Page 74 of Queen of Volts

“What? You can’t make yourself laugh?”

After cursing under her breath, Enne forced out a burst of giggles, leaning her head into Levi’s shoulder. She’d nearly pulled it off, too, until the reporter appeared behind them.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said quickly, in the kind of tone that made it clear she wasn’t sorry at all, “but our readers would love a few words from you. Levi, were you the one who chose this spot? Very romantic.”

Levi knew as much about the parks of the South Side as he did physics or neurosurgery, and it showed when he answered, thickly, “Sure.”

“I might have suggested it,” Enne cut in hurriedly, grinning and tugging him closer. “But if you don’t mind, we’re trying to make an appointment at a café...”

“We are?” Levi muttered under his breath.

The reporter frowned but backed away. “My apologies. I wouldn’t want to make you late.”

Once the reporter was safely out of earshot, Levi leaned down and snarled into Enne’s ear, “I was told this was just a walk.”

“Sorry—it was just an excuse. I didn’t think she’d hover like that.”

“Well, now we have to go.”

“It’s just a coffee.” The weather was so blustery that Enne would actually relish a hot drink.

“I only drink coffee when I’m hungover.”

Enne rolled her eyes. “You know, I don’t know why I picked you for this charade, either. You have all the charm of a rush-hour Mole station.”

He scoffed and looked away. “That’s not true. I can be very charming.”

Enne, unfortunately, knew that he could, which made his pitiful performance of the boyfriend all the more frustrating. But such thoughts made her mind steer back to her dream, of the version of Levi she’d encountered behind so many doors of the hallway last night.Thatversion hadn’t been half so angry with her. Truly, the scandalous corners of her subconscious mind embarrassed even her.

“What?” Levi asked, raising his eyebrows, and Enne felt certain he spotted a telltale blush on her cheeks. “No retort?”

Any of Enne’s own charm and wit had vanished in her fluster. “It’s just that, the better the show we perform, the sooner we might be able to finish this whole ordeal.”

At this, they reached the park’s edge, where it intersected with Poplar Street. The roads of the South Side were all named after trees or flowers, similar to how those of the North Side had been matched to card games. Enne admired the lacy curtains in all of the apartment windows and the smartly dressed bellhops outside each of the buildings.

To Enne’s surprise, Levi must have been motivated by her words because he pulled her into a candy store on the corner, its displays of chocolates and cream puffs far more elegant than any she’d seen in Tiggy’s Saltwater Taffy. The air inside smelled devilishly sweet, and Enne watched, transfixed, as the employees stirred vats of simmering chocolate or spun green and orange sugar into candy floss.

“I’m going to look at this,” Levi grumbled, snatching a box of chocolates from a nearby shelf, “as an investment in my political future—and my state of mind.”

“Oh, you must stop,” Enne said flatly. “Or I might swoon.”

This earned her a small crack of a smile. He waved the box. “That’s what the sugar is for.”

The man at the checkout counter, dressed in a candy-striped apron of pink and yellow, widened his eyes as they approached, seeming to recognize them. His hands trembled as he took the box.

He’s afraid of us,Enne realized, startled—even over two weeks since Jonas had exposed her identity, she wasn’t used to her unmasked face being so instantly recognizable. But she stuck with her plan, forcing a sweet smile and grabbing Levi’s hand.

The man’s suspicion didn’t seem to fade, however. He scribbled down the receipt and thrust both it and the box of chocolates into Levi’s hands, and Levi and Enne slinked out of the store.

“As far as investments go,” Enne sighed, “that could have gone better.”

“There were two street lords who fell in love with each other before, you know,” Levi told her. “Inamorata and Iris. They were credited with multiple bank robberies and at least seven deaths. It’s why, even if you weren’t a Mizer, there’s no way this plan will get you your pardon.”

Enne knew about Inamorata and Iris, as the Spirits had two cats who were their namesakes, but she mourned that Sadie Knightley had not prepared her for the reality of romances in the City of Sin.

“Well,” Enne said, refusing to be put off, “that’s just one man. The café will be better.”

The café, at first, did seem better. The pair had claimed a private booth in the corner, far from the window and the threat of any gaping passersby. The reporter who’d followed them in the park had been joined by two others, perhaps fromThe Kiss & Tell,and the three of them not-so-subtly found a table facing Enne and Levi’s direction. They scratched furiously in their notebooks as Enne took Levi’s hand.