My heart speeds up. “What is that supposed to mean?” I have the horrible thought that by “unavailable” she could mean dead, that my worst fear has been realized, that I’ve killed him in my attempts to save him. Or maybe she means Gopal has already chosen another plan, a different assassin. I sink down into the chair directly across from her. “Is he in danger? Just tell me where he is.” I hate the note of pleading in my voice, hate the smug look it plasters across Iyla’s face.
She swings her foot and avoids looking at me. “He’s fine,” she says, and the worry in my stomach uncoils, just a little. “But I can’t tell you anything more.”
Fear has been eating away at me for days, and Iyla is as calm as a sea made of glass. She has all the knowledge, all the power and none of the worry. She can find Deven whenever she wants. I have the sudden urge to flip her over and shake her like a coin bank until her secrets spill out like silver treasure. “Iyla, stop playing games and tell me where he is.”
She finally meets my gaze and fixes me with an icy stare. “The last few times I’ve shared things with you haven’t gone well for me.”
My fingers curl into my palms and I have to resist the urge to raise my voice. It’s so unfair of her to blame me for the terrible things Gopal has done. “That’s not how it was,” I say. My voice is choked with emotion, despite my best efforts to stay calm. “I never intentionally betrayed your confidences.” But the bruise is splayed across her face like an accusation.
“I know,” she says. “Still…you’ll understand if I’m not eager to give you information.”
I rake my fingers through my hair. “I have to find him, Iyla. He needs one more dose of poison.”
She shrugs. “Like I said, it won’t be today.” She studies my face. “Look, Marinda, I said I wouldn’t tell Gopal and I won’t, but that’s all I can do. It’s safer for you if you don’t know where Deven is.”
“If you hurt him—”
“Stop it,” she says. “You don’t have to threaten me. He’s going to be fine.” She leans forward and puts a hand on top of mine. “I promise.” For just a moment I think I see something hard in her eyes, and a prickle of unease races across my skin. But then I blink and it’s just the Iyla I’ve always known, squeezing my fingers and offering me a weary smile. It’s not until we’re almost to the door that I notice her earrings—delicate golden birds with small diamonds for eyes.
“Those are pretty,” I say, lifting my chin toward her ears.
Iyla strokes one of the birds with the tip of her finger, as if she forgot she was wearing jewelry. Her cheeks flush and she looks away. “Thank you,” she says, but she won’t meet my gaze.
I wait for her to say something more—to tell me how she sweet-talked the jeweler at the market and got them for half price, or how she scored them for free from the little shop on Gali Street—but she doesn’t. Iyla never misses an opportunity to brag. My stomach clenches.
The earrings must be a gift from Deven.
It shouldn’t bother me, the thought of him giving her a gift. But somehow this is even worse than seeing them kiss. My fingers find the cricket in my pocket and trace small circles over its tiny wings.
Iyla insists on checking that the street is empty before she lets us leave. “Get out of here quickly,” she tells us, and I wonder if it’s Gopal she’s worried will spot us or if it’s Deven. Maybe he’s unavailable because they have plans. The thought leaves a sour taste in my mouth, but he’s alive and that’s all that matters.
Mani slides his hand into mine as we walk away. He’s quiet for several minutes, but then he stops walking and looks up at me with big, worried eyes. “Is Iyla going to kill Deven?”
“Of course not,” I say.
“How do you know?”
I put my arm around his shoulders and pull him close to me. “Because Gopal didn’t make her for killing, monkey.”
“What did he make her for?”
There’s no comfort in the answer, but I tell him the truth anyway. “He made her for lying.”
The next few days pass with excruciating slowness. Mani is growing sicker by the moment, and it’s as if everyone in our lives has vanished. We don’t see or hear from Deven, Iyla or Gita. There’s no sign of Gopal either and no hint that he’s ever coming back. He will—of course he will—but if Mani dies before he gets here, he won’t find me waiting.
The need to find Deven fades into the background as Mani loses strength. He’s too weak to leave the flat and has spent the morning curled on his bed staring vacantly into space, his pupils dilated, his eyes watering and his breath so shallow I have to strain to see his chest moving up and down. I’ve made three trips to the healers in the marketplace, and none of the potions I’ve purchased have done Mani any good—not the ones from the real healers and not the ones from the frauds either. I’ve seen Mani’s face this pale only once before, and I almost lost him then.