is almost ready,” she said. “Zo is starting a campfire, and Olivia and Judith should be back soon too.”
“Y’all really didn’t have to go to any trouble—” I started.
“Asa will be joining us, won’t he?” Cassandra asked. “I certainly hope so, since I didn’t get the chance to properly thank him. But he was looking awfully green around the gills.”
“I think he’s fine,” I said, remembering how sometimes after we’d practiced our duel he’d had to disappear for hours at a time. “I think his daemon magic just needs time to recharge or something.”
“I do hope he wakes up soon,” Cassandra said. “Zo is planning on grilling a grasshopper especially for him.” (I tried not to grimace.)
“I’ll go and check on him,” I said. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring him out.”
I went to the machine car and knocked three times on the door. “Asa! Come out! They’re putting together some kind of welcome thing for us. To celebrate the victory over the Laredo Boys.”
“I’m not that hungry,” Asa said.
“You don’t want to disappoint Olivia, do you?” I said, letting a conspiratorial tone creep into my voice.
A pause, then, “I suppose I’ll make an appearance. It would be the gentlemanly thing to do.” There was a sound of rummaging and rustling. Then the door slid open. “Do I look all right?” Asa asked.
He looked the same as he always looked, if a bit messier. But from the way Olivia was looking at him earlier, I didn’t think it mattered.
“I’m sure she’ll be impressed,” I said. I couldn’t help but smile at how silly he looked when he was flustered.
“Now, to be sure, I’m not out to… you know… court her or anything—”
“Court her? Do people still say that?”
“Olivia and I can never be,” he said matter-of-factly. “We’re star-crossed. Doomed to unrequited pining at most.”
“That’s awfully negative,” I said.
“Well, I’m just temporary, after all,” Asa said, his shoulders drooping just a little. “Besides, it… wouldn’t be a good idea. For many reasons.”
My heart sank for him a little. There was something he wasn’t telling me—I could feel it just slightly in my skin. But this time, I didn’t press it. He was right, after all. She was a girl, he was a daemon… person… thing. It was probably best that he was using his head for once. But as we left the machine car, I saw him stop in front of the rearview mirror Susanah had hung for us and smooth his hair.
When we stepped outside, Judith crowed, and all I could do was stop and stare, dumbfounded.
The train and the campfire around it were bathed in light. It looked like multicolored fireflies had settled over the whole train, winking slowly in and out, changing seamlessly from one color to the next.
“Here they are! The heroes of the day!” Judith shouted when she saw us.
Applause went up around the circle. Genuine applause. They really wanted us here, I thought. Wanted me here. I wasn’t used to this, and for a minute I’m sure I was shaky-legged as a colt, thinking of how much magic I still had to learn before I could cast as naturally as the rest of them. But the warmth of their fire washed over me until I felt something I realized I hadn’t really felt in longer than I could remember: welcome.
“Well?” Cassandra said, practically bouncing with excitement. “What do you think?”
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I said.
“It’s all for you,” Cassandra beamed.
“All of it… for us?” Asa said, his voice low and awestruck.
“I owe you two my life,” Cassandra said. “I had to make it beautiful. And what good are illusions if you can’t make things beautiful?”
I wish Lucy could see this, I found myself thinking. She’d be at home under lights like these, with her bright dresses and kerchiefs.
“Finally, you’re awake,” Olivia said to Asa. “You can sit next to me.”
“I’d like that very much,” he said, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. He sat down next to her, and within moments, they were talking animatedly. Everything about them seemed to be magnetized to the other. It was a strange, impossible thing, seeing Olivia Rosales, the murderer, flirt and be flirted with. I smirked as Asa reached behind her ear and pulled out a coin. So much for being star-crossed and tragic, I guess.
“He’s a hero and all,” Zo said to me, loudly enough for Olivia to hear. “But I don’t get it.”
“That’s because you don’t like men, perra,” Olivia