bowl and bit into it.
Martin pulled the curtain aside, grinning at me. “Aren’t you a pretty little thing. How much for a tumble then? Half a penny?”
I snatched a tin can of beans off the counter, and lobbed it at his head. The sound it made when it hit his skull echoed through the room.
“Ow! Really?”
“When will you learn, Martin?” I shouted. “I never miss. Bell-end.”
Mum groaned, rolling over in the bed. She pulled the covers up tighter around her.
The Holy Sisters would really have their work cut out, getting her healthy again.
I crossed to the counter and poured Mum a glass of water. When she woke up, her throat would be parched. I set it on the little box that served as a bedside table.
Her eyes opened a bit, and she blinked at me, smiling a little. “Lila.”
“I got you some water, Mum.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she mumbled.
I did, though. When I was a kid, I used to scream for water at night. Mum would get me a glass, then ward off the nightmares by sprinkling “holy water” on the bed. I thought it was real back then, and I’d fall asleep again, feeling safe and secure.
I hadn’t heard her laugh since Alice disappeared.
I rested my hand on her forehead. “You’ll get a new home today, Mum. I’m going to work in the castle. I’m going to look for Alice there.”
But her eyes were closing, and she was already back asleep. I felt something sharp and empty opening in my chest as I watched her snore. She just wasn’t here anymore.
But I didn’t have much time. Someone outside was calling my name—my new, fake name. Zahra.
I crossed to the window, smiling at the sight of Finn in the narrow street outside my house. The morning light shone over his blond hair, his ruddy cheeks. He was what an angel should look like. Not seven foot tall and terrifying.
I flashed him a thumbs-up, then teetered over to give Mum one last kiss on the cheek. “Wish me luck, Mum.”
With my suitcase in hand, I tottered over to the door. Gripping the railing, I carefully walked down the rickety stairs in my heels.
When I pushed open the front door, I smiled at Finn. Ludd, his crow, perched on his shoulder.
Finn’s jaw dropped as he looked at me. “Lila,” he whispered.
I arched an eyebrow at him, and he corrected himself. “Zahra. Of course. Zahra. Ernald sent me to escort you this morning, make sure everything goes smoothly. But you look amazing. Really just proper …” He stared at me. “You’re too good for this count, you know.”
“Of course I know that. He’s a murderer. But maybe I can get a proper chance to find out what happened to Alice. I could sneak in there, yes, but they’d probably just kill me. This way, they’re inviting me in.”
“What if you’re just in the dungeons there?”
Was he trying to make me more nervous? “Well, it’s too late now, Finn.”
He looked pale and a little bit nauseous. “I know. I’m sure the count would just execute you if you changed your mind.”
“Relax.” I feigned a confidence I didn’t feel. “I’ll keep my wits about me. You know I always do. And I can scale the walls if I must to escape.”
He pulled a gleaming skeleton key out of his pocket, threaded through a thin black ribbon. “Well if you do escape, this is the key to your safe deposit box. East Dovren Bank, under your real name. I didn’t take any.”
I tied it around my neck. “I know you wouldn’t, Finn. I’ve known you since we were ten.”
Ludd puffed out his chest.
Finn glanced at his bird. “If I hear anything—if I hear that the angels are going to do something terrible, that you need to make your escape or be especially careful, I’ll have Ludd bring you a message. He’s trained to do that, you know. I can teach you to call for him. And he’ll swoop down with a note.”
“Your crow might be trained to deliver messages, but I’m not trained to read them, unfortunately.”
He shrugged. “I’ll draw the message.”
Finn was a brilliant artist, and just about the only person I’d trust with being able to draw a complex message.
I nodded at the winding cobblestone street. “Should we get walking?”
He pulled the suitcase from my hand.
I took about three steps before I was tempted to kick off my heels. Around us, closed pubs crowded the streets. People whisked past on the way