Forcing myself to notice literally anything else, I focus at the bloodstains on her hands. Now that I’m paying attention, her dress is ripped at the hem and her hair—loose and pretty earlier—has been hastily wound into a braided bun. She actually looks like she’s been in a fight this time.
That guy in the room may be subdued, but he clearly didn’t go quietly. Still, I frown.
“What—”
A grating noise draws our attention, both of our heads snapping towards the place of origin. I watch in horror as the fireplace starts to slide outwards, just like a doorway.
“Cool!” Vee cries, leaping to his feet, nearly knocking the projector onto the floor.
I grab him and pull him into my side. Did Dominik find another way in? Tanisira must have the same thought because she steps in front of us. I wish I could be more useful, but the best thing in this situation is to let the person who knows what she’s doing handle it. Dominik isn’t a brawler, but he’s big.
The fireplace stops a quarter of the way in its possible arc, and someone who is decidedly notDominik pokes her head into the room. I recognise her, and it curdles my stomach; the security team’s been sent to get us. There’s nothing I can grab to use in defence unless I try to yank a portrait off the wall and hit Mae with it. In panic, I look to Tanisira, feeling weak and pretty useless.
But she relaxes from her fighting stance and smiles—smiles—at Mae. I can’t make sense of it. Then I notice there’s no one else behind Mae.
“You guys coming or...?” She smirks.
She’s with us?
Tanisira collects the projector before limping over, sparing a moment to pat Mae on the shoulder before slipping through. I catch the way Mae touches her fingertips to Tanisira’s hand. It’s interesting; I have questions. But I usher Vee ahead, following behind. It’s drafty and narrow, and once Mae pulls the fireplace back into alignment we’re plunged into darkness.
Fuck knows what lives back here, so I’m glad for it—a spider running across my foot would just be the last straw right now.
No one speaks. As we move through the corridors, faint murmurs drift through the walls. I can’t help thinking that back in the day, the help must have had great gossip.
“How did you find out about this?” Tanisira whispers.
Mae’s the lead, guiding us with the tiniest light I’ve ever seen. I can barely see the unfinished plaster walls—a noticeable contrast to the marbled brick of the mansion’s exterior— and the rough stone underfoot. The light illuminates one of her shoulders as she shrugs.
“Big houses, old houses, sometimes had these secret passages. It’s a Tellurian thing.”
“To keep the servants hidden?” Tanisira asks dryly.
“Exactly.”
I chime in. “And you just stumbled upon it?”
“No, I asked the groundsman. He’s been working at the mansion for twenty years. He was offered a relocation package and shipped over with it.”
“Did he give you a map?” Vee asks with barely restrained excitement.
Mae laughs very quietly. “No, just directions. And I had to write them down on my hand because it was confusing.”
Vee laughs, and I can tell he thinks she’s on our side whereas I’m not so sure. Considering she and her colleague frogmarched us off theMidasand delivered us to Dominik, I’m simply confused.
We troop down a narrow set of stairs and around several corners before Mae comes to a stop. It seems random, but she crouches and pulls a lever I didn’t notice. With a click, light seeps through new apertures in the wall.
“Wait here,” she says, pushing the makeshift door open just wide enough to slide through. Music and laughter pour through the crack, and I get a glimpse of the golden lamp-lit walls of a hall.
As soon as Mae disappears, I pull Tanisira aside. “How did you get her to help?”
“She offered.” In the faint glow, Tanisira can still see my scepticism. She shrugs. “I didn’t have many other options. Gryphon hasn’t had time to rig the manor up completely, but whatever he does have in place would be impossible to hack, even if I didn’t have rudimentary knowledge. I needed the projector, and I needed help getting it downstairs unseen.”
Don’t say it don’t say it don’t say—
“She seems a little into you,” I say, soundingverycasual.
Tanisira tilts her head, and even though her expression doesn’t change, my stomach knots itself up.
