Siege of Shadows (Effigies #2)(30)

My cheeks were burning. “Shut up,” I grumbled, though it wasn’t easy hiding how pleased I was. Someone thought I was cool. Maia Finley. Well, better late than never.

There’s a fan convention coming up in August and I would love for you guys to show up! Please think about it!

“That would be fun!” I said.

“All those neckbeards. No, thanks.” Chae Rin tossed the letter, then the envelope, back to me. “Well, congrats, kid. You finally have a wittle fan! It’s like you’ve come full circle: from an Effigy fan to an Effigy fan’s soon-to-be disappointment!”

“Oh, just. Quiet.”

I could hear Lake giggling as she passed by us both. Shoving the letter back into my sweatshirt, I flopped onto the sofa as Chae Rin walked away.

I’d left my suitcase by the door, but Belle was already dragging hers up the stairs of our dorm. Our little home.

Home. I hadn’t been home in two months. Sibyl’s training regime denied us access to our homes and families to stay focused. Even Lake, who lived in London, was not allowed to venture into the city to see her mom and dad. I knew Uncle Nathan was alive, at least. But I hadn’t had the chance to tell him with my own mouth that I’d become an Effigy. He certainly knew by now. After losing his brother, sister-in-law, and niece to a fire, he’d lost his other niece to destiny.

Uncle Nathan was the only family I had left. I should have told him right after I knew I’d become an Effigy. It was too late now. Though maybe it was easier not having to face him.

In either case, I had a new home now, for the time being. Since I’d left New York in April, this round, two-story flat had become Effigy Central, and it was trashed accordingly: cookie crumbs on the carpet, dirty dishes in the sink, empty bottles overturned on the table next to a sticky television controller. Lake always tried to keep the place clean and Belle was very tidy, but these days, as the missions and stress piled up, not even Lake’s nagging could keep the combined sloth of Chae Rin and me in check. I was sure half the dirty pairs of socks on the floor were mine.

As I picked one up and inspected it, Lake went straight for the fridge. It was all an open space with no walls separating the living room and kitchen, so I could hear her loud and clear when she said, “Okay, I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten anything since that fried crap at the airport. You guys want something? Let’s see what we have here.”

Lake pulled out one of the many containers labeled with her name on it—not that it ever stopped me or Chae Rin stealing them. “Maia.” She waved one container at me. “Plantains?”

Pulling myself up, I could see the banana-like fruit was already cut, but uncooked. Being Nigerian, Lake had a similar love for certain foods my Caribbean mother would cook back when she was alive. A few days ago we went on a supervised venture into town—supervised because Sibyl had to be sure Lake wouldn’t try to escape and see her family in Woolwich. Little did Sibyl know, Lake’s parents knew the owner of an Afro-Caribbean store in Southwark.

“Your parents are still in Nigeria right now, right?” I asked her. “For that wedding or something?”

“Yeah, that’s what they told the store owner to tell me.” Lake let out an overly dramatic sigh as she was predisposed to do. “They’re off having fun while their daughter is trapped in this facility doing missions instead of joining in the festivities. They’re so cruel. It’s like they don’t even miss me.”

I doubted that was true. Mr. and Mrs. Soyinka had gone to great lengths to protect her in the past. The seventeen-year-old was as sheltered as you’d expect from a pampered only child. But it was fun going to the Afro-Caribbean store with Lake—a nice little connection between us. A decidedly more normal one than the cosmic link we already shared.

With Sibyl’s ban on seeing our families, it was a connection we both needed.

As she poured the oil in the frying pan and turned on the heat, Chae Rin bent low and pulled some soda out of the fridge. “You know, I thought I’d be more tired, but weirdly it’s like I’m wide-awake. Why is that?”

“You’re a scary adrenaline junkie.” I got onto my knees and dangled my arms over the couch.

Chae Rin walked over to the utensil drawer. “You could be right,” she said.

Then she threw a knife at me.

“Hey!” I caught the tip inches away from my forehead. “Um, what the hell? Are you bored?” I added as Chae Rin laughed.

“Just keeping you on your toes, rookie.” She leaned back against the fridge and took a big slurp of her soda. “Looks like all my training is really paying off. I’m impressed.”

“So you’re bored.” I tossed the knife onto the kitchen table a few feet away. It clattered against the wood. There was a reason why Chae Rin had her own room. Same as Belle. There were only three to spare anyway, and Lake and I rooming together decreased the likeliness of a pillow suffocation happening.

The four of us were a team. It was what I kept telling myself. And on those long nights I couldn’t sleep for fear I’d see Natalya, those nights I’d stayed awake trying not to think of Uncle Nathan or my dead family, it was the comfort of knowing there were three other girls with me that made life more bearable. But things weren’t always easy, no matter how much I wanted them to be.

“Maybe instead of trying to kill me, save your energy for the next mission,” I said.