Page 41 of The Bone Season

We fell into silence, our laughter already fading into a grim memory. Our new reality might be absurd, but it could still kill us.

In London, the stars were faint, drowned out by electric light. Here they glittered in multitudes, sharp and clear, untouched by our little fires. Seeing my interest, Julian looked up as well.

‘Wow.’ He released his breath in a flutter. ‘At least there’s that.’

I nodded, thinking.

Liss had warned me not to let Nashira confirm her suspicions about me. I couldn’t see a way to pass my first test without doing that.

To survive, I was going to have to fail.

There was a sudden hush. I looked down to see Carl, hair freshly combed and parted, wearing a pink tunic under his gilet. The performers cleared a path for him as he strolled into the Rookery.

‘That was quick,’ I murmured. ‘I wonder what he had to do.’

Julian finished his drink. ‘Whip tomorrow’s weather out of a teacup?’

‘That’s augury. I think he’s a soothsayer.’

‘His aura looks bluish to me.’ He gave me a sidelong glance. ‘You’re not sighted, are you?’

I shook my head.

Carl had probably never had a chance to prove himself in London.On the Meritshad placed soothsayers at the bottom of the hierarchy of clairvoyance. Jaxon made no secret of his disdain.

They’re a penny a punnet, darling. Pay them no mind.

‘They’re already trying to earn his favour.’ Julian watched a performer offering a shew stone to Carl, the same one I had traded away. ‘They must think pink-jackets have sway over the Rephs.’

Carl brushed the woman off, and she retreated, head downcast.

‘We can’t trust him,’ I said. ‘Remember the palmist, Ivy?’

‘I remember. What happened?’

‘She broke out of Corpus. Carl took it upon himself to report her.’

Julian grimaced. ‘I hope they go easy on her. She didn’t look well.’

Carl kept on with his sauntering. Seeing me and Julian, he flashed a cocksure smile. I toyed with the idea of punching it off him.

Before he could reach us, the oracle stepped into his path, appearing as if from nowhere. From their handshake, the oracle was offering his congratulations. I pursed my lips. Barely two nights in this place, and this pair of fools were already indoctrinated.

‘Julian,’ I said, ‘how many pills do you get?’

‘Just one.’

‘What does it look like?’

‘A red capsule,’ Julian said. ‘Why, how many do you get?’

Carl distracted me from answering. Now he and the oracle were closer to our fire, I could hear snatches of their conversation.

‘—to see the Suzerain. Turns out she’s very keen on finding this White Binder,’ Carl was saying. I tensed. ‘He’s a mime-lord, you know, a syndicate leader. She lent me the most perfect stone so I could scry for his location, and of course, I was happy to—’

‘Paige,’ Julian said. ‘Are you okay?’

A deathly cold swept over me.

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