“Possibly. That would explain the timing. Why frame her now, specifically?” Calder’s jaw tightened. “Someone needed a scapegoat. Vitoria was convenient.”
“Or someone needed her silenced and framing her as the Phoenix accomplishes both.” The thought made my stomach turn. “She runs, they hunt her, problem solved.”
“Except she’s still alive. Still out there.” Calder stopped in front of me. “The question is, if we’re right, are they hiding her, or did she run from them too?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? As the walls closed in, as the Magistrate tightened his grip, as every hunter in the city searched for her, what would happen to her if we weren’t fast enough?
“We need that red-haired sprite,” I said finally.
“Crimson,” Calder corrected.
I nodded. “He’s the only link we have to whoever was pulling her away from us. Even if it leads to someone in government.Especiallyif it does.”
“And if it leads somewhere worse?”
I met his eyes. “We’ve always been good at thinking on our feet.”
He nodded once. “You know we’re going to have to start feeding them lies, right?”
“Yes, but we can’t do that until we know, without a doubt, we’re steering them away from her and not directly to her hiding spot.”
His stomach growled, breaking the tension. “I need a kitchen. Before I eat someone.”
“Dramatic,” I said with a small smile, letting the silencing spell drop as I followed him into the hallway. But the questions lingered.
Who had owned Vitoria’s nights?
The kitchen, when we finally found it, was massive, designed to feed an army, with industrial ovens and enough counter space to prepare meals for many. But only one corner showed recent signs of life.
Lucette sat at a worn wooden table, mechanically eating while staring at nothing. Her hair was down for once, falling in waves around her shoulders, making her look younger and more vulnerable than I’d ever seen her.
Pip hovered near a row of ceramic jars, her wings drooping with exhaustion. “No one told us where anything was,” she said mournfully. “I’ve been here for an hour trying to find the honey. Finally gave up and made eggs.”
Lucette didn’t look up. “They were terrible.”
“I did my best!”
Calder immediately took over with the efficiency of someone who’d spent years alone and had to learn to cook or starve. It wasrare to find him without food in his hand or a little snack in his pocket, so being under the control of the Magistrate was likely some kind of slow death for him. Soon the kitchen filled with the sounds and smells of a proper lunch, meat sizzling, sauces simmering and bread baking.
Pip watched him with enormous eyes, occasionally glancing at me for confirmation that this was really happening. When he pulled out a jar of honey and set it beside her without comment, her wings actually shimmered with delight.
“I thought youonlyate runes,” she said finally, her voice small.
Calder didn’t pause in his cooking. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Everyone knows. Rune Eater and all that.”
He flipped the bacon with more force than necessary. “Interesting.”
The kitchen door opened, and I tensed automatically before recognizing the Oracle’s white robes. Riot followed close behind, his suit stretching across broad shoulders with subtle shades of purple and black. His hand hovered near the small of Aureth’s back without quite touching, protective in a way that spoke of long practice.
“May we join you?” the Oracle asked, though Riot was already pulling out a chair for her. “It smells divine.”
“Of course,” Lucette said, standing to grab extra plates from the cupboard.
That’s when I got a proper look at her pants.
They were... massive. Rolled at the ankles multiple times, cinched at the waist with her belt pulled to its absolute limit, the fabric bunched in ways that suggested they belonged to someone at least a foot taller.
