“You two need to come upstairs,” Cassandra said.
“I have something to show you.”
“It waslike I was in her mind, seeing through her eyes,” Cassandra said, fiddling with her mug.
Mireille had brewed a pot of chamomile tea while Cassandra told her and Ronin what had happened at the Kennel.
“It was similar to when I was upset the other night and you touched me,” she said, nodding toward Mireille, who’d finished stirring her own tea and had taken a seat on the couch. As far away from Ronin, who was seated at the dining table, as possible.
Cassandra had no idea what the two wolf bi-forms had been up to when she and Silas had burst into the shop. For a split second, it looked like they were on the verge of devouring each other. But they’d bounced apart faster than opposing magnets, and hadn’t said a word to each other since.
“One minute, I was in Silas’s memory, looking upon his pregnant wife, and the next second, I was in his daughter’s mind.In the present.” She took Silas’s hand. “I think she might be a member of the Teles Chrysos. Her friend mentioned something about rebels? About a meeting?”
Silas himself had lost a touch of his calm composure when Cassandra had told him his daughter’s name. He hadn’t known it. Hadn’t even known that Penelope had given birth to a female. He’d been dazed and quiet for the entire walk back to the shop. Some color had finally returned to his cheeks, thanks to the tea.
“She was in a large city,” Cassandra said. “Tons of Fae, streets packed with cars. The buildings were so tall I couldn’t even see the tops of them and the window she was looking in had a golden sheen. It was still warm outside, so I’m guessing she was somewhere in the southern part of the continent?”
Ronin tapped the table. “Sounds like Rhamnos. The Teles Chrysos leadership, not to mention a majority of their forces, are stationed in Lebaedia, not too far from there. They often journey down to the city to recruit new members. What did you say her name was again?”
“Sofia,” Silas said, testing out the syllables. Like he might never stop saying it. “Sofia Hershon. Her mother’s name is Penelope.”
Ronin shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t recognize the name. Doesn’t mean anything though. The movement is growing rapidly. She could have joined after I left for the colonies.”
“It’s okay,” Silas said with a soft smile. “Just to know that she’s alive, that she exists.” He squeezed Cassandra’s hand. “Thank you.”
“You’ll meet her,” Cassandra said. “As soon as we get out of here.”
“Well, there’s something to look forward to.” He pulled his hand away and scratched at a bushy brow, overcome.
Cassandra turned to Ronin. “I want to try it on you.”
Ronin startled. “Why?”
“Because I think the jumping occurs between blood relatives. Mireille’s father. Silas’s daughter.”
Ronin’s face paled.
“Maybe we can find Selene.” Cassandra reached a hand across the table, palm up.
“Okay,” Ronin said, glancing toward Mireille who offered a sympathetic nod. “What do I… Is there a specific memory I need to conjure?”
Cassandra shook her head. “Any memory will do.”
Mireille pushed up off the couch and ambled over, reaching into the pocket of her robe and placing a chess piece on the table.
The white queen.
He shot Mireille a rueful smile as he said, “I’ve got a few that might work.”
Ronin’s memoriesof his sister did work.
They were sweet. Playful, even. Cassandra could tell how deep their bond ran, even in the few memories where the twins had been at each other’s throats.
Yes, the memories worked fine.
What didnotwork was the mind jumping.
They’d tried recent memories. Like the last time Ronin and Selene had seen each other before she’d been arrested. That one was a tense affair at Ronin’s sleek, modern, and very official-looking townhouse in Delos. They’d been arguing about Selene’s work with the Teles Chrysos. She was getting in with some of the more unhinged factions of the movement, taking unreasonable risks. According to Ronin, at least. Lethaphyll-powered trips to the Halfway. Studying chronomancy, that long-suppressed seer’s practice. Attempting to commune with theFallen Goddess. And distributing Teles Chrysos propaganda throughout Imperial-leaning northern Nephes.
