“Well,” Orfeus said slowly. “It’s worth considering.” A little terrifying, with its implications that people were being taken in order to have unspeakably immoral violations performed on them as well. But it certainly narrowed down the suspect pool. If she decided to trust Rivasoa. She shook her head, which was starting to ache despite the reassuring sing of Blood through her veins. “A person or a group of persons, one mystery or two, we’ll stop them.”

Chapter Fifteen

People used to say fireflies were fallen stars, lighting up the dark. Not around here, I’ve never seen one, but you love to wander, ma chérie, and you light up our hearts when you sing! Maybe one day you’ll see fireflies in your travels, and you can write to me and tell me all about it. Lights that burn in dark places are the most precious of all.

- Basma of Hollyhock

Rivasoa’s house in Eldergrove was settled midway up one of the overgrown towers, trees extending out of it, ash and birch and maple. She had whole rooms full of books.

The air in the book-rooms felt careful, like mechanisms were at work to preserve them. Rivasoa wouldn’t let Orfeus even touch them, and that made something in her ache. She wanted to read those books. She wanted to find those stories. What wondrous songs could she sing if she worked directly from the old sources?

Not the time.

Rivasoa crossed her hands in her lap and leaned forward over the surprisingly muted grey and white table. “So you propose to be bait,” she said.

“Well,” Orfeus said. She leaned back in the backless chair and considered. “That isn’t how I would have put it, necessarily. More of a…lure?” The difference was semantic at best.

“I don’t like this plan,” Rivasoa said.

Orfeus lifted her brows. “It’s one that puts me in danger. I honestly thought you’d approve.”

“I’m starting to think your nanite technician friend was right,” Rivasoa said. “You know, you don’t always need to do the most dramatic thing possible.”

Orfeus shrugged. It was too hot for her cloak in here, so she pulled it off, but thought better of leaving it amongst Rivasoa’s well-arranged density of books and vases. She folded it in her lap. “Do you have a better plan? Because I was under the impression you didn’t.”

Rivasoa set her hands in her lap, calm and straight-backed. “Investigate,” she said. “Wait and watch and listen.”

Orfeus’s foot twitched restlessly. Not from Blood overuse, just the stirring of impatience and energy. She’d already wasted too much time sitting around doing nothing, without even knowing anything needed to be done. “Wait until someone else is taken and follow the trail?” she said. “I’d really rather not. Doing something, however flawed, is at least better than doing nothing.”

Rivasoa sighed. “Did you even bring Galahad?”