As she returned the photograph to the drawer, something in its background caught her eye.

A small statue sat on a plinth in the entrance hall instead of the vase she’d seen when she and Teo had entered through that part of the mansion. It was a depiction of the Mothers, Kalaan and Isar, holding hands and staring down where instead of their feet, the sculptor had crafted clouds. It was a rendition she’d seen in other artwork, of the Mothers gazing with love at all the worlds and lives they’d created. His parents must have removed the statue when they decided to hide their faith, when tensions between Inosen and Steels began to grow.

She placed the photograph back into the drawer and let out a frustrated huff of air. She had no photographs or paintings of her parents. If she hadn’t tried to erase their deaths from her mind by inhaling glue every day for years, maybe she would remember them more clearly, with or without a photo.

Ryuu had the luxury of his parents never fading from his memory because they were captured in a photo. But even so, they were still dead because of the war and the violence it spawned.

They had more in common in this, and their lonely childhoods, than she could have guessed before.

She picked up the set of keys and left the room. In a few minutes, she reached the first floor where, after having to hide in an alcove to avoid a pacing guard, and checking a few doors, she finally found the drawing room.

A large oak desk stood in the corner next to a standing clock. Cream-colored armchairs and sofas dotted the rest of the room, which ended in a broad fireplace. After searching for a few minutes, she found the cabinet underneath the desk. She tried a few of the keys and eventually got the right one to open the cabinet.

Rolled-up sheets of paper lay stacked on top of one another inside. She withdrew them and placed them under her arm, then relocked the cabinet and stood to leave.

When she opened the door a crack, she heard footsteps beyond it. Peering through, she saw a maid retreating down the hall.

The whole house was quiet now, and for the first time since tracking down Ryuu here, she wondered how many of his servants and guards were Inosen, and how many among them used magic. How many could he expect to harbor before someone finally caught him?

Being rich wouldn’t protect him forever, as the hit on his brother proved. Shaking her head, she decided it wasn’t her business what he did with his life. She’d be cutting him out of it soon enough. She shoved away her guilt at the thought and left the mansion through the back door once more.

24

As the setting sun painted a reddish-orange glow on the grimy white buildings of the Wings, Aina returned to the city with the subway blueprints held under her jacket. She watched the shadows of Kosín’s streets as she neared Teo’s apartment, avoiding the corners where she’d seen posters of her face hanging earlier. Though she’d made it all the way to Ryuu’s house and back without getting caught, now that she was in the city, her senses were alerted to every movement. Each corner she turned, she expected a flash of blue hair and gold eyes before her throat was pinned through with a throwing star.