“That doesn’t make sense. There’s a mind-worker involved; I’m certain of it.”
“I don’t know. Maybe Agni was a mind-worker, too? I just need to breathe. Can I just breathe for a moment?” I’m crying, nearly hyperventilating, shaken to my core. I squeeze Luca’s limp hand for comfort.
Nicoleta does what Nicoleta always does—pace. “Maybe we should leave Gomorrah,” she says.
“Where would we go? We’re as far up in the Up-Mountains as you can get—”
“Anywhere is better than here. There’s another killer here, Sorina. There’s someone else. I can feel it.”
This isn’t what I meant by “just breathe.” I feel as though I need months to gasp for air, if not years. To sleep and not worry about any of this, and to get the sound of Agni’s bones crunching out of my head.
“I need to talk to Villiam,” I say.
“Then go check if he’s next door. Hawk and I will stay with Luca.”
I thank her and hurry outside to Villiam’s caravan. As I knock on the door, I realize just how much I need to hear his voice. I need him to hug me. To tell me it will be okay. I need my father to sort this out.
There are voices inside.
“There are people dying in Gomorrah over this nonsense,” Villiam says. “Your officials are terrorizing them for no reason.”
“The officials are under direct orders from the new lord Exander to ensure you leave. If you want them to stop, take your Festival away from here and back to where you came from.”
“We had permission to come here a month ago. From the lord.”
“It’s been revoked, now that the previous lord is dead. May he rest in peace.”
“Why?”
“It doesn’t matter why.”
I knock harder. This time, someone throws open the door. It’s a Leonitian city official, dressed all in white. He stares at me and my strange mask.
“Go home, girl,” he says.
“Sorina?” Villiam’s eyebrows furrow. “What are you doing here?”
“I need you. Please.”
Villiam turns to the officials. “We’ll be leaving Leonita soon. And I suggest you remove your officials from our Festival. We didn’t come here looking for violence—we’re fleeing the war behind us. But if you continue to attack, know that you are against an entire city, one far more ancient than yours and one full of magic.”
His expression is intimidating, almost threatening, even despite his crutches. Before I knocked, it sounded as though the officials had the upper hand, but Villiam turned the course of the conversation in an instant. Would I ever be able to do that, as a proprietor? I doubted it.
“Ovren champions those who serve Him,” one of the officials says, but he pulls the other by the shoulder and they leave.
“What has happened, Sorina?” he says, once the door closes behind them. “You look frazzled.”
“We were attacked,” I say, burying my face in his chest. “It was Agni. Agni killed Gill and Blister and Venera. Luca is innocent.”
He stiffens. “No, that’s not possible. I’ve known Agni for years—”
“It was Agni. He came after us with Hellfire.”
Villiam closes his eyes and takes a deep, staggered breath. “He’s been...shaken since his son was taken. I thought the work was good for him. But...our informants were certain. Where is Agni? I want to speak with him immediately.”
“Agni is dead,” I say quietly, feeling almost guilty when I see the stricken expression on my father’s face.
Villiam covers his mouth with his hand and takes a deep breath. “And Luca?”
“He’s in my tent. So are the others. They’ll tell you what happened.”
We hurry back to my tent, where Nicoleta has managed to awaken Luca. As soon as we enter, I have the urge to release all the illusions, to sit among what remains of my family and let Villiam clear our problems away. It’s over. It’s over at last.
Luca watches us approach with wide eyes.
“Sorina. No,” he says weakly.
“What happened?” Villiam asks. “Is everyone all right?”
“No,” Luca says again, a panicked expression on his face. “It’s him, Sorina. He’s the mind-worker. He’s been a jynx-worker all along.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
My heart leaps into my throat. No, that’s impossible. What is Luca talking about? He’s obviously mistaken, and I turn to Villiam, ready to apologize, to make excuses for Luca’s confusion.
Villiam takes a few steps closer to Luca, hobbling on his crutches. Nicoleta lunges in between them, as if protecting him, as if she believes him.
Before I can think about what’s happening, I hastily hoist Luca’s and Nicoleta’s Strings into their Trunks. Luca is disoriented, and neither of them know Villiam like I do. I’m tired of the accusations. Tired of jumping to conclusions. Villiam doesn’t have any jynx-work. And he’d never hurt anyone in our family.
Nevertheless, my pulse quickens, and I’m hyperaware of the silence in the tent.
“You put them away?” Villiam says.
“Yes. What were they talking about?” I ask.
“I have no idea,” he says. “They looked traumatized, which isn’t surprising after what Agni did. We’ve both known Agni for years—this is a shock for everyone. To think that he’d be driven to this point... And I can’t blame anyone more than myself...”
Why would Luca think Villiam is a jynx-worker or that he had anything to do with this? I take a few steps away from him, hating myself as I do so. It’s only Villiam. My father. The man who’s watched over me for years. I don’t need to protect myself from him.
Luca must’ve made a mistake. Did he hear Agni talking about Villiam? Or is he only jumping to conclusions, since Agni is Villiam’s assistant?
“Can I make you some tea, my dear?” Villiam asks. When I shake my head, he takes a seat on the floor and motions for me to join him. I do, leaning my head against his shoulder, my thoughts twisted.
“Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“I...” My mouth runs dry as I picture the fire. The cruelty in Agni’s voice. The horror of finding Luca unconscious in the cage, of realizing he’s my illusion. It’s been too much. I can’t possibly begin to process it all.
“I want to help you, but you need to talk to me,” he says. “Tell me what happened.”
I hesitate. I can’t help it—I’m tense. Why do I always trust Luca’s judgment more than my own? I can think for myself, but it seems as if I always listen to everyone else before I trust my own instincts. When I ran to Villiam, the first thing he did was make sure we were all safe. Why would he do that if he was involved?
But I need to ask questions, even if they’re difficult. Gill, Blister and Venera died because I opted for easy answers to difficult questions, and it’s time I assume responsibility. Even though Villiam is innocent, I need to ask...
Then, suddenly, my train of thought stumbles. I just made Luca disappear, yet Villiam hasn’t asked how that was possible.
I lift my head off his shoulder. “Aren’t you surprised that Luca is an illusion?” I ask. “I just made him disappear, after all.”
He clears his throat. “I figured you would tell me when you’re ready. I didn’t want to push you...”
But his words don’t ring true. Villiam has helped me create all of my illusions, so if I’d made another one without telling him, he would be shocked—hurt, even. I share all of my illusion plans with him, every step of the processes.
I stand up and put several feet between us. “Luca said you’re a mind-worker. Is that true?” My breath quickens, and all the anxiety of the past month seems to hit me one hundredfold. I’m stupid, stupid, stupid.
I search Villiam’s eyes as my question lingers in the air. It felt silly to even ask it. Of course he’ll tell me he’s not a jynx-worker. He’ll laugh. The idea is...preposterous.
“I don’t like lying to you, Sorina,” he says, avoiding my face. His words make my knees almost give out. “I’m a mind-worker with a talent for peering into people’s memories and meddling with them as I wish.”