I head to the conservatory at the heart of the house. The conservatory is Lalie’s most spectacular feat of magic. It is full of lush green plants, several of which are in bloom. She made this place for me after I told her I wanted to go to a jungle. The floors are tiled, and a loud yellow chaise takes the place of honor in the middle. When I sit down on it, I can pretend I am surrounded by the jungle on all four sides. There is even birdsong in the air. The air is redolent with the smell of roses, and a rare peace fills me.

I close my eyes and spend a few minutes trying not to think. Not about Baarish turning to ash in front of our eyes. Not about the role I played in his end. Not about the wounds inflicted on Taraana. And not about him changing. It is a futile endeavor, and I don’t manage even a minute of it. Soon I am thinking about not thinking, which defeats the entire purpose.

I feel someone sit down beside me, then smell honeysuckle. Valentina. I open my eyes and she throws a mango at me. I catch it and look at the perfectly ripened fruit in my hands. It’s not cake, but I guess it will do.

“Where did you get this?”

“Eulalie picked up an entire box of mangoes for you,” Valentina replies, holding up her own mango.

Eulalie. She insists on loving me. Insists on seeing more in me than I can see in myself. Maybe there is more?

We eat in silence, Valentina and I. We eat messily. Ferally. Fortunately, there is a tap nearby we can clean up at.

“We’re almost at the end, huh?” Valentina says later.

“Of this chapter?” I quip.

“Of this season,” she replies. We grin at each other.

“I’m tired, Tina.” I lean against her. We have been together ever since I found her on that bridge more than three centuries ago. “Have you ever been tempted to leave?”

She is quiet for a long moment. “Once, I almost did the same thing Sevda did. I was so sure I wanted to go. So sure I was ready. I was going to leave the star and a note and disappear. But the next day we found Ghufran, and with her, I found a purpose. The same purpose you have.”

“What if Tabassum Naaz asks you to?” I pull away.

“She knows better than to ask me that!” She is offended. I snicker. “What?”

“It’s the first time you didn’t deny—” She glares at me, and I zip my lips. For one minute. Then I return to leaning against her and whisper in her ear. “You really like her, huh?”

“It would be a lie if I said I didn’t,” Valentina says carefully. “But…”

“But?” I prompt.