She furrowed her brow. “Do I want to know?”
“That remains to be seen.”
Rinaldo rapped his fingers on the window.
Gideon sighed. He honestly looked…disappointed. As if he had been enjoying their time together. “I fear our game is concluded for the moment.”
“Damn. I was having fun playing ‘Twenty Questions with a Lich.’ I was just getting the hang of it. Wait! Is your soul-holder bigger or smaller than a breadbox?”
Surprised laughter exploded from him again. His eyes twinkled in happiness. The sincerity of it caught her off guard. Because something else shone behind the amusement. Something next to hope. Something she didn’t want to name. “You never cease to amaze me, princess.”
She swallowed. There was a rock in her throat for some reason. The look on his face riveted her to the spot. She felt pinned by his gaze like a butterfly in a collection. “You…didn’t answer me.”
Reaching into his wallet, he pulled out several bills that she assumed was far more than a few cups of coffee and a biscotti and dropped them on the table. He stood from his chair and straightened his suit and tie. Scooping up his cane where it was propped up against the table, he leaned over her and rested his other hand on the arm of her chair. He caged her in.
It was her turn to have her face go warm. Inching closer, he ducked his head to her ear and whispered, his hot breath washing over her skin. “It’s called a phylactery.”
And as quickly as he was there, he was gone again. He strolled away from her, cane tapping on the old cobblestones of the sidewalk. Without turning to look back at her, he waved a hand over his shoulder. “Ta, princess. Text me if you need anything.”
“You still didn’t answer my breadbox question!” she shouted after him.
He laughed but didn’t stop. Nor did he answer.
With a grumbling sigh, she stood from the chair, grabbed her backpack, and headed into the restaurant. Ally and Rinaldo were there waiting for her, watching her eagerly. She sat down beside them. There was already a second cup of coffee and what looked like a croissant—or whatever the fancy Italian version of it was called, anyway—on a plate at the spare spot.
“Well?” Rinaldo asked. He didn’t look much better than when they had arrived. “What was that all about?”
“I asked him some questions. I got a few answers.” She was still sorting through it all in her head. Talking with Gideon felt natural, but it was also…kind of a rush. It was like being strapped to a rollercoaster while blindfolded. Was it a kiddie coaster? Or one of those terrible ones that flipped upside-down? She had no freaking idea what was happening or which way it was going to go. She wasn’t in charge. She was just buckled up and holding on for dear life.
Literally.
I might not survive my next death. That sounds weird to think about, seeing as that’s perfectly normal for everybody else.
It took her a second to realize Ally and Rinaldo were staring at her. “Oh. Uh. Hah. Right. Um. Well?” She coughed. She debated not telling them. She didn’t know if she could trust them. But, fuck, she didn’t know if she could trust Gideon either. One set of them hadn’t misled her and lied about being her psychiatrist. No, but they did try to kidnap me.
In the weirdest kind of way, she realized she trusted both sets of people. She didn’t think either group was lying to her. That made it worse because that meant she might have to pick a side.
I don’t want to pick a side. I want to be on my own side. But that’s not how life goes when you’re just a piece on the board of somebody else’s game. Didn’t mean she couldn’t be cranky about it.
“Well?” Ally prompted.
Rubbing her hands on her temples, Maggie grunted. “I know why you drink too much, Rinnie.”
He snorted. “You don’t know the half of it, kid. But I suspect you’re starting to figure it out.”
Eh, fuck it. Might as well tell them. They’ll get it out of me eventually, I’m sure. “I know what the symbol I carved is for.”
“Oh?” That got Rinaldo’s attention, even through his clearly miserable headache.
“Gideon is dying. And…so am I.” She paused. “And I have to decide whether or not to save us both.”
* * *
Reaching up,Gideon scratched the feathers on the chest of the vulture that perched on the metal railing beside him. He stood on the balcony of his hotel room, looking over the city. “I know, Eurydice. I know.”
His familiar was grumpy with him. She always was. He took too many risks, didn’t use his power enough in tricky situations, and let himself be too exposed to attack. She scolded him on the regular about those topics and more.
“It has to happen this way.”