Page 12 of A City of Hearts and Feathers

"Like she always fucking does," Zoe muttered. She opened her eyes again. "Why was Kerem so invested? Isn't he justbaba'slawyer?"

Kahil wondered how mad Kerem would get if he told Zoe the truth. Kerem could hold the smallest of grudges for centuries when he wanted to. He decided to take the risk anyway.

"Kerem was Oman's best friend. He's like your unofficial godfather. Oman was being groomed to join us. When Anita got pregnant, he decided against it. He stayed close with us, but not as a full member. Kerem and he were really close. He adored you."

Zoe's jaw clenched. "More family I wish I knew still gave a shit about me."

"Careful what you wish for. Kerem is like an old woman who will fuss over you until you want to punch him, and Arslan will probably be even worse," Kahil said, with genuine fondness. The Grand Master couldn't resist hopeless cases, and he was going to be wrapped around Zoe's little finger in two seconds flat.

"Let me guess, Arslan is my lost uncle, and you're really my brother," Zoe said, throwing up her hands.

"No. He'll act like your uncle though," Kahil replied and then grinned at her. "I will definitelynotact like your brother."

Zoe rolled her eyes at him, but he noticed the tips of her ears still went red. Wasn't that interesting?

"So what do I do now that I know all of this?" she asked.

"You go to bed and get some sleep. Tomorrow I'll take you to see Arslan, and you can make a plan. If Oman has hidden the book with magic, we'll need his help to find it."

"Sleep. Sure. That's certainly going to happen with mysterious books and ghosts of dead fathers haunting me," Zoe said, tidying up the tea tray. She offered him the last two cookies, and he took them before she changed her mind. "I don't know if I can trust you yet, but thank you for making sure that vampire creature didn't hurt me. And thank you for giving me some of the answers I need."

"You're welcome. I'll come by in the morning to get you," Kahil replied, standing when she did. She was about to close the door when he stopped her. "Zoe?"

"Yeah?"

Kahil smiled down at her. "I hope you had a good birthday."

Zoe stared at him like he was crazy and then huffed out a laugh. "Fuck you, Kahil," she said and shut the door.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Zoe didn't expect to fall asleep that night with all the booze and excitement of the day. Surrounded by the smell of the sandalwood incense of her childhood, she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Her nightmares were always the worst on her birthday, but she woke with the sun coming through the curtains and hadn't dreamed at all. No paralysis either. It was a minor miracle.

Zoe tried to identify the warm feeling that was spreading through her and couldn't find the right words. It wasn't until she was in the shower that she realized the feeling was safety.

Living at the shop was the last time she'd ever felt like her parents were invincible and that all was right in the world. She pressed a hand to her chest, her heart aching. The wards her father had put up to protect her and the bookstore would keep her safe.

Don't forget the Order, she reminded herself. She didn't know when the tall, dark, and mysterious Kahil was going to turn up again. They hadn't set a time. She smiled when she remembered he couldn't get in the shop to hurry her up anyway.

"Magic," she whispered, thinking of the wards. "What else were you up to,baba?"

It made Zoe think about all the things she would have learned if he hadn't died. She could understand Anita wanting to move away, but Zoe felt…robbed. It was the only word she could think of to describe it. She couldn't let her anger get the better of her or she would burn forever. She would deal with her mother when she could think straight again.

Zoe dressed in loose, black harem pants and one of the nicer sleeveless tops she had brought with her. Meeting the Grand Master of a mysterious organization seemed important enough to warrant some extra effort, so she did some understated makeup and clipped up her hair. It was going to be another hot and humid day, and she wanted to be prepared for it.

Zoe took out her father's letter again while she was waiting for her tea to steep. She wondered if he had been scared when he wrote it and given it to Kerem. Kahil had said he had been growing paranoid in his final days, and with good reason.

Standing in the morning sun streaming through the kitchen windows, Zoe felt a deep longing for Oman like she hadn't felt in years. She stroked his messy handwriting, wondering if he really would have been proud of who she had become. He would've understood her obsession with books at least.

As she began to fold the letter, the sun hit the blue paper, and Zoe paused. For a moment it looked like there was more writing on the page. She held it up to the sunlight and almost dropped it again in fright.

"No fucking way," she whispered. There were markings on the page written with something that only became clear when held up against light. The letters looked Greek but different. Coptic maybe?

Someone knocked on the door of the roof, and Zoe had a good feeling about who it was. She clutched the letter tight and hurried up the stairs to open it.

"Good to see you up and ready for the day,balim." Kahil smiled down at her. He looked freshly showered, the top half of his long hair tied back in a knot. He was casually dressed in dark jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt that stretched over his broad chest. In the daylight, he looked even bigger.

Kahil dangled a pastry bag at her. "If you let me in, I'll share my simit with you."

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