speaking of our deal, I’d like to discuss the terms.”
There was an indecipherable shift in Kane’s expression. “Not now. Let me escort you home. You almost died tonight, and it’s far too late to talk business.”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
A cavalier shrug. “All right then.”
She watched in disbelief as he leaned against the nearest soot-stained building and procured a small pipe. Not clay—metal and wood. Ofcoursehe would be able to afford something like that. He watched her slyly over his hands as he lit it with a solanum lighter, then tilted his head back, chin jutting toward the dark sky. His gaze seemed to flick among what few stars were visible through the smog,and if Zaria hadn’t known better, she might have thought he was tracking constellations. She figured his preoccupied silence was as much of an invitation as she would get.
“I actually came to ask you a favor,” she said after a beat.
Kane puffed smoke into the air. The look he gave her was incredulous. “Didyou, now? Well, you’re ever so charming, I can’t imagine I wouldn’t oblige.”
“Are you going to listen or not?”
“Have you noticed Orion’s Belt is visible tonight? Unusual, that.”
Zaria was beginning to think she’d never met a more frustrating person. Every barbed remark was poised perfectly to infuriate her. But she forced herself to think of Jules’s face. Of pockets full of money. Of leaving London and never seeing Kane Durante’s dagger-edged smirk again. She could manage for a week or two.
She hoped.
“I don’t care about Orion’s Belt,” she said, though she indeed glanced up, automatically seeking the trio of stars. “I need help finding someone. A woman who used to work for Ward. It was years ago, and I don’t know if she’s still in the area”—or alive, her brain supplied—“but it’s imperative that we speak.”
Kane surveyed her with mild irritation. “You’re asking me to get Ward involved in a manhunt just so you and some woman canspeak?”
“No,” Zaria snapped, too quickly. “I don’t want Ward involved at all. And it’s not a manhunt. But I would think you have the same resources he does, right?”
“We already have a deal, Miss Mendoza. Are you certain you wish to make another?”
“It’s not a deal. Besides, it helps me help you.”
“Does it, now?” His expression was appraising as he pivoted to face her straight on. “Who is this woman to you?”
Zaria didn’t answer right away, treading carefully. “I believe she might have important information. Information that can help me with my work.”
Kane’s face hardened. She couldseehim thinking, unraveling the pieces. After a moment of silent consideration, he leveled an accusatory finger at her. “You’re looking for a magic source.”
Damn it all. Zaria should have known he would be able to guess as much. He was familiar with the dark market. He knew what alchemologists coveted, what legends they believed.
