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‘I’m sorry. I had hoped to meet you. It was very rude of me to barge in on you this morning.’
So that’s what this was about. Another person eager to see a Spinster or ask for a blessing. It’s not that I mind so much as it makes the guilt bubble up and threaten to spill over. If only she knew I was responsible for the accident that claimed the local academy.
But I simply hold out my hand to her and say, ‘I’m Adelice.’
‘It’s an honour to meet you,’ she says, clutching my hand in hers and not letting go. ‘I thought you might know my daughter. She was retrieved this year as well.’
‘Pryana?’ I ask the woman, and her face lights up. That’s when I realise it’s no more a coincidence that we came to Cypress for the ribbon-cutting ceremony than that we stayed in this hotel. The academy. Amie. And now Pryana’s mother. Cormac wants me to see the consequences of my decisions and remind me of how powerless I am without the strength of the Guild behind me. But his plan has a weakness: now I know where Amie is.
‘Oh, you do know her! Is she well?’ she asks.
I do my best to muster up a warm smile, and nod. With the loss of her other daughter, even some news about Pryana must feel like a gift.
‘I’m very sorry about what happened here,’ I manage to whisper. Part of me longs to tell her the truth – that I’m the reason the academy was destroyed, but when I gather up the courage to look into her eyes, they stare blankly back at me.
‘Sorry for what?’ she asks, and her voice is as empty as her eyes.
‘For the academy,’ I tell her, pulling my hand back from hers.
‘It’s lovely,’ she says automatically. ‘I wish it had been this nice when Pryana was attending it.’
‘But your daughter . . .’
‘Pryana?’ she asks in a confused voice.
‘No,’ I answer slowly, watching her closely. ‘Your other daughter and the academy . . .’
‘Pryana is my only daughter,’ she says, but something about her tone is not reassuring. There’s no surprise or amusement at my mistake, but only a mechanical, unemotional response to my apology.
‘I must have been confused,’ I tell her. ‘I thought Pryana said she had a sister.’
‘She’s an only child,’ her mother says, and her face brightens again. ‘My pride and joy.’
‘So what exactly happened to the academy?’ I ask, less interested in the facts than in what she believes occurred.
‘It was upgraded. We got called to a town hall meeting, well, the girl neighbourhoods,’ she says, and the automatic tone returns; but for just a moment she seems to struggle with what happened at that meeting. ‘Anyway, they upgraded the girls’ academy. It makes sense to me. We’ve produced more Spinsters here than any other metro in the four sectors.’
I swallow hard and turn from her.
‘Pryana mentioned that,’ I say in a quiet voice, my mind no longer centred on this conversation.
‘It sounds like you two are good friends,’ her mother says happily, and I don’t have the heart to correct her. ‘Will you do something for me?’
‘Anything,’ I say, expecting her to give me a message for Pryana, but instead, she leans in to whisper, ‘Keep an eye on her for me.’
That won’t be hard.
Enora meets me at the rebound station back at the Western Coventry and drags me away before Jost or Erik can join us. I feel awful for not thanking them for watching out for me this weekend, but since Enora can barely control her shaking hands, I go along with her.
‘You’re wanted upon arrival,’ she tells me.
‘Okay.’ I consider telling her about the conversation I overheard between Cormac and Hannox but don’t know where to start.
‘Have you manipulated the weave again without a machine?’ she asks me in a quiet voice. Her gaze is so demanding I almost believe I have. It’s clear she assumes as much.
‘No.’ I pause and try to remember if that’s right. ‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘No or maybe?’ she presses.
