She stared at Jules in disbelief. “How did you know that?”
His smile was small, playfully condescending. “Come on, Zaria. I know you better than anyone else. You’re easy to read. Anyway, I’m fine with waiting a little longer.” He fidgeted with his collar. “Also, uh, Kane offered me a job.”
“Ajob?” Zaria repeated the word as though it were absurd. She didn’t quite understand what he was getting at. “What do you mean?”
“Well, obviously the pawnshop is gone, and since I know quite a bit about alchemology now…” Jules shrugged. “He said the kingpin could use an appraiser of sorts. Someone who knows the value not only of dark market items but of the materials, too. I expect that way he’ll be able to deal with contentious matters more fairly.”
“You want to work withKane?”
He shrugged again, this time a bit defensively. “It’s within my skill set, and… well, what would I do if we moved elsewhere? Get a job in a factory? I know you’ve always hated living in Devil’s Acre, but I also know that you care about it. The people there. And now you’ve found even more people to care about.” Jules inclined his chin in the direction of the sitting room. “It’s okay to change your mind, you know.”
“But leaving is what we’ve always wanted,” said Zaria helplessly. “Ishouldn’tchange my mind. We had this dream together.”
“No.” He gave a firm shake of his head. “That’s never what our dream was. Not really. After all, we never had anywhere specific we wanted to go.”
“I don’t—”
“Zaria, the dream wasn’t about escapingLondon. It wasn’t even about escaping Devil’s Acre. It’s always been about escaping the helplessness. The sense that our fates were already decided for us. Mine was a lifetime spent running a pawnshop I never wanted to inherit, and yours was—well—”
“Dying?” Zaria finished sardonically.
“I suppose.” Jules made a face. “Do you see what I mean, though? We were never looking for aplace. We were always just looking for control. Happiness. Accomplishment.” He knocked his shoulder against hers. “If you want to spend a little longer trying to find that here, then I’m in.”
Zaria blinked rapidly, trying to keep her emotions in check. Because Jules was right, wasn’t he? That was all they’d ever wanted—the sense that they were in control of their own lives. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“But you wanted to go someplace you could see the sun. Someplace with a yellow front door.”
He gave a single surprised chuckle. “I can’t believe you remember that. It was never about the damned door, Zaria. Do you remember what else I said? That you see it from a distance and know you’re home.You’remy home, Zaria. Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be.”
“So I’m the door?” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“I always forget how bad you are with metaphors.” Jules rolled his eyes good-naturedly, then sobered. “Are you going to keep the primateria source?”
That very question had been lurking in the back of Zaria’s mind since leaving the Crystal Palace. Having that kind of power was obviously a burden, as Itzal’s actions proved. On the other hand, however, itwasher father’s. Didn’t he owe her that much?
“Yes,” she decided. “Yes, I’m keeping it. I’m going to finish every last commission my father left me, then maybe take on more of my own. Or I might just experiment.” She shrugged. “Perhaps I’ll see what else I can learn about alchemology and its limitations, now thatIdon’t have quite so many.”
Jules bobbed his head slowly. “You’ll be careful with it?”
Zaria slipped her still-damp coat and boots off. “Please, Jules,” she said. “When am I not careful?”
“Surely that can’t be a serious question,” he muttered, catching up to her easily as she ventured farther into the house.
Kane glanced up at their approach, one side of his mouth lifting, and Zaria’s pulse quickened in response. Before she went to join him, however, she knocked her shoulder against her friend’s. “Jules?”
“Yes, Zaria?”
“You’re my home, too.”
EPILOGUE
KANE
ONE MONTH LATER
The sunset was visible through the window of the office that had once belonged to Alexander Ward.
