“Do any of you disagree with my decision to adopt Taraana?” she asks, looking around at each of us. All of us feel a thrill of recognition when her eyes rest on us. “Please feel free to tell me frankly.”

“I don’t disagree.… It’s just that I’m scared,” Sevda finally says. Widad, Daraja, Talei, and Kamboja don’t speak, but the fear on their faces needs no words.

“We are not helping him. We are helping ourselves,” Ligaya says, lacing her fingers together. “If he dies, won’t we, too? How can I disagree with that?”

“Right? Besides, we owe him,” Etsuko adds. “This Baarish has a lot more power compared to us, but the magic he is so proud of doesn’t work on us. Doesn’t that give us an advantage?”

“I’m scared too, Sevda. There’s nothing wrong with being scared,” Areum says, the bracelets on her wrists noisily chiming. “It’s just that fear cannot be the language in which we make our decisions.”

Paheli raises an eyebrow at Valentina. “And you?”

“We’re already here.” Valentina rolls her eyes. “Besides, I am always ready for a fight.”

“Ghufran?” Paheli asks very gently.

“I am tired of being afraid,” she replies, rearranging the veil she always has on her head.

“All right. If, at any time in the following days, you feel like you can no longer participate in this battle, if that’s what it is, please leave. You can stay with Eulalie in New Orleans until things calm down. I don’t know what the future holds, but you have my word that I won’t begrudge you your need for safety. It is never a bad thing to put yourself first.” Paheli looks around the room. “Is that good?”

We all nod.

“Okay! Tomorrow, we are going to go around the city to find out more about Baarish from the middle worlders here,” Paheli says.

“How are we going to gather information when asking questions here is like painting targets on ourselves?” Talei asks.

“We don’t ask questions,” Valentina replies. “We guide conversations.”

“What exactly are we looking for?” Sevda asks. She has a frown on her fair face. “Can’t we ask someone else to gather information on him without putting ourselves at risk?”

“We could…,” Paheli says slowly. “But what would be the fun in that? I’m joking, don’t pinch me, Talei!” She stops and glares at Talei. “We know that Baarish is scum. We are just going to see how much of a scumbag he is. Does his scumminess extend to other people, or is it exclusively reserved for Taraana? How does he treat the other people in his clan? What about his family? What’s their relationship to Baarish? How do they treat people? We’re looking for Baarish’s unofficial profile, the one that wouldn’t appear on the website of Keepers of the Middle World.”