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‘Good man.’

Someone had started to sing along to a cello. Once Maria had gone, Verca sidled into the space she had left. ‘Do you want anything else, Paige?’

‘Oh, no, I’m stuffed,’ I said truthfully. ‘Thank you.’

‘You liked the beer?’

‘Delicious.’ Before she could offer me another, I said, ‘Radomír says you’re a recruiter.’

‘Yes. I am also an administrator and translator at the Libuše Institute,’ Verca said. ‘I wanted to be an intelligence agent, but Domino doesn’t often send clairvoyants into Scion – we would be in constant danger of detection and execution. So I do what I can from outside.’

‘Maria mentioned you met a long time ago.’

‘Twenty years.’ She sipped her beer. ‘It is quite a story. I decided to go travelling before university, with two friends and my sister, Debora. We were two weeks into our gap year when the anchor invaded Greece. Scion had never attacked a country, so this was a great shock.’

‘Not too great,’ Radomír said. ‘You must have been too young or distracted to notice the speculation.’

‘Perhaps. Despite the danger, we were determined to achieve our goal of visiting every country in free Europe,’ Verca said. ‘Our trip was meant to end in Kazanluk in Bulgaria. After a few months, we decided it was safe – that Scion only wanted Greece – and went to see the Rose Valley. A few days after we arrived, Scion crossed the border.’

Radomír shook his head.

‘All flights were cancelled,’ Verca went on. ‘It was the end of our trip, so we had very little money. We hitchhiked and walked as far as Sofia before it ran out. A lot of people were stranded in the capital. Maria was handing out food to the outsiders. She saw my fear and made me laugh, even though we didn’t speak eachother’s languages.’ She finished her beer. ‘Scion approached the city not long after our arrival. My sister is diabetic, and with medical supplies running low, she became unwell. With Scion on the way, Maria bribed a station guard to get us on the last train from Sofia, leaving her with nothing to exchange for her own safety.’

Maria had spent years in prison for that kindness.

‘We reached Serbia just before Scion did,’ Verca continued. ‘Our parents met us in Belgrade, and we got Debora to a hospital in time. Maria saved her life.’

‘And then you met her again here.’

‘Eventually. After our escape, I moved to Italy to study, but I often wondered what had happened to the young fighter who helped us. When I returned to Prague, I applied for a job at the Libuše Institute, which I thought was a private museum. When I realised the truth, I asked to go into Scion East, to see if I could find Maria.’

‘I denied this request, of course,’ Radomír said.

‘Yes. Fortunately, this year, Radomír brought Maria out himself.’

Maria chose that moment to come back. She handed me a glass of red wine.

‘What solemn faces.’ She had got herself a serving of absinthe. ‘Did Radomír try to tell a joke?’

‘Verca was telling us how you met,’ I said.

‘Ah, yes.’ Maria planted a kiss on her temple. ‘The æther was good, to bring us back together.’

Verca clasped her hand, giving her a tender smile.

‘Now we have eaten, we must get to business,’ Radomír said. ‘Flora, please, tell me what you remember.’

I was starting to feel tired, but I recounted everything again, in as much detail as I had to Maria. When I was finished, Verca leaned into the candlelight.

‘Flora needs protection, Radek. She could stay in Prague and do the training she should have received,’ she said. ‘We could keep her safe, as we do with other fugitives, like Nuray.’

Radomír sat in deep thought for a time.

‘This abduction may not be an isolated incident,’ he said at last. ‘Domino has seen a number of security breaches in the last few months. I do not know what to make of these Americans.’

‘I’m not absolutely sure they were American, but—’

‘Regardless, it is imperative that you see Command. I informed them of your return this morning, and they have already requested your presence,’ Radomír said. ‘Your former supervisor classified you as missing in action, but Command can reactivate you as an associate.’