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‘Buongiorno, sweet.’ Maria was eating a cooked breakfast. ‘I hope you slept better than I did.’

‘Once I’d had a midnight jog,’ I said.

‘What?’

‘Nothing.’ I sat down and shed my suit jacket. ‘How’s the arm?’

‘Still wrapped in a nice layer of padding and painkillers.’ She passed me a cup of coffee. ‘I see you survived Command. I’m scheduled to see Pivot at noon. Is she terrifying?’

‘Not at all.’ I unfastened a few buttons on my blouse. ‘She asked me about the Rephs.’

‘Me, too. I told her as much as I could.’ Nick looked at me over his sunglasses. ‘She asked me if the Sargas ever meant to reveal their presence to the public. Do you know?’

‘Warden said that was their aim, but only once they felt secure.’

‘Yes, because a public declaration of their presence would cause mass hysteria,’ Maria said. ‘I can’t imagine the religious fervour and doomsaying that would follow that announcement. It would be the breaking news that broke the world.’ She let her head fall back. ‘Still, too hot to think about that. I don’t know how people in Italy get any work done.’

I helped myself to fruit and yoghurt. The platter came with an orange, a rare and expensive treat in Scion. I peeled it and breathed in its sweetness. France sent clementines to England, but I hadn’t had a proper orange since I was a child. It tasted like sunlight and summer.

‘Paige,’ Nick said, ‘did you ask Pivot about your contract?’

‘They expect me to work until January, at least. Apparently I’m too useful to lose.’

‘Pivot said the same to me. I feel like we’re being punished for being good at our jobs.’

‘They might be willing to let Maria go.’

‘I resent your implication,’ Maria said. ‘I was exceptionally good at my job. It’s hardly my fault if I’m also exceptionally good at burning things.’

‘Radomír said you could leave,’ I said, ‘and the Mime Order respects you. I’ve made a case for you returning to London tosupport Eliza, possibly accompanied by a Domino agent, so they can see it’s a legitimate resistance. Are you happy to do that?’

‘Of course.’

‘What about Verca?’

‘I won’t pretend it will be easy, but she always knew I wanted to return to Scion. You’re Underqueen,’ Maria said. ‘If you want me to go now, I will.’

‘Not now,’ Nick said. ‘You can’t go back with your arm in that state, Maria.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the resident medic, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, and I can’t clear you to make the Alpine crossing with that injury. If you start bleeding or get an infection, you won’t just be a liability to yourself. You’ll endanger your guide.’

‘He’s right, Maria. It would ruin the whole plan,’ I said. ‘Wait until you’re healed.’ She bit the inside of her cheek. ‘In the meantime, I’ll try to get a message to London.’

‘Good. I want a welcome party.’ Maria checked her phone. ‘Verca just left for the airport, to get more information on Cordier and Lauring. Hopefully we can find out why you were abducted.’

I still couldn’t believe the ease of travel here. In Scion, one had to request authorisation to leave a country months in advance.

‘I see you got a phone.’ Nick held out a hand for it. ‘Let me put our numbers in.’

‘Thanks.’ I passed it to him. ‘I need a walk. Want to come?’

‘Well, I currently only have one patient,’ he said, nodding to Maria, ‘and she looks quite comfortable.’

‘Perfectly. Bring me back a gelato, please,’ Maria said. ‘And a souvenir. When we return to the horrors of Scion, I’d like to remember that I once spent a beautiful weekend in Venice.’

Nick showed me the streets around the Palazzo del Domino first. Once I had them memorised, he took me to the Rialto Bridge and the district of San Marco, which housed some of the famous landmarks of Venice. We had a drink in a Baroque coffeehouse, thenwalked some way along the promenade by the lagoon, cooled by a breeze from the Adriatic Sea.