“Could I?” With a wink, he opened the door. But then he stopped, dragged in a deep breath, and turned back to face her. “Because you are the daughter of one of my dearest friends, I will say this—Zivon Marin is either the greatest asset or the greatest enemy I’ve ever encountered. I think he is the first. But I can’t dismiss the possibility that he is simply more clever than I.”

Something everyone who served under him, herself included, had always thought impossible. People may be more intelligent, like the enigmatic Margot De Wilde, for instance. But no one was more clever.

He shook his head. “There is still much about him I don’t know. And you’re aware of how I feel about unknowns.”

She did. She spent hours upon hours each week trying to fill in the blanks for him, using the images sent from agents all over the world to do so. Her throat dry, she could only nod.

He said no more either, clicking the door shut behind him.

Leaving her with questions she didn’t know how to answer. Feelings she didn’t know how to sort. If Zivon wasn’t a true ally, then she’d be a fool to like him.

But she did. And if he were all he promised, then she’d be a fool not to try to win a place by his side.

Assuming he even wanted her there.

Letting out a sigh of disgust with herself, she spun back to her desk and picked up her scalpel. Best to focus on what she knew.

The humming drew her up the stairs like a siren song. Lily’s exhaustion slipped off her shoulders as she reached the landing and turned down the corridor, toward where her and Ivy’s doors stood nestled together in the corner of the house. She could knock on her sister’s door. Go in and sprawl under the canopy on her bed to exchange the news about their days.

Instead, she went to her own room, tossing her bag aside and turning on the lights after checking to make sure the blackout curtains were in place. Then she settled in the corner, onto the pillows she kept here just for this purpose. After getting comfortable and pulling a blanket over her legs, she tapped on the wall. Tap, tap-a-tap.

From the other side came a scurry. A laugh. And the distinct sound of an enthusiastic someone throwing herself to the floor in the next room. An answering knock. Tap-a-tap, tap. And a muted “You’re home late! Did you just get in?”

Lily let her eyes drift closed as she rested her forehead against the wall. She’d worn a shiny spot in the paper just there—and Ivy had a matching one on her side. “I did. Daddy and I had dinner together.”