“Probably planning some revenge for Stefano’s death,” Aarya says, and I wonder if she’s right, and if that’s how Layla convinced him to come.

“Or doing Family business,” Ash says. “Considering his mother is also here.”

“Or that,” Aarya concedes. “But you still haven’t explained how you got the necklace.”

“That’s because you’ve been talking,” I say, which makes Ash smile.

Aarya slashes her fingers at me like they’re claws and purrs.

“I told Matteo about the apothecary and it turns out that all the head Bears wear the same necklace. He gave me his,” I say, “in exchange for me keeping silent about the restaurant and staying away from him and his Family.”

Aarya grins. “He must really despise you.”

Ash gives Aarya a hard look. “I’m sure they just have important negotiations going on that they can’t risk having disrupted.”

Aarya looks like she’s not convinced, and I don’t blame her. I’m not convinced, either.

Chapter Twenty

I CLIMB INTO my makeshift bed of blankets and pillows on Aarya’s living room floor. Ines went to bed an hour ago and Aarya’s in the bathroom brushing her teeth. We haven’t yet agreed on a plan for tomorrow, and we spent most of the evening going in circles about how many guards there would be at the ball and the best way to use the ointment the apothecary gave us. As our conversations wound down, I began stressing over sneaking out to meet Layla and Matteo.

Ash pauses to look at the bathroom door and frowns.

“What?” I ask, although I’m pretty sure I know what he’s going to say.

He sits down on an arrangement of pillows and blankets on the rug near mine. “I don’t trust her,” he says.

I glance at the bathroom door now, too. “She’s eccentric and a real pain sometimes, but you have to admit…the fact that she’s here sort of clears up the trust issue.”

“Not even a little,” Ash says. “We have no idea why she’s here besides wanting to participate in the destruction of Jag, which I grant you is a reason, but not a good enough one for a mission with this much risk.”

“I mean, yes, but—” I say.

“And the way she was encouraging you to steal that necklace…,” he says, shaking his head, but doesn’t finish.

I chew on the inside of my cheek. I hate doubting her. It feels wrong after everything that’s happened. And yet I get why Ash is questioning Aarya. He should be.

“Also, Felix isn’t with them,” Ash says.

“For that, I’m actually grateful. I’m not sure I could pretend to be civil with him after he threw me out of that tree,” I say.

“Right,” Ash says like I’m agreeing with him, “and Aarya knows that.”