Wicked Like a Wildfire (Hibiscus Daughter #1)(52)
At her urging, we all dug into the pan with our fingers, cupping our palms beneath the sweet, flaky squares to catch falling crumbs. I’d always loved baklava, the crisp layers of phyllo as they melted in your mouth, the almost cloying sweetness of the honey, syrup, and chopped nuts cut by the acid nip of lemon. We’d made variations of it at the café so often that it tasted exactly like home to me. It made me hungry in a way I hadn’t really been in days.
“When is . . .” Nev cleared her throat. “When is the funeral? I hadn’t heard anything, and I didn’t want to be a bother by asking, but I was so afraid I’d miss it.”
“We don’t know yet,” I said when Malina hesitated, shooting me a beseeching look. “Because it’s a—because it’s a murder, the police protocol is stricter. They might need to keep her for longer before they give her back to us.”
Nev looked so stricken I wanted to slap myself for the lie, but there was nothing better to tell her. “I’m so sorry to hear that. What utter bullshit. I mean, I’m sure it’s necessary and all that, but it probably doesn’t help that they’re morons and probably running all amok what with everything else that happened yesterday.” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Shit, I’m sorry. You don’t need to hear that, either, what is the matter with me.”
The nape of my neck began to prickle. “What do you mean? Nev, what’s happened?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, really, I shouldn’t have even brought it up, it’s just that Tata hasn’t been able to shut up about it and—”
Nev’s father, Uro? Stefanovi?, the councilman. My pulse sped up, and I grabbed her arm, squeezing so hard her eyes widened. “Nev, what happened?”
“It looks like someone’s stealing relics from our churches, and it’s—Iris, that fucking hurts, let go!” She rubbed her arm, eyes wide. “First it was Our Lady of the Rocks, but that was just a votive gift. Then it was the monastery of Ostrog, and Tata’s being very tight-lipped, but it sounds like someone’s tampered with Saint Basil’s remains. Everyone’s clutching their prayer beads over it, pun totally intended.”
“Do they know who it was?” Malina broke in.
“No, but apparently it was a woman. Which is driving everyone nuts, all hail the misogyny, as if women can’t be good at stealing and sacrilege—”
“But we have to go,” I interrupted. “We have to go to Ostrog.”
Nev stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Why in the shit would you need to go there? And you can’t anyway, the monastery is on lockdown to visitors. They’re not letting anyone in.”
“Can you ask your father? Please? It’s—” I geared up for another heinous lie. “We promised Mama we would go, when we found her. It was the last thing she said to us before she passed. Malina, tell her.”
“Right,” Malina said, warming to the story. “She could barely talk, you know? But she managed that. It’s something she always wanted, and you know she wasn’t even very religious, Nev. But it was like—like her deathbed wish that we go there in her place. And since we don’t even know when we can bury her properly . . . please, could you just ask for us?”
Nev looked narrowly between the two of us, as if she sniffed something off, but the desperation must have been scrawled over our faces. “Jesus, what a thing. All right, then. I’ll see what I can do for you.”
EIGHTEEN
NEV REFUSED TO TELL US THE BRIBERY AND STRING-PULLING that had been necessary to grant us permission for an Ostrog pilgrimage; I got the sense that whatever sacrifice she’d made had been big enough that even if it was for Jasmina’s sake, she still resented us a little for it. But three hours later we had it—two of us would be allowed to go, but only two.
Luka wouldn’t hear of Lina and me striking out on our own; protecting us trumped everything, like it always did with him.
“Missy, Ostrog is a cliff monastery, and those roads are hell even for seasoned drivers. I’m not trying to be some ‘girls can’t drive’ asshole, don’t give me that look, Niko. I’m just saying they haven’t had much of a chance to practice. And if this woman is still out there, and is the one who attacked Jasmina, she could be waiting for you in those mountains. If only two can go, it should be me and one of you.”
“Iris,” Niko jumped in. “Take Iris.”
“Hey!” Lina bridled. “I don’t even get a say in this?”
“You couldn’t even climb that runt tree in the schoolyard without wanting to pass out, pie,” Niko pointed out. “You couldn’t handle the jungle gym. Do you really want to be trapped in a moving metal prison thousands of feet up, nothing between you and the plummet, just all that empty air and—”
“Okay, would you please stop?” The skin beneath Lina’s eyes had turned green, translucent like dragonfly wings. “You’re right. That doesn’t sound . . . ideal for me.”
“Exactly.” Niko crossed her slim arms over her chest, satisfied. “You can stay with me, and we’ll see if there’s anything else helpful in Mama’s book. There’s so much in there, and I haven’t had a chance to fully delve into it. Maybe we’ll find something more.”