In the middle of the night, she woke with a start—another nightmare that flitted from her mind the moment her eyes opened in the mansion’s dark room. Something soft and warm covered her. It was a blanket that smelled like Ryuu’s forest scent. She pulled it tighter around herself and fell asleep.

When she woke in the morning, her neck was stiff, but she was well rested. Opening her eyes and sitting up straight, the blanket slipped off her shoulders and fell to the floor.

The door creaked as Ryuu opened it and entered carrying a tray with cups of tea. He brought Aina a cup with a warm smile, and she murmured thanks, hoping he caught on that she also meant gratitude for the blanket.

Once Teo was awake and Raurie had come downstairs, they waited for a nurse to check on Teo. While the nurse looked him over, Aina stood in the corner of the room, careful to put up her hood and shield the lower half of her face with her scarf.

“You should rest for another day,” the nurse muttered while removing his bandages. “Don’t want to overexert yourself.”

But as she left, the door clicking shut softly behind her, Teo said, “I’ve rested enough.”

“Are you sure?” Aina asked.

He met her eyes once, then turned away with a slight blush rising up the back of his neck, as if he were embarrassed.

“If I’m working, I’m not thinking about my mother.”

“You’re right. We should get back to the job.” Avoiding Ryuu’s gaze, she locked eyes with Teo so he would know the real job she meant. Killing Kouta while using his brother’s money to do it.

Ryuu walked to the side of the room and retrieved a large, rolled-up poster from between two bookshelves. Bringing it over, he unrolled it on the floor and placed a few books at the edges to hold it down.

It was a map of Kosín, drawn in charcoal and filled in with colored paint. The edges of the map were green smudges of forests and fields. The Minos River was a white-blue ring around the city with tributaries winding their way north and west. The Stacks were inked in gray and brown, little detail given to it except for main roads, bridges, and docks. The north and the Center had clearer buildings and landmarks, especially Rose Court. Amethyst Hill was in the northeast corner of the map, each mansion given specific detail down to the color of the paint on the outer walls.

Aina couldn’t help but scoff. Even in mapmaking, the rich neighborhoods got more resources.

Ryuu pointed near the Tower’s top-center position. “This is where we went to find you, Teo. There was a train yard near there and also here,” he continued, pointing to the west of the city where the black market was located amid the warehouses. “But we didn’t see Kouta in either of those places. If he’s in one of the trains, like the vision showed, then there’s one last train yard he could be.” He tapped a southern corner of the map, easily able to pinpoint the location even without many details inked in.