Arc 2: In Memoriam (Part 7)

I trance for the day fully dressed in sweatpants and a bulky jumper and rush to Canus’s rooms mere seconds after sunset. When I get there, a single male thrall lingers in the hallway, and he startles and quickly retreats upon seeing my rush. (Scintilla probably hasn’t even started on her makeup yet.)

Canus never locks his doors, so I simply barge in. His rooms are set up a little differently than it will be in thirty years, but I orient myself quickly enough and find him still reclining on a chaise longue. (He was always slow to rise in the evenings.)

‘I want to go out tonight,’ I say in lieu of a greeting.

He blinks, still disoriented from his trance.

‘Alone,’ I add with more bravado than hope.

I’m expecting any number of responses—denial, for one, or at the very least a demand for my motivations, but none of them come.

Instead, a corner of Canus’s lips twitch, and he points his chin towards his coat rack and says, ‘Bring me my wallet.’ When I obey, he opens it up and pulls out