The door creaks open.
Twino stares at us both. His eyes dart from Kaelis—face shadowed and half hidden by his hood—to me and back. Twino’s brows lift, and I hold my breath.
Chapter 30
“Can I help you?” he finally asks. Yet again, my disguise holds.
“Is this any way to greet an old friend?” I can’t stop a grin.
“Excuse me?” His brow furrows.
“Ten stones to the left of the back door of the original club. Forgot to wrap the supplies in oilcloth once and the brushes molded. Scolded for weeks.” It’s a reference to a hiding spot at the old club, used to get supplies to Arcanists who couldn’t risk coming into the club itself.
His eyebrows furrow slightly, but he doesn’t say anything. Twino is skeptical and cautious to the last.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He steps backward, into his home, angling to put the door between us. “Have a nice day.”
Kaelis’s arm reaches around me, stopping the door with a palm. He lifts his chin slightly, showing his face.
Twino’s mouth drops open slightly. “Fucking Twenty…” He looks back to me. It’s all too much to be chance: Someone could’ve overheard our special knock. The information about the club could’ve beenhappened upon—after all, others besides me did know it. But Kaelis being at my side completes the picture.
I drop my voice to drive the point home, trying to make it sound as much as I can like my old self. “Bristara never did like it when you swore.”
“You…” His words are lost. “What did you do to yourself?”
I stand a bit taller and grin more broadly, now immensely satisfied at my decision to remake myself. My new appearance is passing every test with flying colors. I’d bet even Ravin wouldn’t recognize me. “Impressed?”
Twino reaches out, running his hand along my jawline, narrowing his dark brown eyes. “It’s not an illusion…”
“You couldn’t tell that just by looking?”
“I didn’t believe it.” Worry competes with awe. He’s too smart not to suspect what this means I endured.
My grin relaxes into a gentler, more reassuring smile. My friend doesn’t need to worry for me. Not now. “You should let us in before your neighbors begin gossiping.”
“Of course.” He ushers us through the doorway.
“Cozy” is the first word that comes to mind as we enter the foyer. The warm wooden floors are worn from past owners to pale tracks that lead to and from rooms, most heavily trafficked toward the back, where a door of iron and glass is open to a tiled kitchen beyond. Pegs stick out of limewashed walls behind the door, where Kaelis now hangs his coat. Stairs are lined with a runner that brings in a splash of color in a brilliant pattern of reds and pinks that’s distinctly Clan Lovers. It’s sparse, plain by the standards of most of the well-to-do that live in this neighborhood. But a worthy foundation for a new life.
There is a quiet guilt that swims through me at the notion that a part of me, however small, would’ve ever wanted anything else for them. Even if it means they are no longer as present in my life.
“Ren—” Twino begins to say.
He’s interrupted by a blur of golden fur and scratching claws. Thedog rockets itself toward us, bounding out of the kitchen. His tongue lolls in his open mouth that honestly looks like a smile.
But the second he lays eyes on me, the creature skids to a halt, whole body suddenly rigid and hair standing on end. A low growl rumbles from his throat.
“Gilly, this is a friend.” Twino steps closer to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. He says to me, “Sorry, he’s never done this before.” As if that’s supposed to make me feel better…It’s like the animal can smell the blood on my hands and knows I don’t quite belong in a place so peaceful.
Then the dog shifts his gaze to Kaelis and his entire demeanor transforms. Ears perk up, tail wags again. He trots over and sniffs Kaelis’s shins before sitting with eager eyes.
Of. Course. He. Does.
“Nice to meet you, Gilly.” Kaelis crouches and scratches the dog behind his ears.
“Do you evenlikedogs, Mister Cat Owner?” I’m wounded over a ball of golden fluff. I can’t help it.
“I am fond of any creature that demonstrates intelligence and excellent judgment.” Kaelis is so smug I’m surprised he doesn’t collapse under the weight of it filling the air around him.
