“No,” he replied. The good thing about Vlad was, unlike Adrian, he never asked why. He knew that if I wanted him to know more, I would tell him.

We had arrived at our destination and Vlad parallel parked with ease, turning off the engine as he undid his seat belt. With one hand on top of the steering wheel, he shifted to face me.

“What about the Faction?” I was desperate to find out anything. Because otherwise, today had been completely unproductive, and I was no closer to my end goal. And with my birthday looming time wasn’t exactly on my side. He knew something, and from the expression on his face, I could tell that he was debating with himself whether to share this information with me or not.

I wasn’t sure what came over me, but I placed my hand on top of his on the steering wheel. “What is it?”

Whether it was my touch or his own decision that changed his mind, I didn’t know, but whatever it was, he unclasped his lips to say, “It’s just, this afternoon I was tidying up Dad’s desk—I’ve been using it to work. Anyway, earlier today, my parents were at another Council meeting, and he’d left a bunch of papers all over his desk. The word Faction was in bold, capital letters on one of his Council files.”

“Did you read anything more?” I asked.

“No,” he said, looking surprised that I would even think that he would pry like that. “But I did ask Dad about it.”

“And? What did he say?”

“He said it’s something to do with the Great Massacre and how it ruined the unity of our people. People taking sides, and the Faction was proof of that. He didn’t explain further.”

The silence returned. I was trying to remember everything I knew about the Great Massacre and how that could connect to what the woman in jail had said, when Vlad finally said, “Let’s go.” Acting like a gentleman, he walked to my side of the car to open the door for me, but I had already gotten out and closed it by the time he reached me.

The restaurant was called No. 5. An interesting choice of name. Maybe it was the property’s address, but something told me it had a deeper meaning.

“Vlad!” The restauranteur greeted him with a warm hug. “It’s been a while. We’ve missed you around here.”

Vlad blushed slightly, somehow looking younger than usual. “I’m sorry, Lilly. I’ve been busy.”

“Well, at least you’re here now.” Her gaze traveled to his left and locked on mine. “Is this your girlfriend?” she asked with a smile. “It’s about time you brought a girl here, Vovochka.” Turning to face me, she extended one hand. “Hello, dear.”