Ari
When Ari returns to the party, Dominique isn’t there.
He doesn’t worry, at first. They’ve been sent here for different reasons, and Dominique has likely gotten pulled into yet another circle of guests, perhaps fellow philosophers, syndicate trophies all demonstrating how well they are doing.
At the other end of the quad, he spots Will Taylor dancing with Sam. A pang of jealousy threads hot through his heart, and he looks away again, smiling instead at the people who greet him. Still, he keeps track of where the pair are, notices their body language. He can sense tension in the way Will turns to her, the way she seems attuned to his movements. When she spoke about Will during their conversation at the beach, Ari didn’t realize she might be attracted to him. That he might feel the same way about her.
Useful knowledge,he tells himself bitterly, hating how it makes him feel ill.
Ari spends his evening speaking with the head of Pirenne, cutting a deal with Neuewelt’s leader, making new acquaintances within Viongozi. But by the time he returns to the main party, Dominique still isn’t there. He frowns a little. She was supposed to reconvene with him at fifteen past the hour, and they were supposed to take the same car back to their quarters. Maybe she’s regrouped with Rudra, or maybe Reed himself has pulled her aside for a task. Ari calls her once, but she doesn’t pick up. Will and Sam are no longer in the quad, either.
Something heavy and ominous settles in Ari’s stomach, then extends up into his chest, where it coils and tightens, squeezing. There are too many people here, and their attention tonight feels crushing to him. He winces. The anxiety building in him is strong, and for a moment he wonders if he’s taken too much sand.
He steadies himself against the wall, waiting for the feeling to pass. Instead, it broadens, the tight coil around his chest stretching up into histhroat and down to his stomach, into his arms and legs. He doesn’t feel good.
Ari takes another look around the grounds, swallowing hard. No, he can’t be here too long tonight. He needs a quiet place to get a grip on his anxiety. And with that, he pushes away from the wall and takes his leave.
When he arrives back at his hotel suite, Rudra is waiting for him on the couch. The lights are dim, and no one else is here.
Ari steels himself. A feeling of dread is still looped tightly around his chest, and the presence of his mentor isn’t helping.
“Am I late for something?” Ari says.
“You’re right on time,” Rudra replies, and right away Ari can tell that the man is drunk. There is a slight slur in his words, and when he shifts forward in his seat, his posture is unsteady.
Ari takes off his shoes and heads into the kitchen to turn on the teamaker. “Where’s Dominique?” he asks warily. “Have you seen her?”
At that, Rudra laughs a little. “Look at you,” he mutters, “already talking as if you’re managing me.”
Ari sighs, fighting back the waves of anxiety in his head, and tosses his coat onto the back of a couch. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“Do I?” The man tilts his head.
Ari turns away. He really needs to calm down. “Would you like tea?” he offers.
Rudra doesn’t reply, but Ari fetches two mugs anyway, then pulls out packets of tea from a drawer and milk from the fridge. Behind him, he hears the man get up.
When Ari turns back around, Rudra is standing by the kitchen counter, leaning against the marble top. “Reed sent you to negotiate with Neuewelt and Pirenne,” he says quietly.
The teamaker beeps as the hot water starts to boil. Ari pours out two cups of tea and hands one to Rudra. “Yes,” he says.
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I thought you knew,” Ari replies.
Rudra smiles, his lips twisted. “This is how they do it, you know,” he mutters.
“How who does what, sir?”
“Don’tsirme, you little shit.”
It’s been a long time since Rudra has called him that, and for a moment, Ari feels like a student again, cowering in the laboratory over another failed transmutation. The anxiety in his chest builds again, and he feels his heartbeat racing uncomfortably.
Rudra approaches him. “This is how they do it, turning us against each other,” he says. “I was born in Gotham, but my family comes from Maharashtra. We should trust each other, you and I. But look at us now, forced to play musical chairs for one seat.”
Charisma is working against Ari now—Rudra’s eyes are dilated with the desire to hurt and manipulate him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ari says.
