“Sorina?” Villiam’s eyebrows furrow. “What are you doing here?”
“I need you.Please.”
Villiam turns to the officials. “We’ll be leaving Leonita soon. And I suggest you remove your officials from our Festival. We didn’t come here looking for violence—we’re fleeing the war behind us. But if you continue to attack, know that you are against an entire city, one far more ancient than yours and one full of magic.”
His expression is intimidating, almost threatening, even despite his crutches. Before I knocked, it sounded as though the officials had the upper hand, but Villiam turned the course of the conversation in an instant. Would I ever be able to do that, as a proprietor? I doubted it.
“Ovren champions those who serve Him,” one of the officials says, but he pulls the other by the shoulder and they leave.
“What has happened, Sorina?” he says, once the door closes behind them. “You look frazzled.”
“We were attacked,” I say, burying my face in his chest. “It was Agni. Agni killed Gill and Blister and Venera. Luca is innocent.”
He stiffens. “No, that’s not possible. I’ve known Agni for years—”
“It was Agni. He came after us with Hellfire.”
Villiam closes his eyes and takes a deep, staggered breath. “He’s been...shaken since his son was taken. I thought the work was good for him. But...our informants were certain. Where is Agni? I want to speak with him immediately.”
“Agni is dead,” I say quietly, feeling almost guilty when I see the stricken expression on my father’s face.
Villiam covers his mouth with his hand and takes a deep breath. “And Luca?”
“He’s in my tent. So are the others. They’ll tell you what happened.”
We hurry back to my tent, where Nicoleta has managed to awaken Luca. As soon as we enter, I have the urge to release all the illusions, to sit among what remains of my family and let Villiam clear our problems away. It’s over. It’s over at last.
Luca watches us approach with wide eyes.
“Sorina. No,” he says weakly.
“What happened?” Villiam asks. “Is everyone all right?”
“No,” Luca says again, a panicked expression on his face. “It’s him, Sorina. He’s the mind-worker. He’s been a jynx-worker all along.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
My heart leaps into my throat. No, that’s impossible. What is Luca talking about? He’s obviously mistaken, and I turn to Villiam, ready to apologize, to make excuses for Luca’s confusion.
Villiam takes a few steps closer to Luca, hobbling on his crutches. Nicoleta lunges in between them, as if protecting him, as if she believes him.
Before I can think about what’s happening, I hastily hoist Luca’s and Nicoleta’s Strings into their Trunks. Luca is disoriented, and neither of them know Villiam like I do. I’m tired of the accusations. Tired of jumping to conclusions. Villiam doesn’t have any jynx-work. And he’d never hurt anyone in our family.
Nevertheless, my pulse quickens, and I’m hyperaware of the silence in the tent.
“You put them away?” Villiam says.
“Yes. What were they talking about?” I ask.
“I have no idea,” he says. “They looked traumatized, which isn’t surprising after what Agni did. We’ve both known Agni for years—this is a shock for everyone. To think that he’d be driven to this point... And I can’t blame anyone more than myself...”
Why would Luca think Villiam is a jynx-worker or that he had anything to do with this? I take a few steps away from him, hating myself as I do so. It’s only Villiam. My father. The man who’s watched over me for years. I don’t need to protect myself from him.
Luca must’ve made a mistake. Did he hear Agni talking about Villiam? Or is he only jumping to conclusions, since Agni is Villiam’s assistant?
“Can I make you some tea, my dear?” Villiam asks. When I shake my head, he takes a seat on the floor and motions for me to join him. I do, leaning my head against his shoulder, my thoughts twisted.
“Do you want to talk about what happened?”
