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“What happened to your back?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“Checking me out thoroughly today, aren’t you?” he replies.

“I meant your scars,” I say, fighting down my blush.

“I know what you meant.” Then he adds, “I had a couple of missions years ago that involved being captured and interrogated. Not my favorite jobs, I can tell you that.”

Captured and interrogated. It hadn’t occurred to me that Thorn would send his Harbingers on such traumatic missions. I have a hard time imagining Raven being so ruthless with me. My curiosity stirs, but I refrain from digging further into it.

Instead, I clear my throat and straighten, fighting down my nausea. “Speaking of rough missions,” I say, “I had a few questions for you about last night. I was wondering if you might be willing to spare a few minutes to talk over what happened.”

He turns back around, then considers me for a long moment. At last, he nods. “I’m hungry,” he declares.

I start to answer, then take in his words. “I—what?”

“I’m hungry,” he repeats. “Have you eaten yet?”

I blink, not sure how to answer. “No,” I say. “But—”

“Well, no one’s good on an empty stomach, and you’re starting to turn pale in this space. Care to talk more about this over lunch?”

“Sure,” I reply, maybe too quickly, then curse myself for sounding so eager.

“Great.” He pulls on his collared shirt. “Let’s head downstairs. I could use a mean pasta.”

16

Moments later, we’re on a heated outdoor patio overlooking the Thames, seated under an elegant canopy of pine garlands and surrounded by a merry din of mortal patrons as we make our way through plates of carbonara.

As Étienne wipes his mouth on his napkin, my gaze returns to the bandage on his forearm.

“How’s your wound?” I decide to ask.

Casually, he looks down at it. “Apparently a scratch from a Wraith is poisonous, their souls being fragmented and corrupted. It’ll take a minute to heal. But it’ll be fine.”

I nod. “Glad to know.”

He regards me for a moment, then says, “Raven sent you because he’s suspicious of me. He thinks I had something to do with last night. Am I right?”

I chew thoughtfully and swallow, careful not to let on that Raven had wanted me closer to him since my confirmation. “I think everyone’s a little on edge, given that two Regents have died this past week. Raven wants as much information as we can gather. Rumor has it that Terran died in a similar way.”

“Oh?” he says as he wraps another bite of pasta around his fork.

“He was found with marks on his neck,” I say quietly. “Wounds.”

Étienne nods, as if barely interested, but he stops eating and sits back to regard me. “And Raven thinks I had something to do with these Wraiths attacking Harbingers?” he asks.

“Raven says a god gave those Wraiths the power to influence the mortal world,” I answer.

“Mm.” Étienne nods and looks back out at the winding river. “He suspects Thorn.”

“He didn’t say who he suspected.”

He considers me a moment, then puts his fork down and undoes the clasp of his silk bracelet. “Here,” he says, handing it to me. “Put it on.”

I stare skeptically at the Artifact. “Why?”

“Why do you think? It tells me whether someone is lying. Put it on, so you’ll believe what I say.”