Page 107 of The Art of Exiley

“It’s not what it looks like,” I start, with way too much guilt in my tone.

She looks at me like she can’t believe I just said that, and then she laughs. A bitter laugh. “So you weren’t wearing each other’s favors during that game we were both just at?”

“What I meant to say is—”

“Ada, you don’t have to lie to me to spare my feelings. I’m not going to tell anyone about your family either way.”

“No! Georgie! Please listen. We’re not dating or anything. It’s just practical to let people think that. We’re working together to get off the island to help Hypatia.”

“And youtrust him?”

“I… It’s complicated. But I do trust that he wants to find Hypatia. Please don’t be mad at me.”

Georgie turns away and heads into the common room. I follow her as she makes kissy noises calling for Bast. The cat, who’s lounging on the couch, completely ignores her, but Georgie picks her up and nuzzles her face into her blue fur, smearing the painted emblems on her cheeks. Bast puts up with the affection for very little time, then contorts her body out of Georgie’s arms and dashes off.

“Georgie, I never meant to hurt you. No one here gets me like you do.”

She snorts. “It’s nice pretending we ‘get each other,’ Ada.” Her tone is hurtful, but when I see she’s clearly holding back tears, my annoyance melts away. “We may both be from the same place, but you’re a Sire. Everyone respects that. You have no idea how long it took for me to get to a point where I’m tolerated—barely. At least it’s better now than it was.” She turns her face away. She’s replaced Bast with a couch pillow, and she’s clutching it to herself, curled up small on the couch. “Even the people who are nice—they see me as a stranger. I’m not at the bonfire tonight because without Hypatia and with you busy with team things, I don’t haveanyother friends.When you arrived… There’s a reason your room was available. None of them wanted to live with me—they don’t know how to act around me.”

“Georgie, I get it. I do.”

“No, you don’t. You’ve had one foot out the door since you got here. This is supposed to be myhome. For therestof my life. And I willneverfit in. When I do occasionally manage to blend in, I sometimes wish I hadn’t, because I hear the way they talk about people from the provincial world. Like they’re less-than, like they should be feared.” She runs out of steam.

She’s right. I haven’t been here for nearly as long as her, and just today I was feeling like I truly belong. Finally I say, “I… I didn’t think…” But Georgie’s top lip is trembling, and I feel so horrible for hurting her that I’m not quite sure how to go on. What I’m supposed to say is that I’m sorry. And I am. I’m the one in the wrong here.

She’s looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to find my words. I would have stormed off and slammed the door in my face by now.

I take a deep breath. I can fix this.

But the sound of knocking interrupts us.

“Hello?” Rafe’s voice emanates through the door like a premonition of doom.

“I’m so sorry,” I say to Georgie, ignoring the way my heart begins to race at the sound of his voice. “I’ll make him go away.”

“No, it’s fine.” Her tone is a mixture of benevolence and sarcasm that I can’t even begin to parse.

I open the door. “It’s not a good time,” I say. I’m not going to let Rafe into Georgie’s personal space right now. I can grant her that one courtesy at least.

Rafe’s eyes don’t miss a thing as he assesses the scene. Georgie isn’t looking meekly away from him as she usually does. Instead she’s staring him down, obviously pissed off. He leans close as if to kiss my cheek and whispers, “Icame to help you pack, and it’s a good thing because it looks like you need a chaperone so you don’t divulge things that should be keptsecret, as agreed.” He then plasters on a fake smile and pushes past me.

“Well, look at you, little beauty,” Rafe says when Bastet pads over to him curiously. He reaches down to scratch her on the head in exactly the way she loves. The blue cat immediately nuzzles against Rafe’s hand and allows him to pick her up. Georgie glares at her for being such a traitor. “Looks like someone’s been illegally experimenting on you,” Rafe coos to Bast, who has nestled comfortably in the crook of his arm. She purrs so loudly I wouldn’t be shocked to find out she was also bred with a motor.

Georgie isn’t having any more of it. “Give me back my cat.” She pulls a mewling Bast away from Rafe. “I’m going to bed.” She stalks off to her room and slams the door.

“See, no risk of me telling her anything,” I say to Rafe. “No need for you to stick around.”

“Maybe your roommate is the one who stole the Ha’i stone,” Rafe muses.

“What? Of course not!”

“Why are you so sure? She clearly has a grudge against Makers, and she has a blue cat.”

I entertain the thought for a brief—very brief—moment before I shake it away.

“She has a grudge againstyoubecauseyouare an ass. And she has a blue cat because sherescuedher.” But I’m also curious about the missing Ha’i stone; the mystery of who might have taken it has been distracting me for days. Now I wonder if Bram and Yvette took it for Nora Montaigne.

“Either way, you can’t tell her about our plan. We can’t afford anything getting in the way of us leaving tomorrow.”

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