For a little while, until I had regained my composure, I could not be around Finn. My fingernails bit into my palm. His expression of shock was seared onto my mind. He wanted to help me? He wanted to bring an end to Renewals? The idea would have been laughable if it didn’t also make me feel sick to my stomach. I didn’t understand how he could possibly be so naïve.

Not to mention that he had come within a hair’s breadth of actually calling me a corpse eater. Clearly that was how they all talked behind closed doors. But him thinking it, saying it—that cut deeper.

Coming out tonight had been a mistake anyway. I wandered down the boulevard alone. Moon Tide, the Festival of Lovers. What a joke.

I drained the rest of my wine and left the cup in one of the collection bins for vendors to retrieve. The stars were dim through the haze of smoke and light; a fat yellow moon climbed the sky above Martyrium Hill. I cut across to Arbour Street, where smaller stalls and blankets were set out on the pavements. A group of children performed a pantomime on the corner, supervised by a flock of parents.

Someone bumped into me. I apologized reflexively.

“Everything all right?” asked Osan.

“I thought you weren’t following me anymore.”

He nodded toward the children. “Correct. I’m with the boss. And the smaller boss.”

“Oh.” I recognised Jaylen in a brown Cat costume, apparently fully committed to her role. Her face was painted white and orange, and she had a pair of cardboard ears. “That’s nice.”

“The word you’re looking for is ‘dull.’ You seem down.”

The child playing the role of the Haunt flexed his fingers into claws. The others mimed terror, clasping their faces and rushing to the opposite side of the set.

“One of those days.”

“Fight with Kamillian?”

I glanced away from the performance. “I didn’t realise that you knew Millie.”

“Not especially well, but we used to move in the same circles.”

For some reason, I found the idea unsettling. Like the different parts of my life were colliding, when all I wanted was to keep everything separate and contained.

“No. I haven’t spoken to her since your lecture.”

“Hm. I made the assumption that you and her…”

I shook my head. “We’re friends. And she’s my counsellor.”

“Then you had a fight with someone else?”

“Her brother, actually.”

Osan’s eyes widened fractionally. “Ah. That would be Finn, right?”

“Yeah.” A breeze tugged at my hair. I wrapped my arms around my chest. “Honestly, it wasn’t a fight so much as him standing there while I yelled at him.”

“Did he deserve it?”

I rubbed my temples. “Not entirely.”

“And that’s why you look like a kicked dog?”

“Why thank you, Osan. You’re making me feel much better.”

He laughed. “Hey, at least you didn’t try to throw him over a balustrade.”

“For the last time, that wasn’t intentional.”