Page 126 of The Mask Falling

“Forgive him, Underqueen,” she said. “He and Le Vieux Orphelin are . . . âmes jumelles. When they are parted, a fire consumes him.” She tipped her head against the wall. “I want to save Le Vieux Orphelin, too. I have been with him since I was sixteen—but I also know we will be no use to him if we are exhausted when we arrive. Léandre is too in love to see reason.”

Léandre was at the other end of this section of the tunnel now, staring a hole into the wall.

“I understand,” I said.

“He is a little bitter, too,” she added under her breath. “Before he went missing, all Le Vieux Orphelin talked about for days was you. His relief that London had bowed to a revolutionary leader instead of another lazy and brutal chair-warmer. How he longed to join our syndicates. Léandre is afraid he will be cast aside. That Le Vieux Orphelin will wantyouas a compagne d’armes.”

“He’s never met me. I might be a colossal disappointment.”

“It’s the idea of you, ma chère.”

She went to speak to Léandre. Ivy stayed on one side of me, while Ankou sat down on the other.

“Sorry, Paige,” Ivy murmured. “I didn’t mean to tell Léandre about the waterboarding.”

“Probably good that he knows.”

With a nod, she leaned against the damp wall. I closed my eyes, shutting out my surroundings, and drank from the hip flask. The brandywine kindled a welcome heat in my chest.

My head was so heavy. If I didn’t get up now, I never would. I handed the flask back to Ankou, stood and started moving again, before Léandre could haul me up by the scruff of my neck. The others got up and came after me.

A cave-in had almost engulfed the next stretch of the tunnel. Léandre got down on his stomach and squeezed himself into a tiny space at the bottom. I took a deep breath before I followed.

Broken rocks were packed tight above us. I hooked the strap of my rucksack around my ankle and crawled on my stomach after Léandre, the ground almost scraping my cheek. Sweat coated my nape. I imagined all the buildings of Paris cracking the thin shell of the pavement, falling into the hollowed-out earth, crushing this sliver of musty air. Mouth dry, I pressed on, holding onto the same thing that had kept me alive in the Westminster Archon. A single ember of resolve.

At last, I emerged in a tiny cave. To the left was another crawl space, into which Léandre had already vanished. Straight ahead was a jagged opening. When I shone my headlamp into it, the beam picked out a steep, wet incline. The rest of the Passage des Voleurs.

“Paige.”

Ivy had stopped halfway into the chamber. The change in her was startling. She was sweating marbles, quivering all the way to her lips.

“Can’t go on.” Strands of hair stuck to her brow. “I can’t.”

I helped her out of the tunnel so Ankou could get through. There was no room to stand in this pocket of space. “What is it?” I said softly. “You seemed fine at Apollyon.”

“Lost my bottle.” Ivy looked at me with bloodshot eyes. “I thought I needed to do this. Face him, at least, so I can get him the fuck out of my head.” Tears of frustration welled up. “But I’m just doing his job for him. Torturing myself. Every inch I move takes me closer to him. I’m n-not ready.”

I recognized the haunted look I had seen in my own reflection.

“Okay,” I said. “Do you want to stay here?”

“No. The cavern at the bottom of Apollyon.” She wiped her brow. “I’ll wait for you there.”

Léandre soon returned to see what the holdup was about. Once he was abreast of the situation, he was good enough not to grouse about it. “My people need rest,” he said shortly to Ivy, “but the way back to Apollyon is not difficult. Keep to the main path.”

“I remember it.”

“Good.” He passed a cylindrical pack to her. “Sleeping bag. You have enough food and water?”

Ivy nodded and shouldered the pack. Before she left, she turned to me and gripped my arm.

“Burn that place to the fucking ground,” she whispered. “Promise me, Paige. Don’t let anyone else have to live with these memories.”

Ducos had instructed me only to kill Jaxon, not to burn anything to the ground. I couldn’t please both sides forever.

“I promise,” I said.

Ivy gave me a quick, one-armed hug. I wished she could stay, to lend me a bit more strength than I had. Now I was the only human survivor of the colony to go into the next one.

---