The swan boat whirled in a circle, narrowly avoiding colliding with a different gondola.

Zofia flung out her hand for balance, her hand skimming the outside of the Fallen House gondola decorated with the silver star. The moment she touched it, she heard a whisper of metal deep in the boat … gold. I can bend at your will.

“Stop!” she cried out.

“Zofia, what are you doing?” demanded Enrique.

She crouched forward, bracing both hands against the different gondolas. She strained her senses and felt the shiver of metal through her skin. Within seconds, she knew. The gondola with the silver star was actually made of gold that had been Forged to distribute weight differently, while the one on the right with the golden star was solid wood.

“It’s this one,” she said, pointing to the silver.

“He could turn any second,” said Hypnos. “We have to leave now.”

Zofia fumbled with the device, leaning farther out of the gondola. The ends of her coat brushed the lagoon water, and she forced herself not to gag. Zofia shoved her will into the invention: You want to be here; you want to be part of this object. Over and over, she chanted it through her mind until—

The detonating device melted seamlessly into the boat.

“Now get away from it!” said Hypnos. “We’re drawing attention!”

Zofia tried to move back—her hand was stuck.

She moved again, but it was like the metal wanted to pull her into itself. Not me, you don’t want me, she told the metal. It loosened, but she wasn’t strong enough to pull away.

“Start pedaling,” she said, gritting her teeth as she tugged at her right arm with her left hand.

Slowly, it unclasped, and Zofia winced as the skin of her palm scraped.

“I’ve got you, Phoenix,” said Enrique. He wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging hard. Zofia fell back against Enrique, and the movement rocked the boat, nearly crashing them into another gondola—

“Attento!” shouted the gondolier.

Zofia sat up, her hand burning. The canal had grown more crowded. The gondolier had started shouting at them, which made the other boats slow down to watch. Zofia looked up at the bridge. She saw, as if time had slowed down, awareness prickling through the line of Ruslan’s shoulders. He started to turn.

Zofia whirled to face Enrique. “Kiss me.”

His eyes went wide. “Now? Should I—”

Zofia grabbed Enrique’s face and brought it to hers. Instantly, the wings of the swan shivered around them, hiding them from sight. Venice vanished around them. The shouting went mute. All she could feel was the sudden tug of the boat through the water as Hypnos spirited them away from Ruslan’s notice. Zofia was so caught up in the kiss as a distraction that she almost forgot it was a kiss—

Until she didn’t.

It was dark and warm inside the closing of the swan’s wings. Enrique’s lips felt wind-roughened and dry. Zofia broke the kiss. It had all been rather anticlimactic, though she was not sure what she had expected.