“I know,” Talina says. “They are a bit much. And overpowering. But they are really great people, I promise.”
“Oh, I find them all completely fascinating.”
“They showed a lot of self-control this time, Pie. But next time we meet up, you will not be the brand-new girl anymore and they will pepper you with questions. So get ready for that.”
“Do they go there every day?” I ask. “And wow. That place. It was pretty great.”
“Not a regular date or anything. We all have different schedules and lives these days. We met in boarding school ages ago and never lost touch. And now, they are like family to me. But we all work around the Royal Court, so we frequently bump in to each other.”
“Royal Court?”
Talina smiles at me, pulling open the door to Tarq’s building. “You work in the most powerful, fascinating district in all of Vinca, Pie. I don’t know what your life was like before today, but I do know this—it’s never going to be the same again.”
I think about Talina’s words all the way back up to our laboratory, forgetting to pay attention to the route we take. My world has just completely flipped. And I’m not sure what to make of it.
I think back on this morning, waking up in my cottage with Pell. My sanctuary, and my monsters, and my curse. It seems so far away. Almost… fictional. Like this is the real world now and the one I came from is the fantasy place.
So weird.
Once we’re back in the lab Talina breathes out a sigh. “Well, I suppose we should put up a pretense of working, don’t you think?”
My coffee is gone—it was the most delicious drink I’ve ever tasted. But I barely had the chance to think about it because my mind is all ablur with new things. “Yeah,” I finally answer. “I guess. But, like I’ve already said, I’m not what Tarq thinks I am. I don’t do any of this.” I pan my arms wide to indicate absolutely everything in the lab. “I don’t have the first clue where to start.”
Talina points to the corner where the bloodhorn is growing. “There. Obviously.”
“But what do we do with it? And even if we do manage to concoct a potion—”
“Serum,” Talina corrects me.
“Whatever. Even if we do get a freaking serum, how do we know it will work?”
“We test it.”
“Test it how?”
“We make one of those.” Talina is pointing to my necklace. “And then we walk through a door.”
I let out a sigh. “OK. if you say so. But I’m—” I stop talking because this is the moment when I notice something on the center conference table. “What the…” I walk over to the table and pick up the book, just staring at the cover. “This is my debt! What’s it doing here?”
Talina comes over to me and studies the massive book in my hands. “Your what?”
“My Book of Debt. This is why I’m here.” I let out a frustrated breath because Talina is looking at me with confusion. “It’s a long story. But look.” I open the book and yep, there’s my name. “See?” I point to it. “I’m in debt. At first, I was in debt to Pell.” But then I pause. “Hmm. That’s probably not right. I think I was in debt to Saint Mark’s. But anyway. I came here asking Tarq for help. I needed to banish the sheriff of Granite Springs from the sanctuary and I needed a spell from the Big Important Book he’s got. Which he gave me, never telling me what it would cost, and once it was over, he was the new proud owner of my debt. That’s why I have to work for him.”
Talina is just looking at me with squinty eyes.
“What?” I ask.
“The Big Important Book?”
“Yeah. You know. Ostanes’ spellbook. The…” What did Tarq call it that day? “Oh!” I snap my fingers. “The source code. The source code book.”
Talina’s mouth drops open.
“What?” I ask again.
“He showed you the source code?”
“No. Not really. But he gave me a page from it.”