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“I am shocked,” she admitted. “I had been looking forward to this meeting all week but…” She sighed. “Maybe I should never have asked you to meet me. This is all my fault. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“What were you thinking?” he asked.
He knew what he’d been thinking. He’d hoped Mrs. Dane could become something more than a friend. Even a lover. Felix had resisted the idea for decades but she had melted his resolve, one word at a time.
Amara looked at him for a long moment, as if she felt the same thing. He stared into her eyes, entranced, feeling emotions shift in her sap-colored irises. There was something about her that drew him. Maybe knowing a person’s deepest secrets made you see them differently.
She cleared her throat. “I thought we could get to know each other better. Clearly, that won’t be happening.”
Amara stood up, leaving her tea cup untouched. She reached into her bag and pulled out a few coins, placing them on the table. Felix counted them and knew it was in excess of their bill.
“I’ll take care of the bill,” he said, rising.
“Thank you, but I’d like to pay for my share.” She didn’t budge. “I don’t want to owe you anything.”
It was a little harsh, but they both knew they’d have no reason to see each other outside of work after tonight. His heart felt heavy at the loss of his dearest friend.
“It has been an afternoon of revelations.” She met his gaze. “I will see you at work tomorrow.”
And just like that, three years of wonderful memories came to an end. Amara left the tea shop, leaving the silver bell ringing in her wake.
Even as they said their goodbyes, Felix had the feeling that this wasn’t their last meeting. Sure, they would see each other at work, but the rapid beating of his heart indicated a meeting of another sort. He’d thought that meeting Mrs. Dane had been fate, but it was more of an unfortunate coincidence.
Felix paid the tab and exited the tea rooms, hands in his pockets. As he walked back to his house, he wondered if he’d ever be able to treat her like a stranger, knowing all that he knew of her.
He had to try. That was the only way they could go on.
Four
Amara
Inferno City was boiling. With its eternally black skies and red moon, it greeted Amara on a warm afternoon. Dressed in a loose white cotton blouse and long black skirt, she sat in an orphanage garden, pretending to be the long lost twenty-eight-year-old daughter of Sazan, a drug lord who was on the Sapphire Serpents’ wanted list.
She had arrived in the city early that morning with Felix after their carriage had been delayed. Felix had informed her of the mission when she returned to work the following day.
“You’re going undercover as Ruby, Sazan’s missing daughter. He and his wife will visit the orphanage to have a look at you,” he said, his gray eyes betraying no sign that they’d met on Sunday. Amara didn’t know whether it was an act or whether it was real, but she felt a pang of disappointment. Being the honorable man he was, Felix would never bring up the letters or what happened. But she wanted him to. Sunday’s meeting had left her dissatisfied and full of questions. She had thought about it all day, arriving at work in a bleary-eyed state. “He will arrive with his guards, so we’ll have to be careful. Once she is convinced that you’re her long-lost daughter, you will be returning to the house with them.”
Amara knew she was expected to convey information about Sazan’s whereabouts.
“The plan is to catch him before he leaves Inferno City,” Felix said. She stared at him for a moment too long, struggling to reconcile Felix with the kind Mr. Garett who knew the deepest longings of her heart. Truth be told, their personalities were very similar. Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t surprised that Mr. Garett had turned out to be Felix. It was strange how you would work with people for years and still know nothing about them.
“Are you listening?” he interrupted. His eyes pinned her, concerned. She swallowed. He knew who she was; who she really was. Was he worried about how she was handling the truth?
“Yes, sir.” Amara tried to remain professional, which meant she needed to shove her emotions down.
“Be prepared to answer questions about your childhood.” He pushed a stack of papers forward. “Here’s everything you need to know. Also, Ruby had a birthmark inside her arm. You’re going to have to get one tattooed.”
“Yes, sir.” Amara had been glad for some work. It’d help take her mind off Sunday’s debacle.
Too bad the mission was with Felix.
She’d thought about him all weekend, re-reading his letters, trying to figure out the clues she had missed. Now, almost three days of all-nighters later, they were at Inferno City, ready to pull off this tricky mission. There were so many questions on her mind. Why had he written to her? How were they supposed to act like strangers now that they knew each other’s greatest secrets and desires? Her head was a mess. If she didn’t get it together, she’d have a botched mission on her hand.
Wearing a black shirt that contrasted his pale skin, he sat to her right, entirely unaffected by the weather. He was a demon, after all. She was a half-demon, but she didn’t hold up as well as he did in the scorching heat.
“They will be here any moment,” he said, monitoring the empty gate. His behavior hadn’t changed since Sunday’s meeting. Amara should be glad, not disappointed. But, she wanted to confront the issue head-on, not stew in this quiet tension.
She wondered why Felix had chosen to accompany her on this job. Had it been because he was the only person who fit the caretaker’s description? Or had he come to Inferno City because that’s where memories of his late wife lay? Or was it because he wanted a chance to speak to her privately?
