“Oh man…thank you,” I say, immediately flipping open the pizza box lid and grabbing a slice. The cheese is still piping hot and stretches as I pull it.

“Americans,” Aarya says with an air of judgment, and reaches for the bag with the Thai food in it.

“Ines? You’re here. How are you here?” I say with a little bit of awe, scarfing the pizza, which ironically is way better than any I’ve had in America. “Is Felix here, too?”

Ines shakes her head and for a moment anger flashes in Aarya’s eyes.

“Felix stayed,” Aarya says without any of her usual embellishment, and it’s clear by her tone that the topic is now closed.

Ash sits down next to me, scanning me for injury.

“Have you guys heard anything about my dad since you’ve been in London?” I ask Aarya and Ines, unable to disguise the hope in my voice.

“We’ve heard about the insanely large bounty on his head,” Aarya says, and whistles. “Jag is not messing around about finding him.”

Ash gives her a look like she couldn’t be more insensitive if she tried.

“Your father hasn’t been found,” Ines says, and even though I’ve heard her speak a few times now, the soothing tone of her voice still takes me by surprise. “And with the number of trackers and assassins in London right now, that’s saying something. He must be exceptionally strategic and smart.”

I smile at her kind reassurance.

“Which also makes him more difficult to find,” Aarya says, looking at me and Ash. “I assume that’s what we’re doing here, right? Finding your father and using his knowledge about his Family to stamp them out like the vile beasts that they are? But what I want to know is what this tip is you and Ash found.”

Ash looks at me like he’s surprised I would tell Aarya we found anything. “We don’t know yet,” he says noncommittally.

Aarya huffs. “Tell me that’s a joke, Ashai, a bad one befitting your subpar sense of humor. Ines and I left the Academy, manipulated Logan for you, and gave you a safe place to stay…so you can’t possibly be withholding information from us, can you?”

Ash raises an unconvinced eyebrow. “Magnanimous Aarya isn’t one that anyone believes, so don’t waste your energy. And don’t pretend you did us any favors with Logan. You took a risk in finding us, and what you risked was us.”

I look back and forth between them, wondering how long I’ve been passed out and how much they’ve already argued about this.

“An ingrate is an ugly thing, Ashai,” Aarya says as she chews. “You don’t agree with him, though, do you, November?”