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“Yeah, he’s still out there,” Alphonse agreed.“But it don’t feel as pressing as it used to.”

“Because you already saw him die?”

“Maybe.Or maybe it’s knowing how he gave up everything to be somebody, and to his allies, he’s just a little bitch.An errand boy.You almost gotta feel sorry for him.”He drank wine, or whatever it was.“I wonder if he’s figured that out yet?”

I wondered, too.Then realized I didn’t care.Tony had loomed so large in the imagination of the little girl I’d been, but now I saw him for what he was.

And I didn’t feel sorry at all, I thought, taking a drink of my own.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’ll squash him like a bug if I ever run across him,” Alphonse said.“But it just seems like maybe I got better things to do than chase that little asshole around, you know?”

“Like what?”I asked.

“Visiting Sal’s grave,” he said, referring to his lover, whom Tony had sent to her death.“I buried her in the desert, in this little churchyard.It dated back to the Wild West days, so it seemed appropriate.”

I nodded.Sal had been a saloon girl back in the day.“And then what?”

He shrugged.“Thought I might saddle up and go join the Consul’s army.This fight we got coming up, it’s the big one, y’know?And I figure they could use the help.”

I blinked at him.“That sounds dangerous.”

He shot me a look.“After what I’ve seen lately?”

“You join up, and you’ll see more of it.”

“Maybe, maybe not.I never know what you’re gonna do.”He drained the glass.“But this hero thing fits me better than I thought.A guy could get used to this.And maybe pick up a prize along the way.”

“She’s not a prize to be won,” I said, because his eyes were on Enid again, who had just reached her prince charming, who was looking at her as if they were the only two people on the beach.

“No, she’s not,” he agreed.“She’s awoman, just like Sal was.But who knows?Maybe I’ll meet another one of those.”

“I hope so,” I told him, and meant it.

The ceremony finally ended, which meant that some feasting was due to begin soon.That seemed to be the rhythm: solemn ceremony, riotous feasting, and copious alcohol.Time for sleep afterward, when you could no longer stand, then wash and repeat.It wasn’t a bad way to party, if anyone asked me, not that anyone had.

That included Pritkin, who hadn’t shown up for the ceremony and who I couldn’t find at the feast.

That might have been because only about a million people thronged the area, which was under the stars but so heavily strung with lights and festive lanterns that it was impossible to tell.Tapestries blocked the view of the prep areas beyond, which were supplying the groaning tables of food on one side; the happy couple were enthroned on the other under a huge, heavily decorated canopy, and a large space for dancing was in between.And there was no Pritkin anywhere, and when I tried to reach out through the bond, I got exactly bupkis.

It was like he’d blocked me.

Or like someone had, I thought, the paranoia I’d been feeling since we returned blooming into full-on fear.I knew this was too perfect, too pretty, tooeasy.It was a feeling that had been growing all week, while everybody else drank, feasted, danced, and laughed.I’d felt like a horrible killjoy, but I just couldn’t turn on a dime like that.

I knew I should try to enjoy life while I had the chance, but I couldn’t.Instead, I’d felt almost as keyed up as I had in that terrible future, with the sword of Damocles constantly dangling over my head.And now something really was wrong, I could feel it, and I needed to find him fast and plan our next—

“Ow!”I’d turned to leave the party, only to run straight into a man heading my way.A hottie in a sleeveless white tunic of some silky fabric decorated with shell designs made of crystals and seed pearls, tight-fitting trousers of the same material hugging muscular thighs, and a golden circlet on his—

“Pritkin?”I said, staring at his hair, which was ruining the effect of all that finery.“Where have you been?”

Worry made my voice harsher than really warranted, but I doubted he could tell over the din in here.Or maybe he could, because he pulled me out of the brightly lit area, through the tables manned by the freed but still harassed-looking kitchen staff, because they were having to prepare everything in the middle of a field, and out to the grasses and rocks beyond.But that still didn’t seem to be good enough, as there were hundreds of wagons scattered everywhere, and smaller, less formal feasts happening around them, like tailgaters at a football game.And more energetic dancing was taking place beside the brightly burning fires that dotted the night.

“This way,” he said, leading us to a narrow goat trail heading down the cliff to the beach.I felt myself start to relax, even before we made it to the bottom, because I could breathe out here.The thousand raucous sights, sounds, and scents of the party faded into the background, and there was only clean sea air and a little wind throwing my hair around.

The dress I was wearing was lightweight enough not to impede me, although I hadn’t planned to mountain climb in it.But I somehow got to the bottom without snagging the delicate overskirt, which was way more voluminous than the slender inner layer and had a habit of billowing out at every breath of wind.But it was sturdier than it looked, with its sprinkling of tiny diamonds, and with the champagne color of the fabric almost causing it to disappear into the night, making me look like I was clothed in starlight.

Augustine would have a fit here, I thought, and laughed for the first time in days for no apparent reason.

The light from above spangled the sand enough that we could see, but it didn’t obscure the stars arching overhead.Pritkin finally found a spot he liked, well away from the celebration, although I could still hear music playing distantly.The tide was coming in, but it didn’t quite reach us, and the towering cliff face behind made it feel like we were the only two people in the world, even if it was kind of dark.