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“… all your work down in the underground.” A smile crawled over his face. “How are you liking the Collective?”

Ren didn’t even need to lie. “It’s exciting work. I enjoy it a great deal.”

“Oh good. How wonderful. Yes, Theo shared with us that you were interested in spellmaking. Seminar is the very best. Some would say Ethel is better, but I think Seminar is the greatest spellmaker of our generation. Who knows? Maybe you could be the greatest in yours.”

He allowed that thought to hang in the air above them. Ren realized she was still clutching her horseshoe wand. She hastily tucked it back into her belt. If Landwin Brood meant to duel her, he’d have brought an army with him. No, this was something else. Ren just wasn’t sure what.

“Well, Theo was right,” she said. “I enjoy the work. Thank you for arranging the position.”

Landwin Brood watched her carefully before nodding. His eyes returned to the seventeen-string. “Do you recognize this instrument?”

Ren frowned. “It’s a seventeen-string.”

“Not just any seventeen-string.” He stood and circled. His fingers traced the wooden frame. “This is the same one that fell on that tavern. We purchased it from the wreckage at a local auction. For the past three months, a mender has been working with the wood. It’s very difficult work. Low success rate, really. But our house has some of the best craftsmen in the world. What do you think? Looks brand-new, doesn’t it?”

Ren felt another surge across her bond. Theo’s pain, bright and hot beside her. She knew he was still there, watching the scene unfold as she’d watched the moment of his arrival at Nostra. His emotions darted from embarrassed to furious. Ren lifted her chin ever so slightly before answering. “Teahouse.”

Landwin lifted an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

“It fell on a teahouse.”

“That’s right. My mistake. And you were here that night? When my son attempted the magic.”

Ren’s throat bobbed. “I was.”

“Let’s see where he erred.”

Her breathing hitched. Landwin Brood performed the same spell. He adjusted his stance, altered his footing, and began the exact casting Theo had that fateful night. “The Winter Retreat” echoed out again. The instrument began to float. Ren could see the magic was properly tethered to the stones this time. Not the awning. She still struggled to breathe as she watched it float recklessly out—following the same path it had before. Landwin observed the instrument with casual disinterest.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here.”

Ren said nothing. She’d been wondering exactly that.

“I’ve been… retracing Theo’s steps. That’s what you do when your children leave the careful paths you’ve set out for them. You try to figure out where they strayed, how far they walked, and what might be the best way to get them home again.”

He looked back to Ren. She worried his lack of concentration would send the instrument plummeting to the city below for a second time. More, it felt like Landwin was using the instrument as a threat. Listen to me—drink in every single word—or I will ruin even more lives.

“I was hoping some time in Nostra might… have an impact on Theo. But he seems stubbornly intent on following this course.”

This course. Meaning a relationship with her. Ren felt an odd surge of pride hearing those words. This was no bond-born feeling either. It was a fierce pride that echoed in her chest. Theo was loyal to her—and she felt a surge of loyalty to him. The seventeen-string was passing the point where Theo had lost control. The song continued on, sad and heavy and full of meaning. Ren watched as the instrument began to rotate back. She was not sure what correspondence Landwin had been having with his son—but now she knew Theo had rejected his offers.

He’d chosen her instead.

“Which brings me here,” Landwin concluded. “I have an offer for you.”

Ren could not believe how direct he was being, after so much subtlety. Always wielding his influence behind the scenes to isolate her. This was either a sign of desperation or a sign that he felt as if he had something to offer that she wouldn’t dare refuse.

“I have been approached by Seminar Shiverian,” he said. “She thinks highly of you. I confess I was surprised. Theo talked you up, but what boy doesn’t feel that way about a first love? I knew you were talented. Your record at Balmerick reflects that, I suppose. But you must be rather gifted if Seminar would come to me directly.”

Ren couldn’t help feeling a subtle thrill. It was not an emotion she could completely contain, and she knew Theo would sense it building inside her. This was a confirmation. She was good at magic. Not just at school and books and research but the kind of magic that might matter in the real world. It was validation, even if it came from the lips of her sworn enemy.

For a moment, she’d lost track of the seventeen-string. She glanced over and found it was crossing the lawn again. Nearly back on the balcony.

“She can’t officially offer you a contract,” Landwin said. “After all, you are technically the Brood representative in the Collective. But our houses can make arrangements. You could join House Shiverian when that agreement ends. You would be Seminar’s understudy, guaranteed a position as a spellmaker with them. And as a show of good faith, I would also give you the deed to this.”

He gestured to the apartment. Ren was astonished. It was nearly enough to knock her off her feet. The deed on a property like this would be unthinkably valuable. Something she would not have been able to purchase in her lifetime, no matter how successful she might be. Not to mention the stability of an understudy position reporting directly to Seminar Shiverian. It was nearly perfect. Quite the gilded cage. Beside her—still invisible to them both—she could feel Theo’s agitation. Almost as if he were pacing.

“In exchange for what?” she asked.