“Thank you,” I replied.

“You’re easy on the eyes, I’ll give you that,” Katlin grumbled. She went into the kitchen, while Valaine and I looked at each other, listening to the clanks and the sound of water running down the hallway.

“She’s right. You are easy on the eyes.” Valaine chuckled.

“Oh, hush. You’re embarrassing me,” I replied, trying not to laugh.

“She might invite you to dinner,” she said, clearly amused.

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s nice and hospitable, but she’s not my type.”

Valaine covered her mouth, stifling a chortle, but immediately put on a more serious face when Katlin returned with a silver tray, on which she’d brought a porcelain tea service. She placed it on the coffee table in front of us and sat in the armchair next to our loveseat. Exhaling deeply, she pointed at the flowery tea kettle.

“Help yourselves. I’m already tired.”

I nodded, pouring a cup for myself and one for Valaine. It smelled of roses and cinnamon, likely a local tea variety. I’d caught a similar scent back at the marketplace, and it filled my lungs with a quiet but much welcome tranquility.

“Tell us, Katlin, what do you know about the orphanage?” Valaine asked, holding the cup and saucer in her lap.

Nervously glancing around, the old Rimian frowned. “I knew about the Darklings. But my husband was ill at the time. None of us on this street dared to rat them out, anyway. We saw what they did to snitches.”

“So you saw them in there,” Valaine concluded, nodding toward the window.

“Every day for thirty years,” Katlin said. “Some left, others came, but there were always Darklings in that place. The children feared them, but they had no other choice. They had to serve them, to watch the streets for them.”

“And what happened on the day of Kalon’s raid?” Valaine asked.

“The Darklings were tipped off. I saw them carrying wooden crates and leather bags out of the building, hours before the golden guards came. They left the children and a few of their newer recruits behind—fodder for the soldiers, really. But the big bosses fled to safety. They’re probably still somewhere in the city, plotting their operations.”

“Do you know what they were?” I replied. “I mean, only Aeternae, or Rimians and Naloreans, too?”

“None of us would ever consort with their kind.” Katlin scoffed, visibly disgusted. “Whatever their beef is with the government, we will have no involvement. They’re evil and dangerous. They kill people without so much as a blink. One night, they beheaded a new recruit right outside the orphanage, for everyone to see. The guy who did it said the recruit was a spy from the gold guards. Wanted to show us all what happened to those who tried to go against them.”

“The orphanage is abandoned now, isn’t it?” I asked.

She thought about it for a moment, watching me intently. “I don’t think so.”

My blood ran cold. Briefly glancing at Valaine, I could see that she was equally disturbed. She leaned forward, her gaze fixed on the Rimian woman. “You saw Darklings in there?”

“I’m not sure what I saw. It could’ve just been squatters,” Katlin replied, her hands shaking in her lap, a little more than before and enough to prove that she was genuinely fearful.

“Please, Katlin. Whatever detail you remember… it’s important,” Valaine said.

“Why, though? It was twenty years ago. There hasn’t been any word of the Darklings since!” The old Rimian sighed, lowering her head.

“We had issues with them last night,” I interjected, drawing Valaine’s ire.

“Tristan!”

“Whoa… They’re back?!” Katlin murmured, her reddish brown eyes wide.

“It’s confidential, for now. We’re trusting you with important information here,” I said. “So, please… What have you seen recently?”

Katlin looked at the shuttered window for a long moment, then back at us. I kept my eyes on her, knowing I’d made Valaine angry over the disclosure of last night’s attack. But I had a feeling it would work out in our favor. The old Rimian woman was surly and secretive, but she was also lonely. There was no sign of her husband still being alive, and she clearly enjoyed our company. Giving her the sense of helping us, of helping save innocent lives from the Darklings, seemed like a good angle.

“They go in there in pairs, never alone,” Katlin finally said. “Long black hoods. Golden masks. Always after dark, close to midnight, when most of the residents here are asleep. I’m more of a nocturnal creature myself, so I hear them, every other day. Their footsteps… their whispers… the squeaking of old doors inside. I don’t know what they do in there, but they never stay for more than a few hours.”

“You’ve never gone inside during the day?” I asked, half-smiling. She struck me as the annoyingly curious type.

But she shook her head. “Normally, I would poke my nose. These are Darklings, though. I may be old, but I ain’t done living yet.”

I glanced at Valaine. “Do you think we should go in? It’s still daylight, and we’re not alone.”

“We should definitely go in,” Valaine replied, and got up. She gave Katlin a warm smile. “Thank you for sharing this information with us, and thank you for the tea,” she added, setting her empty cup and saucer on the coffee table.

“Just be careful,” Katlin said. “That house might be empty now, but you never know.”

“I’m curious, why did it stay empty? It’s been twenty years,” I asked.

Valaine shrugged. “I don’t know. But you’re right. It became property of the Visio Council when Kalon seized it. They would’ve sold it, normally.”

We left Katlin’s house, and I pulled my mask back on. Stopping at the bottom of the steps, I turned around and bowed politely. “Thank you for your hospitality,” I said to the old Rimian woman.

She didn’t say anything, but her eyes glimmered with kindness, blinking slowly as she stepped back and closed the door to her house. Valaine and I were on our own again, and the sun was heating everything up as it peaked at midday.

“I’m sorry I went ahead and told her about the attack,” I said to Valaine. “I thought it would help get her out of that shell.”

“It worked,” Valaine replied. “Your methods may irk me, but you get results. Given what happened last night, I’ll take results over secrecy any time.”

“How are you feeling?” I asked as we walked over to the orphanage building. From the outside, it looked empty, darkness reigning inside.

Reaching the double doors, she looked at me, a haunted look imprinted on her pale, beautiful face. “I haven’t slept. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder. They know me well enough to actually have a shot at killing me, and the thought scares me,” she admitted. “But I lived to see another day, so perhaps the universe isn’t ready to let me go just yet. I’m just eager to understand why they want to kill me.”

“This is as close to the Darklings as we can get, given the little we know about them,” I said. “Maybe we’ll find some answers inside. Or, at the very least, a better lead.”

Valaine tried the doorknobs, but they wouldn’t turn. “It’s locked.”

“We could break the door open,” I replied. “However, if we want them to come back tonight so we can catch them in the act, some discretion would be advised.”

I fumbled through my jacket pockets for my lockpicking tools—lockpicking was a trick I’d picked up while traveling through Purgaris in search of an ancient, stolen Druid artifact with my sister. I found myself utterly useless, as Valaine had already removed one of the hairpins from her tight black bun and was halfway through picking the lock.

The alley was remarkably quiet, considering the time of day.

“Where are the guards?” I asked, keeping my voice down.

Valaine looked over her shoulder, checking both ends of the street. “I don’t know, but they must be nearby. I did tell them to stay out of sight.”

The lock turned with a click, and we snuck through the doors, careful not to be seen by anyone else—though I knew Katlin was probably watching us like a hawk from behind the curtain. Inside, there was nothing but semi-darkness, dust, and dilapidated furniture. Splintered wood was scattered across the floor, and the occasional ray of sunlight cut through the blackness, slipping through the broken window shutters.