I try to spit out the blood, but there’s so much of it. Some mine and some Simon’s. I feel like I’m choking on it.

I hear voices, but they sound far away, as if I’m underwater.

“Don’t touch them!” Kaylie calls as she swoops down to us.

“Simon, are you okay?” Grey bellows.

Then his voice again, close to my face, fuzzy through the pounding in my head. “Thank you for breaking his fall. You may have saved his life.”

12

A long hoverboard ride. A crack of thunder. Simon flying over Rafe, who is lying in a field of red flowers. An unknown beautiful girl pouring wine for Kor.

The dream is a little different every time, but those parts are always the same. I’ve had difficulty sleeping every night since the flying incident. My injuries healed quickly due to my Sire abilities, but the weird dreams are a pain in my butt.

I’m so tired that I’d fall asleep in this chair if the information we were learning wasn’t so fascinating.

“The fact that da Vinci had a boyfriend is not secret Maker knowledge,” Michael says. “It’s well documented in provincial history if you know where to look.”

We’re in a Foundations of Maker Culture seminar, discussing famous Makers from before the Exodus (including Luca Pacioli, the father of accounting as we know it, and supposedly Leonardo da Vinci’s live-in partner—though they separated when Pacioli joined the Makers in Avant and da Vinci stayed in Italy).

Michael—Master Loew—leads the Foundations seminar, as he’s the resident expert on the relationships between Maker society and the provincial world. The seminar meets in an alcove of the library. It’s a small group made up entirely of recruits, including Georgie and both of her parents.

There’s also a Sophist named Gloria who must be close to thirty years old and was recruited, like, ten years ago. She clearly knows everything we learn already, and I’m pretty sure she only comes to these classes to moon over Michael. Which… fair. I have, unfortunately, discovered that Michael being all teachery does not make it easier to ignore his dimples. But he’s clearly not discouraging her. Honestly, his enthusiasm whenever the two of them debate is probably encouraging her. Whatever.

The fact that da Vinci didn’t want to join the Makers leads to a discussion about some of the many others that the Makers have been unsuccessful in recruiting over the years. One of whom was Rembrandt, who resisted multiple attempts at recruitment despite the personal and financial difficulties that he had in the provincial world.

I think of the painting hanging in Bloche’s office. The knowledge that Rembrandt specifically wanted to keep himself and his art in the provincial world makes the thought that the Makers may have stolen that painting even more despicable.