Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1)(69)

“Are you suggesting something in particular?” she asked warily. He had a bad habit of making her nervous, and he knew it. His smirk only got wider.

“If you want something, you should let yourself have it.”

She could feel his breath on her neck. It was enough to make her break out in goose bumps, to make her stomach crisscross into frustrated knots. It reminded her of the time they’d walked down Sweetie Street, and Levi had colorfully described the workers’ talents for seduction. He’d been mocking her then, and maybe he was now. But she didn’t think he’d hint at something like that unless he wanted it, too.

At what point in her life had she decided that others controlled what she wanted, that she couldn’t just reach out and take it? Hadn’t she just thought those words to herself the night before?

She might’ve wanted Levi Glaisyer, but she also wanted to return home. If it came down to a choice between them, she would chose Bellamy—perhaps because she desired what she couldn’t have more than what was right in front of her. But with an omerta and a thousand miles of ocean between her and home, why shouldn’t she have this small consolation?

You wouldn’t have wanted him five days ago, she thought. When you were someone different. The city has already corrupted you.

New Reynes’s constant performers, flashing lights—the whole city was a show and everything had a price. Here, it was easy to forget who you were. Her desire for Levi wasn’t really her own—it belonged to someone else. Someone who carried pistols in their pockets and darkness on their conscience.

At least, that was what she kept trying to tell herself.

Enne cleared her throat. “How much longer until we reach the library?” She was in desperate need of a cold breeze.

His eyes drifted away from her lips to the Mole map. “Seven more stops.”

“Well then.” She grabbed the empty seat beside Jac, putting several feet of distance between her and the source of her distraction. Levi didn’t bother to follow. As the train car passed the next several stops and other passengers boarded, Enne did her best to keep her gaze out the window. Even so, she could still feel the heat of Levi’s stare.

Lola was the first to move when they reached their stop: Revolution Bridge. It was a major station, busy with people changing lines, full of kiosks selling newspapers and food. Enne’s stomach groaned as they passed a doughnut stand.

They climbed several flights of stairs before reaching the street. The change in scenery between this and the North Side was astounding. Here, the white stone buildings were actually still white, many with huge columns and gilded domes. Motorcars honked at jaywalkers sprinting across traffic circles. The men wore checkered suits, their patent leather boots clicking as they walked. Women shuffled by daintily in their hobble skirts, too fitted for them to take long strides.

“It’s beautiful,” Enne said.

“It’s a bit glitzy,” Levi answered flatly. Something had clearly soured his mood. “Not really my taste.”

“And what is your taste? Cheap cabarets and malt liquor?”

“At least it’s honest.”

“Says the con man.”

“Says the street lord,” he countered. “At least I know what I want.”

She bristled and took a step closer. “And I don’t?” Who cared if she thought the South Side was beautiful? She couldn’t even make simple conversation without it becoming a statement on her character.

“No,” he dared. “I don’t think you do.”

Lola cleared her throat, her expression disgusted. “We don’t have long before the library closes.”

Enne nodded, then rolled her shoulders to try to release her tension. Now she was in a sour mood, too. Distraction, indeed. She didn’t even know what they’d been arguing about. They needed to focus on what they’d come here to do.

The library was grand, both on the outside and within. The sunset shining through the stained glass windows cast the bookshelves in a sacred sort of glow. Students crowded each of the tables, pouring over textbooks and old manuscripts. The air smelled of burning candles and the dust of old books. The quiet reverence here didn’t seem like it should exist in New Reynes.

“We’ll start in the family records,” Lola said. She led them to the third floor, to hallways of displeasing metal shelves lined with black, leather-bound books.

“It’s all so...sterile,” Enne said.

“The Mizers certainly treated family matters as such,” Lola said. “For them, talents were commodities. Things to be bred.” The accusation in her voice was clear, as though Enne was just as guilty as her ancestors, despite not knowing her family history until two days ago. She opposed their tyrannical reigns as much as Lola did. “When’s your birthday?”

“February 2. Year 9.” The wigheads had reset the calendar after the Revolution, as it had previously referenced the old Faith.

“Can you find her records from just her birthday?” Jac asked dubiously.

“Of course. This is what I do.” Lola followed the shelves down to the ones labeled with the correct year. She grabbed several books and handed one to each of them. “These are all February. They should be in alphabetical order by blood name.”

After several moments of riffling through the pages, none of them found a mention of Enne. She wasn’t listed under Salta, nor even Scordata, Dondelair or Alfero. They checked every day for the entire year, but there was no evidence of her birth to be found.