I have this under control, I remind myself. I just have to wait until Ale is better. Ale will get me out of here. And then I’ll bring our water back. I can still bring our water back.
And then they’ll see. They’ll all see.
SEVENTEEN
“EMANUELA. EMANUELA.”
There’s a soft voice calling my name. I scramble up, awkward in my chains.
“Ale?” I say. “Are you—”
There’s a shadowy figure peering through the bars of my cell. It’s not Ale. It’s a man in a crisp black suit. His eyes are sharp, glinting even in the darkness of the tower.
“Papá?” I whisper.
He moves in closer. His face is gaunt, and his mustache has grown unkempt. For a moment, we just stare at each other, like we’re trying to make sure the other is really alive.
“The family,” I say. “Is everyone—”
“They’re alive,” he says.
“What about Paola?” I say.
“Who?” he says.
“My nursemaid,” I say.
“The nursemaid who was helping you hide your omen, you mean?” he says. “I don’t know. We dismissed her right after you went to the tower.”
My skin gets very cold. When I saw Paola, she didn’t mention that. She acted like she was fine.
“Have you—have you heard anything about Ale?” I say. “Is he—”
“I’ve heard that he has a giant hole in his face,” he says slowly. “And the guards are saying it was you. He’s not saying a word to anyone.”
Ale is awake. All of a sudden, I can breathe again.
“I’ll explain it later,” I say. “But first—I know how to save the city.”
He gives me a sideways look. “You do?”
“There’s something else out there, Papá,” I say. “There are other cities under the veil.”
“There are?” he says, and his disbelief is plain.
“Yes,” I say. “And one of them was stealing our water. So we can steal it back.”
“How?” he says.
“I can do it,” I say. “You just have to let me out.”
“And what are you going to do?” he says.
“I’ll show you when I get out,” I say.
“You can’t get out, little spider,” he says, like the mere thought is ridiculous. “You can’t leave the tower.”
My heart drops to my feet. “What?”
“Not yet,” he says. “This situation is very delicate. The people are clamoring for your head. It won’t be safe for you to come out until the water is back.”
“So you just want me to tell you how to save the city?” I say. “That’s why you’re here?”
“Isn’t the important thing that the city is saved?” he says.
I don’t understand. We’re a team. We can save the city together.
“So?” he says.
“So?” I echo.
“What do we need to do to get the water?” he says.
I draw back. “Why don’t you figure it out yourself?”
“Don’t be unreasonable,” he says.
“I’m being very reasonable,” I say. “I’m the one who found the answers. I fought for them. Why should you be the one who gets to—”
“Think about this logically, Emanuela,” he says. “You have to do what’s best for the whole family. A mob chased us out of our home, you know. Mamma and your brothers… they’re wasting away. All the cousins—they’re so weak. Do you want to make things even worse for them?”
“Of course not,” I say. “I’m not going to make things worse. I’m going to save us.”
“Well, you turned the entire city upside down,” he says. “It’s a mess out here. I can’t even begin to describe to you how unruly things have gotten. But we can fix it. Once the House of Ragno saves the city, we’ll start repairing your reputation. It will be grueling, but it can be done. I have some ideas for where to start.”
This is how it always is. He always has ideas. We always work together.
But as long as I’m in these chains, we’re not working together.
“We’ll repair my reputation,” I say slowly.
“Yes,” he says.
“And what?” I say. “I’ll go back to the exact same life I had before? The life you set up for me?”
“Is that not what you want?” he says.
“I… I don’t know.” I’m realizing it as I say the words. “I don’t know if I want to spend all of my days in Parliament with a bunch of old men and their laws.”
“You have the mind for it,” he says.
“I have the mind for many things,” I say. “And Ale and I—we’re best friends. That’s what’s always mattered. Not whether or not we were married.”
Something flickers in my papá’s eyes.
“The Morandi boy would be the most valuable husband in the city,” he says. “We can still find a way to—”
“And the watercrea…” I say.
If I hadn’t killed the watercrea, I would have spent the rest of my life afraid of the moment she discovered me. I had to stop her. I’m doing exactly what I need to do. Right now, I’m more certain of it than ever.
“Emanuela,” my papá says. “Your old life was perfect. You don’t have to lose it all just because you…” He pauses. “We can fix all this. Together. What else could you possibly want?”
He doesn’t understand. I’m not just going to bring the water back. I’m going to save us. I’m going to protect us. I’m going to make sure I’m doing absolutely everything I can for us. There are six other cities across the veil that I haven’t gotten to see yet. There’s a girl in a white gown I still have to defeat—a girl who just got magic and whose next move is now, thrillingly, impossible for me to predict.
“More,” I say.
My papá is quiet. But he understands. He must. I got my ambition from him.
“Well?” I say. “Can I come out now?”
“There really are other cities?” he says. “There’s a city that has our water?”
“Yes,” I say breathlessly.
He hesitates. I wait for him to start picking the lock on my cell.
“And how do we get the water back?” he says.
“I—” I falter. “I told you. I can show you. There’s a way to—”
“Just tell me how, and I’ll do it,”
