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“That was two years ago now. The headlines feasted on it—Water Charmer Accused of Treason—and I found my way out into the brink. It took the Miners Union all of a few days to catch up with me.”

“Twoyearsago?”

He nodded. “I’ve been holed up here ever since.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “I knew those canals were too clean.”

“They were in a shocking state when I arrived,” he said. There was the Theo I remembered, jovial and vain. “Tunnels full of seeping water, too.”

I worried at my lip with my teeth. “So, you joined the cause, just like that?”

He lifted his arms half-heartedly. “I’m a volunteer.”

“And the town just welcomed you in?” I asked.

“Hardly,” he rolled his eyes. “A man took a shot at me once, early on.”

I believed it.

“But the Colsons tend to make examples of those who go against them. We struck a deal: they offer me their protection, and I get idium twice yearly and the joys of clearing the water from their tunnels.”

“So Patrick doesn’t keep you confined to your room?”

Something in my voice must have been too familiar when I spoke the name. Theo cocked his head to the side. “You’ve met Pat, then?”

I nodded but didn’t say more, and I didn’t know why that should be. If there was anyone in the town I could spill myself to, shouldn’t it be Theodore Shop? “I’m glad to see you,” I said instead, relief escaping me by way of a smile.

He smiled back at me; his hand rose to cup my cheek. “You’re exactly as I remember you.”

A match had been struck. It sizzled on its end, slowly expending itself. Waiting. Waiting.

I stepped into him.

His arms wrapped around me, encasing me in his familiar frame. He smelled different but held me just the same. My arms overlapped around his waist, and my head fell to his collar. I was surprised to find that I’d grown taller.

I was desperate for comfort but unsure where to find it.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“My door isn’t locked, Clarke.” The words wove into my hair. “I’m just down the hall. Number fourteen. Do you understand?”

I understood, but I unwound my arms and stepped out of the circle of his. I wouldn’t be in this town for long. I intended to leave it without bringing anyone with me. I would do only what was necessary, only what I must. And then I’d be gone.

Both Nina Clarke and Nina Harrow would cease to exist.

“There’s a meeting with Margarite in the morning,” he said. “I’ll see you then.”

I nodded, not asking how he knew I’d be in attendance. My chest filled with air I could not expel.

“I’ve missed you,” he said, looking at me before he closed the door.

And then it was just me, the bowled ceiling, the groaning pipes, two large holes pierced through my heart.

CHAPTER 29NINA

The meeting was not in the pub, as I’d expected, but in the town’s square.