“A patron?” By his tone, he was clearly interested. At my mention of money, he was hooked. My pathway to discovering his secrets became clearer by the moment.

“Brigette provided her services, helping me prepare for this masquerade.” I motioned to my long peacock cape. “She was well worth her cost.”

“Wait... is she here? In the city?”

I rolled a shoulder. “Perhaps.”

“Where are you staying?”

“I’ve already paid your admission price, Sir Magician. If you want more from me, you’ll have to give me something worth paying for.”

He paused, shoulders stiffening. “Like what?”

Taviano’s entourage had gathered around us, and like an ocean current, they carried us in a powerful tidal wave toward the exit. I gave him a wry grin as we spilled into the hallway outside the ballroom. “Let me think about it, Signor Pesce.”

“Please, call me Taviano.”

I nodded. “Only if you call me Liesl.”

Chapter 17

Taviano took my hand, and our group raced outside in an excited swarm, voices buzzing, punctuated with shouts and laughter. The rain had softened, enveloping us in a warm mist. Instead of splitting up among a collection of water taxis waiting near the Terrazzano’s dock, someone at the front of our group led us farther down the canal to an opulent barge, a floating paradise of crystal, rich hardwoods, silk, and velvet. As I climbed aboard, I glanced over my shoulder, searching for Gideon.

A tall figure in cape and hood stood half in shadows in a nearby doorway. He raised a hand and took a step back, drawing darkness around himself. He’d let me see him on purpose, allowing me to reassure myself he was following, watchful and present.

You’ll have plenty of time for him later, Grandfather said. Stay focused on your task and let him do his job.

I harrumphed. Easier said than done.

“Have a drink.” Taviano handed me a flute of something pink and bubbly. The damp air had tamed his sugar-floss hair, and rain droplets glimmered on his mask, glowing as the silvery seashell decorations spun and sparkled.

Touching the glass to my lips, I tasted berries, sunshine, and wine. On any other occasion, I might’ve drained the drink in a single gulp, but the success of the evening’s venture depended on keeping my wits sharp. Taviano slumped onto a padded bench, and when he looked away, I poured my drink overboard.

He patted the empty space beside him. “Join me, Liesl.”

I sat and swallowed my protest as he slipped his arm around my shoulder. He smelled of earth, minerals, and wine. “Relax, Lady Peacock. The real party is about to begin.”

Around the barge, young people paired off into smaller groups and couples. Someone called out what sounded like a warning, and the boat swayed and rocked as it launched, gliding toward the center of the canal. The boat’s motion rolled me into Taviano, and he took advantage, holding me closer.

If you’re watching this, Gideon, forgive me for playing along. “So...” I held Taviano’s gaze. Firelight from torches positioned around the boat flickered in his eyes and made his mask glow. “You’re a Magician for the Marenato family, right?”

He drew his fingertip up my arm, stroking me as though I were his pet. I congratulated myself for resisting the urge to cringe. “I am.”

Of course, he didn’t clarify that he was only an apprentice.

“What sort of things do you do for them?”

“Whatever the family asks of me.”

I touched his biceps. He was taller than me but not my much. Bony and angular too. Perhaps some girls preferred the lanky and aristocratic look, but I favored Gideon’s brawn and strength. “You must be very smart and powerful to serve a family like the Marenatos.” The words felt sickly sweet on my tongue. I can’t believe he’s falling for this.

Young men love to have their egos stroked by young ladies, Grandfather said. And you are especially lovely tonight.

And he is especially drunk.

The tip of Taviano’s nose brushed my ear. “It is an ideal position for a long and lucrative career.”

“Will you take the place of their current Magician when he eventually retires?”

His finger paused on my arm. He pulled away slightly. “DeLaguna is a doddering old fool. He will be retiring much sooner than he thinks.”

Someone hollered again. Our barge turned and picked up speed. A stiff breeze toyed with my curls and whipped Taviano’s bright hair about his head. The city fell away as we sailed into a wider body of water. “We’re crossing the bay?” I asked.

He nodded and leaned back, letting me peer around him as he pointed at a dark, distant shoreline. Against a cloudy night sky, the Basilica di Magia’s hulking silhouette crouched atop limestone cliffs like a giant barnacled turtle sitting on a plinth. I had studied the islet from my balcony several times and therefore knew it was encircled by a sandy beach that only appeared at low tide. Playing dumb, I blinked at him. “We’re going to the basilica?”

He snorted. “No, to the peninsula just beside it. See?” He pointed again, and the dim light of tiny distant flames flickered on a jutting promontory. We were still too far away and the night was too dark to reveal details. “There is the Gratta Regine del Mare. The Grotto of the Sea Queens.”

I tensed. “You mean...?”

“It’s a temple, a relic left from the days when the Marenatos were sea deities.”

“There aren’t many of those left,” I said.

“Who?”

“The old gods.”

“Good riddance, I say.”

My skin prickled as if lightning were drawing close. “If industry continues to develop at its current rate, Magic might soon be as obsolete as the gods.”

“That will never happen.” Taviano’s mood turned cool and distant. Maybe I should’ve worried, but instead I enjoyed the reprieve when he pulled away. He motioned for a servant to bring me another glass of wine, and he drew a pipe from an interior pocket in his coat. He snapped his fingers, and a flame lit at the tip of his thumb and forefinger. He touched the light to his pipe bowl and puffed until the contents glowed.

Mordid, judging by the burnt syrupy smell. I tried not to let my distaste show on my face.

He pointed the pipe stem at me, gesturing for me to take a puff. Waving him away, I shook my head. “No thanks. I’ll stick to wine.”

He shrugged and sucked in another lungful of smoke.

I glanced behind us, searching for a sign of Gideon. Had he managed to find a taxi willing to pilot him this far into the bay? Without more moonlight, it was impossible to tell.

We completed our voyage in silence while Taviano puffed on his pipe. The barge shuddered as it slid across a sandy bottom and stopped. Another elegant but empty barge had already beached nearby, suggesting the party had started without us. A tall boy wearing a horse mask raised his wine glass and whooped. Crying out in Vinitzian, his companions responded, and the group rushed to disembark, splashing over the barge’s sides. Most had removed their shoes and slogged through the calf-high water without a care for their cuffs and hems. Slow to follow, I kicked off my slippers and bundled my skirt into my arms, holding my hems as high. I eased into the water, leaving Taviano still lounging on his bench, finishing his pipe.

If he didn’t join the rest of us soon, I’d backtrack and try to get him talking again, but my curiosity about the Sea Goddesses’ temple refused to be ignored. How could I come all the way to Vinitzia without seeing the worship place of a former elemental deity? It would’ve been like passing through the graveyard at Fallstaff without paying a visit to my ancestors’ tombs.

I’d descended from a different lineage than the Sea Goddesses, but we were family in a way. Thousands of years before, all of us had once shared the same creator father. As I strode onto the pebbled shore, a feeling of welcome enveloped me.

“Hello, aunties,” I whispered.