Not spiders at all.
They had eight legs and moved like spiders, but their bodies were made of eyeballs. A black pupil watched her from where the spider’s abdomen should have been as it made its way back to its host. The eye crawled up the man’s leg, joining the rest covering him.
“I just want to work for your boss,” the man said.
Suri’s face was a mix of color and irritation. “The boss doesn’t need more eyes. And if I ever see you in the Siren’s Hair again, or so much as a single spider eye, I’ll have both your real eyes scooped out of your head and nailed to the door.”
The man sneered at Suri but said nothing more as he walked away. With his back turned, Nes saw how the eyes crawled up his neck all the way to his hairline, where they disappeared inside his scalp. She shuddered, grateful she’d chosen not to unearth the magic’s true intention under the mask of the strawberry-syrup scent.
“You’re back!” Suri’s smile was bright and easy, all annoyance gone from her face. She threw an arm around Nes and began leading her toward the door.
She shrugged her friend off. “I’m not staying.”
Suri’s smile faltered but didn’t disappear. “Will you stay for a little bit? I’ve missed you.”
She hated this. Hated how she was suddenly questioning everything Suri had ever done. Hated how she no longer knew if she could trust her. Hated how she wondered if she was really her friend.
She gestured in the direction the man with the spiders had gone. “Phineas put you in charge of recruiting?”
“No.” Suri ran her hands down the front of her brown skirt. “Just taking out the trash.”
“And keeping an eye on people?”
“You know the Siren’s Hair is the first line of defense against the King’s Guard,” Suri whispered. “We have to at least pretend we’re upholding the law.”
“And how are you defending this place when you’re out keeping an eye on me?”
Suri froze. “Nes…”
“You had a choice. And you chose him.”
“It’s not like that. I would never choose him.”
“Didn’t you?” Nes asked, her voice full of ridicule. “Or was it some other green-eyed girl following me all over the city?”
“Nes, I—” Suri hung her head. “I’m sorry. If it helps, I only told him where you’d been, not what you were doing.”
That surprised her. Phineas wasn’t known for letting his employees cut corners. When he assigned a task, he expected it done right and done thoroughly.
“Why?”
Suri smiled again, but this time there was a note of sorrow in the curve of her lips. “Because you’re my friend.”
She watched Suri’s face for any hint of deceit. She wanted to trust her. But she’d been too willing to trust Phineas once before. She wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
Suri seemed to read the resolve in her face, so Nes was surprisedwhen Suri stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. She stiffened in the embrace.
“I know you don’t trust easily, but know that your trust means more to me than his ever will,” Suri whispered, so low Nes barely heard the words. “Front-right pocket.”
“What?” She tried to pull back, but Suri squeezed her harder.
“There’s a letter in my front pocket. Take it.”
Everyone knew Phineas did most of his dealings on paper. His clandestine meetings, the greatest secrets of his business, in writing for anyone to read. But no matter what she did, she’d never managed to get her hands on one. Now Suri was offering her a gift.
She put both arms around Suri, hugging her tight. As they released, Nes slid her hand in Suri’s pocket. She slipped the letter out and into her own before they stepped apart.
“You are my friend,” Suri said. “I hope you can say the same.”
