Page 64 of The Mask Falling

At this, he raised his dark gaze to mine once more.Tell me, you bastard.Tell me where it is.

“I do not think that would be a good idea.” He dabbed his mouth with linen. “Let us not speak of this tonight. You know how I detest the subject.”

I clenched my fist under the table.

“Of course,” I said. “What did Chief Tjäder have to say?”

Ménard considered me for a beat too long.

“She and I are in agreement,” he said. “It will take time to arrange the counterstrike, given the . . . situation in Sweden. But we have her loyalty.”

I sensed this subject was very important, but I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Perhaps this was exactly what Domino wanted Nick to discover. He and I could be working to complete the same picture.

Two attendants returned to clear away the plates while a third set down a cheeseboard and cut a blue-veined wedge for Ménard. I shook my head when she offered it to me.

“So,” Ménard said, when we were alone once more, “what are we going to call our little fish?”

I raised my glass to my lips again to buy myself some time. In spite of myself, my hand gave the slightest tremor.

Surely they would have discussed baby names by now. Luce was almost five months into her pregnancy. Then again, running a tyrannical republic must be at least moderately time-consuming.

Ménard kept looking at me, his face now utterly expressionless. A wrong answer would shatter the façade, which would stop me returning. Even I had a line when it came to taking risks. With a tiny sound of discomfort, I let my head fall and pressed my knuckles to my brow.

“Luce.” Ménard stood. “Come. You should lie down.”

“Sorry.” I affected a strained laugh. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day, and now this.”

“You are exhausted.” He slid an arm around my waist as I got up. “Aleka will rearrange your schedule so you can rest in the morning.”

“There’s no need, Benoît, really.”

“I know. When the anchor calls, we all must answer,” he said gently. “But it can wait for half a day.”

Next thing I knew, he was guiding me away from the table. Away from his study. He escorted me through the deserted Bureau Cramoisi, past the stern portrait, through the private apartments, to the bedroom. I stood very still as he eased the clasp from my hair, so it tumbled around my shoulders.

“I wish I could stay.” His lips brushed my neck. It took every grain of my self-control to not stiffen. “There is much to be done, but all of it will come to fruition, Luce. Soon.”

“Let me help.” I touched my fingertips to his nape. “At the least, I can keep you company.”

“Another time. Tonight, you must rest.” He kissed me once on the lips before he moved away. “Sleep well.”

I forced a smile. As soon as the door closed behind him, I wiped my mouth on my sleeve, tasting lemons.

I had learned enough to fill in some of the gaps in what I already knew from Arcturus. But I had needed more. Not just for Ducos, but for myself.

I needed the exact location of Sheol II. No matter how great the danger, I would have to return. I carefully laid Frère on the floor on her side, and arranged her hair as if she had fallen.

As I left her body, an idea occurred.

****

I woke feeling cold and heavy. A silhouette appeared above me.

“Flora,” a voice said. “Can you hear me?”

I nodded. The tube was already gone, like before, leaving my throat sore.

The agent standing over me was amaurotic, tall and lean, about the same age as Cordier. They wore a navy sweater tucked into trousers, the sleeves rolled up to show toned brown forearms, and their dark curls were pulled into a ponytail that clouded at the base of their neck.

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