Chapter 42: I Broke House Arrest to Meet Yuki

Adrián didn’t sleep that night either.

He lay on his back in the bed of his new room, his phone resting against his chest, screen dark, staring at the ceiling.

Ishtar was asleep in the armchair in the corner—the armchair Rhea had specifically ordered brought in so she could carry out her twenty-four-hour surveillance assignment.

She was sleeping in an impossible position.

Legs crossed over one armrest.

One red pigtail hanging across her face.

Mouth slightly open.

A forgotten lollipop still clutched in her right hand.

She snored.

Very softly.

A sweet, steady little snore that Adrián eventually started using as a mental metronome so he wouldn’t think about anything else.

"Eleven twenty."

"Thirteen hours left."

"Twelve."

"Eleven fifty."

He rolled toward the wall.

Rolled back toward the ceiling.

Rolled toward the wall again.

"Ishtar sleeps deeply."

"Very deeply."

"If I escape through the window..."

"No. Thirtieth floor. Ridiculous."

"If I sneak out through the door..."

"There are lesser familiars in the hallway. Rhea told me. Rotating shifts."

"If I activate the Mask and dissolve into the air..."

"I still don’t know how to do that."

"Fuck."

He dragged a hand down his face.

At some point between two and three in the morning, he accidentally fell asleep with the phone still resting on his chest.

At six-thirty, the phone vibrated.

Adrián jolted awake.

He looked at the screen.

A message.

From Yuki.

«Adri. Are we still on for noon?»

He stared at it.

Typed a response.

Deleted it.

Typed another.

Deleted that too.

Then typed a third.

«Yeah. We’re still on. I’ll see you there.»

He sent it.

The reply came fifteen seconds later.

«Thank you.»

Adrián set the phone on the nightstand.

Sat on the edge of the bed.

From the armchair, Ishtar muttered something in a language Adrián didn’t recognize.

Rolled over.

Kept sleeping.

Adrián slowly got up.

Went into the bathroom.

Washed his face.

Brushed his teeth.

Then put on the most normal clothes he could find in the closet—jeans, a gray hoodie, and the old sneakers he had brought from his human apartment.

He ran both hands through his hair.

Looked at himself in the mirror.

He looked like someone who hadn’t slept.

"Okay."

He dragged a hand down his face again.

"Okay. Plan."

"One: escape the building."

"Two: get to Kuoh without anyone following me."

"Three: talk to Yuki."

"Four: worry about the consequences afterward."

He left the bathroom.

Ishtar was still asleep.

Adrián walked over to the armchair.

Looked at her for a few seconds.

"Sorry, Ishtar."

Then he left the room.

The hallway was empty.

Adrián frowned.

"Rhea said rotating shifts."

"Where’s the familiar?"

He walked down the hallway as quietly as possible.

Past the double marble staircase.

Past the door to Rhea’s room.

Closed.

Past Silvano’s library.

Also closed.

He reached the elevator.

Pressed the button.

The elevator slowly climbed from one of the lower floors.

The cage door slid open.

And standing inside—

a cup of tea in one hand, wearing an expression that was equal parts amused and I knew you were going to do this—

was Silvano.

Adrián froze in the hallway with one hand still suspended in the air.

"..."

"Boy."

"Silvano."

"Where are you going at six-thirty in the morning?"

"To..."

Adrián searched for a lie.

He couldn’t find a convincing one.

"...take a walk."

"Uh-huh."

"It’s true."

"Boy."

Silvano took a sip of tea.

"I have three hundred years of experience catching reincarnated students in lies."

A pause.

"You have nine days of demonic existence."

He raised an eyebrow.

"You’re going to have to try harder."

"..."

"Get in the elevator."

Adrián stepped inside.

Silvano pressed a button.

The elevator started descending.

The silence inside was absolute except for the quiet clink of tea against porcelain whenever Silvano moved his cup.

Adrián had no idea what to say.

Silvano didn’t say anything either for the first five floors.

On the sixth, he finally spoke.

"Yuki, right?"

"..."

"Your human friend."

Another sip.

"The one with the bento."

"...Yeah."

"Uh-huh."

"Silvano."

"Yes?"

"Are you taking me back to my room?"

Silvano took a long sip of tea.

Looked at the elevator wall.

And answered without looking at Adrián.

"Boy. Rhea specifically ordered me to take you directly to her office if I caught you trying to escape."

Adrián went very still.

"Those were her exact words."

Silvano raised his cup.

’To my office. In handcuffs if necessary.’

"..."

"However..."

Silvano continued looking straight ahead.

"I was young once too."

Adrián looked at him.

"And once, a very long time ago, I escaped from my own mistress’s building to go see a human woman who mattered to me."

The elevator continued descending.

"She mattered in ways I didn’t know how to measure until many years later."

Silvano’s voice remained calm.

"And I never regretted escaping that day."

A pause.

"I regretted other things."

His expression changed almost imperceptibly.

"But not that."

"..."

"So I’m going to tell you this."

Silvano finally turned his head and looked at him.

"You have until four this afternoon."

Adrián stared at him.

"I’m going to tell Rhea I went to your room and you were already gone."

Silvano lifted one shoulder.

"I’ll say you probably escaped through the window sometime during the night using some copied ability."

Adrián blinked.

"She’ll send search teams."

"..."

"They won’t find you quickly because we still don’t have your complete signature registered."

Silvano’s expression became more serious.

"But at four o’clock, if you’re not back..."

A pause.

"I’ll have to tell her the truth."

"Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"And, boy."

"Yeah?"

"If Yuki matters to you..."

Silvano held his gaze.

"Tell her."

"With whatever words you have."

"Not the words you think are correct."

"Not the words you rehearsed."

A pause.

"The ones you actually have."

His expression softened slightly.

"That’s the only way."

"...Thank you, Silvano."

"You’re welcome."

The elevator slowed.

"Get off at the parking garage."

Adrián looked at him.

"You’ll find a black car with the keys inside."

"..."

"It’s old."

"Nobody will track it because nobody knows it exists."

Silvano took another sip of tea.

"It’s mine."

He looked directly at Adrián.

"Take care of it."

"..."

"Go."

The elevator stopped in the underground parking garage.

The cage door opened.

Silvano remained inside.

Adrián stepped out.

Just before the gate closed, Silvano added:

"Oh, boy."

Adrián turned.

"One last thing."

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

This time there was no humor in his voice.

"I mean it."

Silvano lowered the teacup.

"A Fallen hanging around your human friend’s neighborhood is a very real possibility now."

Adrián’s expression hardened.

"If you feel anything strange, activate the Mask immediately."

A pause.

"Apologize afterward."

The cage door slid shut.

The elevator rose.

Adrián stood alone in the underground parking garage of the Alastor building.

Somewhere nearby was a black car he wasn’t completely sure he knew how to drive.

And he had the very specific feeling that Silvano Marchetti had just become the first adult in his new life to tell him—

I trust your judgment.

Without demanding anything in return.

Adrián breathed out.

"Okay."

He tightened his grip around his phone.

"Let’s go."