Andrei

With plans to travel to Leberecht soon, there were a few things that needed our attention first, including returning to Alexander's to collect my permissions for entry. I wasn't eager for us to be separated again, but considering our distance from Oskari, it was more efficient for Sinclair to travel alone. Meanwhile, Adeline and I stayed behind at the base with Everleigh Gloom where I'd concluded another circle around the piano in the corner of the common room.

"For starters, it'd be completely out of tune," Ever said. "But frankly, I doubt if it'd even play. The strings are probably severed."

"What would it take to repair it?"

There was a loud creak and a small gust as the lid was opened. A metallic snap, and then a wooden crack, and I winced when there was a crash followed by a thud, and finally, a discordant flurry of off-key tones.

"It'd take a miracle," Ever replied. "You'll have to ask Sebastian for a new one."

I wasn't holding my breath. It would be nigh impossible to find a piano maker in a territory where music was outlawed, and to import one from Delphia would be a challenge at best. But I was quietly disappointed. I'd been drawn to the instrument since my first visit to Leberecht.

Still situated in her earlier spot on the couch, Adeline asked, "Were you thinking about learning to play the piano, Andrei?"

"Would it even be possible?" I returned.

Ever scoffed. "Why wouldn't it be. You can't read the sheet music, sure, but if you have an ear, you have an ear. Better yet if you have a good memory."

The piano was, by the sound of things, now sitting in at least three pieces on the floor. There was no sense ruminating further on the matter. "Everleigh," I said instead, "can you read Symphonic?"

"Obviously. If you can read music, you can read Symphonic. But understanding Symphonic—I mean, actually putting words to the language—isn't as easy as reading words in the common tongue, or in Amali, for example. It's subliminal, and not everyone can do it."

"Andrei can," Adeline said.

"I could," I corrected.

"No shit." Ever paused. "Well, good for you. It's too bad about the eyes."

"Too bad, indeed," I replied, making my way back to my original seat where I'd left the journal Sinclair had given me. "Would you be willing to read something for us, Everleigh?"

Several slow, near-silent steps as she approached.

I held Jakob's journal out for her.

There was a creak when she opened the cover, and then another when she immediately closed it. "No, I'm not reading this."

"Whyever not?" Adeline asked.

"You can't just read someone's journal. It's rude."

Given the sheer number of people who'd read my journal unabashedly, it was in this precise moment Everleigh Gloom earned a minor measure of my respect.

"You're right," I said, returning the journal to the couch beside me.

There was a long, heavy pause.

"I know," she replied.

"So, whatever shall we do until Enforcer Rhian returns?" Adeline asked.

"I'm going for a nap," Ever said. "The second big bedroom's mine, by the way. And you can stay with me if you want, Abby Blaze."

"I will think about it, Everleigh Gloom," Adeline replied, solemnly.

A soft grinding against the stone floor as I imagined the Anima turning on her heel. Slow, near-silent steps again as she moved across the room, the footfalls dissipating altogether once she turned down the corridor. After the second big bedroom door opened and closed, Adeline rushed to sit beside me.

"I didn't even realize they napped," she said, keeping her voice to a whisper.

"My understanding is that it's purely by choice and not out of necessity."

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Adeline clicked her tongue. "Just think of everything we could get done if we didn't have to sleep."

"Centuries is a long time—too much time, I think. In fact, I've often wondered if this contributes to their patterns of unstable behaviour."

"If that's true, then we should be relieved this one naps."

"Safe to assume the delicious hand-delivered meal wasn't enough to mend fences?"

"No, it wasn't," Adeline replied. And then, after a thoughtful beat, "Well, I don't know. I've yet to decide. What do you think about her?"

"The only thing I know almost for certain is that Sebastian needs us—for better or for worse—and Everleigh Gloom admires and adores Sebastian. For this reason, and perhaps this reason alone, I believe we are safe with her. Regardless, I advise caution."

"Excellent advice." The air fanned around her while she bobbed her head. "So, how was it? Seeing Enforcer Rhian again? Was it the happiest you've ever been in your entire life?"

I couldn't help a small chuckle. "Actually, yes."

A quiet thump when Adeline dropped back against the couch. "It's just so adorable."

"And what about you, Adeline? Have you developed a romantic interest in anyone?"

"Oh, no," she said. "What? No. No, of course not. Who would I? How would I? No, no, no."

What had my life become? Yet, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I held my hands up. "My apologies. I thought I'd sensed something between you and Finlay."

"Don't be ridiculous." There was a rush of air as she straightened out her posture, and then a dismissive snort. "Agent Finlay. Sure, he's handsome in that hardly-tries kind of way, and he's so thoughtful, and ever so mysterious, but no. No, no, no."

"He truly is mysterious," I said, turning in toward her. "Do you ever wonder where he goes? What he does when he isn't with us?"

"Not much. Not until he left us in an open field with Sebastian Vonsinfonie, anyway."

"Yes, exactly. Though I suppose it's none of our business."

"Actually, I think it is," Adeline answered. "According to everyone, we're all in grave danger. Not only from the Anima, but from the Assembly and anyone else they send after us. What if he knows something that could help? He's always sworn to secrecy, but I thought we were done with Palisade and everything the Assembly expected of us?"

"I like to think that he's working alongside us, if not with us."

"Ugh—you're probably right." Adeline flopped back against the couch again. "Everything has me so on edge, I'm becoming paranoid! It's really not a good look for me, Andrei, and it's all Everleigh Gloom's fault."

After a short thought, I replied, "Perhaps the next time we see him, we can ask him to fill us in. I personally have never pried into his business, have you?"

"No," she said. "I haven't."

"Well, there you have it, then. Perhaps he hasn't told us anything because we haven't asked."

A still and silent moment.

"You're a good person, Andrei. You'll be a terrific parent."

"I—huh?"

"Enforcer Rhian told me, when I was showing her that metal contraption in the other room." Adeline laughed and swatted my bicep. "Congratulations! Does this mean I get to call you Father Strauss again?"

A tug of a smile. "If you wish."

"Oh, do I ever wish." She breathed a sigh. "I was rather attached to the title."

There was another long but comfortable pause.

"Father Strauss," Adeline finally said, "how will Enforcer Rhian let us know she's back so we can open the door?"

It was an excellent question. And so, for the rest of the morning, and for the whole day to follow, we camped around the stone steps beneath the hatch waiting for her to curse loudly when she realized the oversight. While Everleigh Gloom slept soundly down the hall, we chatted, took our turns taking naps of our own, and occasionally, we ate from the basket of sandwiches and pastries. Adeline, ever considerate, updated me with the time at every hour.

By the stroke of seven in the evening, neither of us had said it out loud yet, but we both knew: nothing Sinclair had planned should have taken that long.

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