I took one step inside and the door slammed at my back, locking me in the room alone. Seams filled in until the door became a solid wall. Trapped. My legs gave out and I sagged to the floor.
I didn’t know what would happen, didn’t know if Bel would help me now, or if he even could. My head throbbed and I wanted out of this room. Agitated, I clawed at the peeling wallpaper. At least Zosa was alive, and Frigga would keep both her eyes.
Far sooner than I expected, before I could gouge much more of the wall, the room door appeared, then opened. At the sight of Bel, relief hit me so sharp and sudden, it took my breath away. I leaped up and wrapped my arms tight around him. When he stiffened, I pulled away.
His face—a face I’d come to know as well as my own—held nothing but indifference. He looked at me like I was a stranger. It gutted me.
I didn’t know why he was acting like this, but it couldn’t be good. I crossed my arms, suddenly freezing.
“Well?” I asked.
“You’re being sent back to Durc.”
“With Zosa?”
“No.”
“Then I’m not going.”
“You have no choice. Your contract has been voided. The moment you walk through the lacquered door, you’ll step back into that alley, same as a guest upon checkout.” Then, so softly I barely heard him, he added, “You won’t be demoted again, at least.”
“Demote me. Tell Yrsa to take my eye. Tell Alastair to keep me.”
“I won’t.”
Won’t, not can’t. Tears blurred my vision. “Why won’t you fight for me?”
He brought a hand up and wiped my eyes then rested his palm against my cheek. I leaned into his touch, needing it in this moment like I needed air. “I’m sorry,” he said.
I didn’t understand it. “Why bother helping me in the first place?”
Something swept across Bel’s features then disappeared in a blink. “I was curious how his ink worked and now I’m not. If Alastair discovers you had your memories this whole time, he’ll find some other way to punish you. You can’t stay.”
Like hell.
I jerked his collar down and fished out the hotel key. “You’re the Magnifique. He needs you to move the hotel. Make a deal with him.”
His throat bobbed. “I already have.”
I dropped my hand. I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re sending me back? Without my sister?”
“I’m saving you.”
I couldn’t begin to imagine how Bel arranged that. He must have promised Alastair something obscene.
He fished in his pocket then pressed cold coins in my palm. Silver dublonnes. “For passage to your village,” he said. “Congratulations. Alastair voided your contract. You get to go home.”
I flinched at the word, and my heart plummeted. I’d spent years trying to get home, but I knew without a doubt that Aligney would never be home without Zosa.
“Don’t you get it? Home doesn’t mean anything to me without the people I love.” When he was silent, my fingers curled into fists.
Deep down, I knew Bel probably had a good reason for all of this, but the idea that he would rid himself of me so easily made my lungs squeeze. My teeth clenched, and I wanted him to feel what this was doing to me, to know how much it hurt.
I lifted my chin, bitter anger coursing through me. “You’re not just sending me back. You’re pushing me away like you do to everyone inside this place. Was I always just some worker for you to use then toss aside?” My pathetic lips began to wobble. “God, I don’t want to cry in front of you.”
“Jani—”
“When I first came here, I thought you didn’t care about anyone. But after all these weeks, things between us feel different. And now . . . now you’re throwing me out like I’m nothing to you.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw.
He reached out. Rough fingers smoothed over my neck.
“What are—” My words cut off with a gasp. He dipped his thumb under the neckline of my dress to tangle with Maman’s necklace. His other hand stretched toward me, fingertips grazing my waist, and his eyes darkened. Slowly, languorously, his gaze slid down my face, coming to a stop on my mouth.
I held my breath until Bel shook his head and stepped back.
“You’re not nothing to me,” he said, almost to himself. “That’s precisely the problem.”
* * *
A short while later, Yrsa arrived with the twins. I pulled away when she snatched my arm. “Struggle all you want. The more you do, the greater chance the ma?tre will let me cut out one of your fine eyes before you’re sent on your way.” When I blanched, she smiled and tugged me along, the twins at my back.