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The Artisans honor Idia’s mind, but us? We honor the rest of her.

Who will shift the Earth on its axis, once the idea has been conceived?

I’d rather be weak-minded than weak-boned, my father had sniffed.Ain’t gonna think me way out of the grave, am I?

“You surprise me,” he said eventually. “I thoughtyouof all people would see the good in idium. You likely saw the very best of it in thatschool, in that city. I remember how big your eyes were when we were kids in that courtyard.” He was careful not to look my way. “You drank it all in.”

“There was much to be amazed by,” I said. “Before it all blew up in smoke.”

He appeared remorseful for a moment, and I sensed he had more to say on the subject, about the good of idium and how he’d change the world one vial at a time, but instead he said, “You must have been lonely, travelin’ around all those years by yourself. I imagine it’s why you hate the silence.”

I felt suddenly exposed and crossed my arms tightly. “I kept myself occupied.”

“Not so easy for a lady like you to stay hidden. To avoid pickin’ a side. It’s a wonder you kept it up for so long.”

“A wonder, indeed.” I couldn’t stop that needling, burrowing into my flesh.

“Makes me wonder why you bothered at all.” His eyes tracked a convoy of sluggish clouds. “Why would you turn your back on the House of Lords, on Tanner, on all Artisans, to go on the run? I can only imagine what they must have asked of you, for you to take off like that.”

You would do what is necessary to protect this city, would you not?

I shuddered for only a second, but he saw it. I sank my nails into the palms of my hands until they screamed. “I never gave them the chance to ask it of me, Patrick. I was gone before the dust settled.”

He looked at me as though I’d disappointed him, turning his eyes away and making a noise in the back of his throat.

“Play a game with me,” he said then. The coin was back in his hand, dancing over his knuckles.

“A game?”

“Yes, Nina, a game. Now, you might look and talk like a rich girl, but we don’t have bridge or croquet here in Kenton, so you’ll have to settle for a poor man’s game.”

“Are you claiming poverty?” I scoffed. I flattened the lapel of his well-tailored coat as I said it and thought I saw his neck tense at my touch. “Strutting around with your pocket watch? Never seen a miner’s son with such polished shoes.”

He sighed. “Do you want to play my game or not, princess?”

Sweet victory. “Fine.”

“Heads, you answer a question. Any question.” His eyes bore into mine.

“And tails?” I asked.

“Tails, I’ll answer one of yours.”

I nodded, perhaps too eagerly.

He flipped the coin in the air, and it landed heavily on the ground between us.

“Heads,” he said, and the profile of Lord Tanner glistened up at me.

I braced myself.

“What was it like in that school?”

Not the question I’d expected. “Shiny. Flip it again.”

Patrick tossed the coin into the air. “Heads. What did they teach you?”

“Life drawing, painting, clay modeling, performing arts, earth Charming,” I listed. “Those were my favorites.”