“S-sorry,” she stammered, leaning down to gather the porcelain shards. Mikhail was on his feet in an instant, and Vanya’s face had drained of color until even his lips were blanched.

“Let me help you,” I said, rising to my feet. By the time I managed to make my way through the labyrinth of crates and oddities, she had already piled the teacup fragments on the tray.

“This happens all the time,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Pelin says I was born with two left feet, and I think she’s right. I’ll be right back and get you more.”

Once she had disappeared down the stairs, I turned back to the others, not realizing I’d been holding my breath until I felt it hiss between my teeth.

“Do you think she heard?” Mikhail asked gravely, his knapsack already in hand. His fingers were tucked into the pocket containing his freshly bought revolver.

“Tsar could mean anything,” I said. “It could be your nickname.”

“Toma’s right,” Vanya said, but sounded a touch uncertain. “I mean, just look at you. You hardly look like royalty.”

“Do you have to turn everything into an insult?” Mikhail snapped.

Vanya raised his palms defensively. “Hey, it’s not an insult this time.”

“Shouldn’t we stop her?” I interrupted. “You know, instead of arguing?”

Mikhail swore, pushing to his feet. “Come on, let’s go.”

We hurried down the stairs, leaving our belongings behind. As we entered the kitchen, Aergul hastily pulled away from where she stood by the kettle, talking to Emre.

Pelin leaned against the counter, having exchanged her soaked costume for a fashionable fawn-brown dress like the ones I’d seen in Detskaya’s boutique windows, with two sets of brass buttons running down the front and a fox-fur collar. Her eyes shifted to us, unreadable.

Emre brightened at the sight of us. “Ah, just in time. Dinner is ready. You’ll have to forgive my daughter. She’s always been this clumsy. That’s why we gave her the upyr role.”

I exchanged a look with the others, waiting for one of them to make the first move. Leaving now might be even more dangerous than staying, erasing all shadow of doubt in Emre’s mind of who we were. If he notified the city guard, they’d tear up the streets in search of us.

Vanya must have thought the same, because he laughed and stepped forward. “Great, I’m starving. I’m pretty sure Toma here is, too. Even that stuffed monkey was starting to look appetizing.”

I groaned inwardly. He was never going to forget that, was he?

“Fortunately for you three, I have something a bit more appetizing than that moth-bitten thing,” Emre said with a laugh. He stepped aside and extended a hand to the table. “Sit down. I’ve made you quite the feast.”

I eased into an empty seat with a nervous glance toward the barred windows. They were likely just a security precaution to protect his supposedly priceless collection, but with each moment, I felt with increasing certainty that we had walked into a cage.