Beside her, Enrique lowered his binoculars. “We have a problem.”

“Just the one?” asked Hypnos.

Enrique glared at him. “See that?” He pointed to the wooden spikes that the gondolas were tethered to. “They have Mnemo bugs on them. If we try to access the gondola from the street, they’ll know and find us.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m here,” said Hypnos.

“Somehow I don’t imagine the Fallen House realizing that you’re alive and here is good for anything,” said Enrique. “Besides, Laila will be furious when she finds out you left the safe house.”

Laila had left soon after Enrique to explore the grounds around House Janus. She was certain she would find something that would give them a hint about where to find the map to Poveglia’s temple.

“I am taking every precaution,” said Hypnos. “I’m even in this hideous disguise.”

Zofia did not think he was in disguise; he was merely wearing ordinary clothes for the first time. That said, his Babel ring, a crescent moon that stretched across three knuckles, was hidden beneath a pair of thick gloves.

“If we can’t get to the gondola through the street, then we’ll go through the water,” said Hypnos.

“How?” asked Enrique. “If we get into a gondola, they’ll recognize us immediately.”

Hypnos pointed to the canal. Even this early, the river was alive with traffic. Zofia watched as three boats holding cargos of winter fruit pushed past the slower, Forged gondolas that were heavily decorated and advertising plays and restaurants. Around the bend, a different boat drew into focus. This one was wider and shorter than a gondola, and sat only three people. Its wooden wings dragged across the surface of the lagoon. The boat’s prow curved like a swan bowing its head. Inside the boat, sat a man and a woman, their hands interlinked. They were staring at each other and smiling. A third person sat at the front, pumping their legs to cycle the boat forward. They skirted past the boats by less than thirty centimeters.

“Your solution is a bird boat?” asked Enrique.

He did not sound impressed.

“Non, watch, mon cher,” said Hypnos. “They are bound to do it soon.”

“Do what?” asked Enrique.

“Shhh.”

In the swan boat, the man and woman leaned forward and their mouths touched. Zofia’s face warmed at the sight, and she would have turned her head had not the boat suddenly transformed at their kiss. The white, swan wings folded up, swallowing them completely from sight.

Zofia started to count the seconds … fourteen, thirty-seven, seventy-two, one hundred and twenty. Abruptly, the wings flapped down and the couple appeared once more. Their faces looked red and their hair looked more mussed than before. They shared a small smile with each other.

“Keeps you on the other side of the watching Mnemo bugs, gets you close to the gondola,” said Hypnos. “And awfully cheap too at this time of day. Trust me, I’ve utilized many a Love Boat on my trips to Venice.”