Dara shook his head and slid off his barstool. “I need to talk to Noam.”
Ames let out a low laugh. “What,” she said, “haven’t you heard? Noam has a new boyfriend these days.”
“He told you?”
“No. But I’m pretty good at recognizing patterns lately. And Lehrer obviously has a type.”
“Excuse me?”
She arched a brow. “Young, powerful, desperate for a father figure. Or am I missing something?”
Dara grimaced. “No, that pretty much covers it.”
A flicker of guilt crossed her face like a shadow, and she reached out—then faltered, like she was going to grab his arm and then thought better of it. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean ...”
“It’s fine,” Dara said. “It’s true, anyway. Or it was.”
“Still. Sorry. I’m not trying to ruin our joyous reunion, or whatever. You know ... you know I’m glad to see you.”
She was chewing on her lower lip, the skin already gone red and chapped. A thread of regret unspooled down Dara’s spine, tangling in his stomach.There’s nothing I can do. Nothing.He rested one hand on her shoulder and squeezed.
“I know,” he said gently. “I’m glad to see you too.”
He left her there on the barstool, catching Noam’s gaze somewhere near the back door. Noam followed three steps behind as Dara headed out into the back alley. The snow was deep enough now to be cold around Dara’s ankles, melting down into his socks. He pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket and cupped a hand over his mouth to light one. His hands were numb; his thumb kept slipping on the lighter, each spark quickly eaten up in the cold air.
“Goddamnit.”
“Here,” Noam said. “Let me.”
He tramped through the snow, closing the distance between them. He snapped his fingers and lifted a flame to the end of Dara’s cigarette. Dara inhaled smoke and the scent of Noam’s aftershave—since when did Noam wear aftershave?
Noam’s hand lingered a beat too long on Dara’s, his fingertips still warm with pyromancy.
“Thanks,” Dara muttered and exhaled his smoke away from Noam’s face. It had the added benefit of turning his cheek toward Noam—Dara had the distinct suspicion Noam had thought of kissing him, just then. He fixed his gaze at a spot on the brick wall of the opposite building until finally Noam stepped away.
“So,” Noam said eventually. “What’s up?”
Dara turned back to him. Noam still managed to lookhopeful, even with Lehrer’s watch on his wrist, even wearing Lehrer’s taste in clothes with Lehrer’s touch written all over his skin.
“Ames is under persuasion,” Dara said. “She’s a spy for Lehrer.”
He watched Noam process that information in waves: each shifting emotion a ripple across his expression—skepticism, realization. Horror.
Dara set his mouth in a grim line—it shouldn’t be so satisfying. It was terrible. It was Dara’s best friend with her mind caught in Lehrer’s puppet strings. But. Noam believed him. And that wasn’t nothing.
“How do you know?” Noam said in lowered tones, like he thought Ames might have her ear pressed to the bar door.
“I knowher,” Dara said. “I know how persuasion victims look. How they act. And what’s more, I know Lehrer.” He fixed Noam with a steady look. “You keep making the same mistake, Álvaro. You keep assuming Lehrer will act as you would act. It would never occur to you to enslave the will of a girl you’ve known since her childhood. But Lehrer doesn’t have your conscience, and he isn’t stupid. He doesn’t trust you, no matter what he says. He has to makesure.”
Noam’s throat shifted as he swallowed. There was snow caught in his hair, dusting the lines of his shoulders. He looked like a statue slowly frosting over. “I know he doesn’t trust me,” he said slowly. “He put me under suppressants. Questioned me. But then I thought ...”
“You thought that would be enough for him,” Dara finished. He arched a brow. “Like I said. Maybe it would be enough for you, but—”
“But, Lehrer.” Noam sighed and scrubbed one hand through his snow-damp hair. He had his eyes squeezed shut, mouth twisted in a knot. Dara didn’t need telepathy with him; Noam wore his heart on his sleeve. But when Noam finally looked back to Dara, his gaze was even. “Okay. Ames is under persuasion.”
“Anything we say in front of her will get right back to Lehrer,” Dara said.
“Right. And I think we should leave her in place.” Noam shrugged. “Better the devil we know.”
