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I washed my face and steeled myself. Verca had done her part; now it was time to do mine.

Arcturus was silent in his room. When I knocked, he took a while to come to the door.

‘Paige,’ he said. ‘How was your meeting with Jaxon?’

‘A colossal waste of time, but at least he didn’t try to kill me. And I did hear from someone else on the Council of Kassandra,’ I said. ‘I have a meeting with Sala tomorrow night.’

‘Sala is in Italy, then?’

‘Apparently,’ I said. ‘I suppose all I can do is try to convince her not to give in to Operation Ventriloquist. And that I can defeat Cade.’

‘I believe you can,’ Arcturus said. ‘If President Sala is willing to risk meeting you in person, I imagine she will also be willing to hear you out. You have prevailed against greater odds.’

I held his gaze, my nape warming.

‘I want to show you something. It’s not far,’ I said. ‘Still up for that walk?’

He looked into my eyes, as hard to read as ever.

Do not concern yourself with his state of mind. That is something you, a mortal, cannot hope to understand.

‘Yes,’ he said.

I nodded. For days, I had been getting it wrong, but I thought I had a way to set it right. I would save Arcturus from himself, and then I would save Italy.

23

IN THE GLOAMING

I fished an old key from under the fountain and led Arcturus on to the streets of Rome, past its golden streetlamps. Once I reached the door I needed, I unlocked it.

When I had asked Verca if she could locate a pipe organ in Ponte, she had risen to the challenge. With her general charm and fluency in Italian, she had soon found a place and talked someone into letting me use it for a couple of hours.

I went to the balcony above the door, where the organ stood ready. Arcturus stopped beside me and gazed up at it. Unless he chose to open up, this was all I could do. I owed him this much.

‘The first time I heard you play the organ, it was like you were expressing all the things you couldn’t say,’ I murmured. ‘It’s all right if you don’t want to talk about what happened in France, but I want you to be able to … let it out, somehow. I thought this might help.’

Arcturus considered the instrument. I waited.

‘I had not thought I would be able to play again,’ he said. ‘Would you like to hear anything in particular?’

It took me a moment to realise he was inviting me to stay. To share the music with him.

‘Just you,’ I said.

Arcturus sat on the bench. I watched him get used to the instrument, familiarising himself with the pedals and stops and keys, making small adjustments. I kept my distance, feeling like an intruder. He tried out a few chords, then started to put the organ through its paces.

The music wrapped me like the warmth of a fire after days in the cold. I let myself bathe in it, as I no longer could with any ease in water. Sometimes it took my breath away, that someone who showed so little emotion on his face could weave so much of it into his music.

He played and played for what seemed like hours. When he stopped, the sound trailed away, and the chamber was silent.

‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘It’s a privilege to hear your music.’ I turned to go. ‘I’ll leave you alone now.’

‘You told me once that you like to sing,’ Arcturus said, stopping me. ‘Would you do me the honour of accompanying me, Paige?’

Learning a duet entails time. And patience. Calls for us to move as one. His voice came rushing back to me with the memory of his touch, hot against my skin.I want you to show me where to touch you. I want to know how to make your body sing.

‘I don’t know if I can sing alongside an organ,’ I said.