Ethan’s expression suggested he would have preferred a silent harbinger of death.
I leaned forward a little, elbows on my knees, and asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I thought we covered that,” Carwyn said. “Mommy and Daddy loved each other very much, so they did a dark ritual . . . ? Any of that ringing a bell?”
“I meant,” I said, “where are you going on this train?”
“Same place you are,” Carwyn said. “The Light city.”
“What are you going to do when you get there?”
“Are you asking me out on a date?” asked Carwyn. “Because your boyfriend’s right here. Awkward.”
My plan was to help and support him in any way possible. If that meant ignoring ninety percent of everything he said, that was fine with me.
“Do you have a pass to get to the Light city?” I asked. “Do you have a permit to work? How long were you planning to stay?”
“I hadn’t decided.”
I noticed that the doppelganger did not answer either of my other questions. Ethan and I exchanged a look.
“You were going into the Light city without a pass?” Ethan said. “That’s a crime.”
“I guess we don’t know each other that well yet,” Carwyn observed. “It’s possibly time to talk about some of my hobbies and interests. One of my hobbies is crime.”
“So you’re a criminal,” said Ethan.
“My hobby is my job,” said Carwyn. “My job is my hobby. It’s a thing. Also, when we were introduced, you were about to be executed for a, you know, whatsit—oh yeah, a crime. Are you upset because my thing is being somewhat successful at crime?”
Ethan leaned a little against the compartment wall, trying to ease me back with him. I didn’t go, but I glanced at him and saw his eyes were thoughtfully narrowed. Ethan usually thinks the best of people; that doesn’t mean he’s dumb.
“You are pretty successful at crime,” Ethan observed. “That’s why you saved me, isn’t it? You decided you wanted to go to the Light city, for whatever reason—”
Carwyn shrugged. “Just wanted to have a little fun. Sorry, do you need me to explain the concept of fun?”
Ethan shook his head. “You figured you’d come to the city and blackmail my dad. Then you saw me on the train platform. You saw a golden opportunity.”
Carwyn grinned.
The city was getting closer and closer as we got to the end of the line, about to plunge into our last tunnel. I put my hand against the glass and looked out at the city, the buildings that made the gems in my rings briefly catch fire, the line of light that was Stryker Tower, so bright that it seemed like a colossal sword. The sun was coming up, and the dawn was embracing the buildings in swaths of rose and gold.
“I don’t care why he did it,” I said.
Both of the boys looked at me, Ethan’s grip on my hand going a little loose.
“I mean it,” I said. “I don’t care. What I care about is the result: what I care about is that we are all safe.” I pressed Ethan’s hand. “You’re alive, and he made it so. I say we give him whatever he wants. Your father created him, so Carwyn is his responsibility. And Carwyn saved your life: your father owes him twice over. You have to take him home with you and make sure that Carwyn has everything he needs.”
“I have many needs,” Carwyn put in.
“You want me to reward him?” Ethan asked incredulously.
I lost my patience. Maybe it wasn’t fair of me. Ethan wasn’t used to life-and-death situations. I don’t think he believed he would have died out there on that stone platform in the cold night. Not really.
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I want you to reward him for saving your life. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”
Carwyn, at this point, was smirking. “I like you. Can I put you on my list of demands?”
“And as for you, my little bonbon of darkness,” I said, “I want you to shut up.”
Ethan was stonily quiet. Carwyn, for a wonder, became almost quiet as well, aside from a murmured “Does anyone have a piece of paper? For, you know, my list?”
I spent the rest of the train ride putting on makeup and brushing my hair. I wasn’t dressed for the media, not in a simple blue dress. It had been so long since I’d had to prepare for a performance, and I was not ready. But I could look better than I did now. I found a compact in my bag and stared into the mirror: pink, sticky eye shadow smudged on, hair shimmering gold. I looked tired from the night. I passed my fingertips under my eyes, letting my rings glow gently, and made the shadows disappear.
I snapped the compact shut and saw Carwyn giving me one of his flat looks, mouth curled in what looked a whole lot like contempt.
“You look beautiful,” Ethan told me, which I didn’t care about, and, “We can do this,” which I did.
The train pulled into Penn Station with a creak and a rattle. I stood up from the bed without letting go of Ethan’s hand, and I reached for Carwyn’s and grabbed hold, pulling him to his feet as well.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get this done.”