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‘You don’t have to say anything.’ I patted her hand. ‘I know it might take a while to digest.’

‘I’ll say.’ Eliza snorted. ‘You really are a woman of extremes, Paige. Not one date in our whole time in London, and now you’ve gone and scored a Reph.’

I cracked my first smile in a few days. It felt good to have the secret off my shoulders.

‘I keep wondering if I ever saw Warden in Oxford.’ She used her coffee to warm her hands. ‘I used to have flashbacks, when I was younger. It’s why I started taking the aster.’

‘How did you forgive Jax for leaving you with those dealers?’

‘I didn’t, Paige. I just see how much worse he could have been,’ she said. ‘It’s a low bar, but when you’re raised among criminals, it’s how you end up judging people.’

‘They mourned you in Oxford. The performers left you little trinkets.’

‘Then I need to amount to something, for them.’

‘You already have.’ I breathed out a flurry of fog. ‘If I accept this job offer, I can bring money back. A lot of it.’

‘We need it. We’ve made plans, but we have to be able to afford food and weapons. With your coin from Tinman and support from President Sala, we have a proper shot at scaring Scion.’

‘Jax won’t win everyone over.’ I tightened my fist. ‘Wynn and Vern will probably leave the syndicate, along with the other vile augurs. They’ll need safe passage out of London. Ivy will never forgive me. I doubt Le Vieux Orphelin will be too happy with me, either.’

‘I’ll go to Paris to explain.’ She hesitated. ‘Is Warden coming with us, or going with you?’

‘I need him to represent me in France for a while. He also has to be involved in electing a new leader. He’ll try to get some of the Ranthen to stay with you in London, if they can stand to be around Jaxon.’

The three of us sat together for a long time.

‘This might be the hardest choice I’ve ever made,’ I said. ‘And I’ve made some tough ones.’ I lowered my gaze. ‘I’ll be so far away from you all. And Warden—’

I couldn’t finish the sentence.

‘We’ll look after him,’ Nick said. ‘I promise.’

‘All of this could take a while,’ Eliza said gently. ‘We need to get our fighters up to scratch, get ourselves properly armed and keep making alliances. We can’t rush this fight against Scion. You can afford to stay in the free world for a bit longer, Paige. And to help Nadine.’

‘You put all these pieces in place, sötnos. Look at how far you’ve already come.’ Nick grasped my hand. ‘Let us carry the weight for a while. Go out there, and then come back to us.’

A tiny nod was my only reply.

‘We’ll let you think.’ He stood. ‘Whatever you decide, we’ll support you.’

They both left me alone. The queen of the underworld, who had gone away for a whole summer.

I was already Persephone.

31

PERSEPHONE

VENICE

3November 2060

My flight was booked the next morning. Sala secured me a new identity and a diplomatic passport, the best protection she could offer, and told me to return as soon as I could.

That afternoon, I recorded a message for the Mime Order, which Nick would take to London. There would be no scrimmage. I had reconciled with the White Binder, whose values now aligned with mine. I was needed in the free world, but I would send coin and support.

I hoped that they would understand. My army of criminals, bound to the underworld.