Hallie hugged her knees to her chest, using that action to urge the uncomfortable silence to slide under the door.

"Taryn left a while ago now. And what did she mean by 'snack'?"

"She should be back soon. So should the others."

Hallie perked up. "Th-The others?"

Miscenus broke eye contact with the door, something he hadn't done in twenty minutes. "Yeah, Kirphis and my sister."

"Your sister?"

He smiled, his chest swelling with pride. "Semele. She just turned sixteen last month."

"Happy birthday to her."

"Thank you."

More silence. The gap between the door and the ground must not be large enough for the discomfort to squeeze through. A pity. Maybe Taryn was a magnet for the unawkward and bold, and that's why it left with her.

Chatter bubbled up behind the door, and Hallie sagged with relief. The magnet was back.

Taryn kicked down the door and strode in as if she owned the place. Which was debatable, but who was Hallie to judge? She rented her place.

A hazily familiar Sóma slipped in behind her, along with Kirphis and a Taktikós.

"I'm back, mortals," Taryn said, falling into her chair. "And all is well. I saved the snack."

Nikas surveyed the newcomers. "Did you eat it?"

Taryn grinned from ear to ear, and the Taktikós burst out laughing. Miscenus shook his head frantically as a hint of a smile tugged at Kirphis's lips.

The Sóma sighed and shook their head, but even they looked amused. "She means me. I'm her girlfriend. Nice to meet you."

Nikas stared at her, his shocked face urging Taryn and the Taktikós into a bigger fit of giggles.

"Nikas Tsitak."

"Perialla Kallis."

"Well." Taryn slapped her hands together, the grin still clear on her face. "You two seem to get along."

"Great observation, Taryn," Kirphis said, leaning against the wall. "Hello, Hallie. Nikas."

Nikas waved.

"H-Hi, do you want to sit?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

The Taktikós, or Semele, nudged her brother. "That he is." Miscenus burned red and buried his face in his hands.

Kirphis turned his head, either not hearing or not wanting to acknowledge.

"Ugh, I'm so alone." Semele flopped onto her back across Miscenus's legs, earning a grunt in return. She looked at Hallie and Nikas. "At least I'm not the only fifth wheel anymore."

Taryn high-fived her. "Good one."

"Anyway!" Miscenus stood up, letting Semele fall to the floor. "What took you two so long?" He raised an eyebrow at Semele's dramatically sprawled limbs. "Usually, you come back thirty minutes early."

Semele huffed and sat up. "The Purities were at it again. Blocking the streets and such. Good for pickpocketing, not for trading with Hoiples."

Nikas snapped out of his stupor. Hallie sat, ready to duck and cover.

Pickpocketing? Hoiples? The jobs Miscenus told them about were making more sense.

"Oh, um, she didn't mean for us." Taryn's eyes darted between Hallie and Nikas. "She meant for others, actual thieves. Yeah."

Nikas furrowed his brow. "What about Hoiples?"

She blinked. "What about him?"

"I know him, and Hallie can back me up on this. He never mentioned you, or anyone matching your descriptions. Granted, we're not exactly friends."

"We're his providers," Perialla said, perched atop Taryn's chair like a cat. "Taryn's grandfather died when she was a baby and left his fortune to her."

"Yup." A coin appeared in Taryn's hand. "I got myself a pretty little fortune. My father was Mitec with a Kardián father, but my mother, a Freed, couldn't prove it, so here I am. Freed." Her expression turned sour. "Even after said Kardián father died and left everything to me, no one allowed me the title of Mitec. They let me keep the money, though. Only after taxing the-"

"No swearing."

"-heck out of it first."

"Luckily," Perialla said as she absentmindedly brushed a few strands of hair from Taryn's face. "There was enough left over for all of us to live on."

Hallie tuned out of the conversation as Nikas bombarded Taryn and Perialla with questions meant to tear their story apart.

Both of the stories made sense, but the pickpocketing gig was easier to believe. Kardiáns would sooner leave their grandchildren to starve than admit their shared blood, much less leave them everything they had. And though there was no law against Freed receiving inheritances from Kardián grandparents, you could bet said inheritance on the Tyrant or someone else claiming the Kardián not to have been sound of mind when writing their Will, leaving the money in the possession of the closest family member.

Hallie was suddenly very aware that the couch she sat on was made of horsehair.

Horses used to be a creation of the old god of the sea, Poseidónas; so many considered it rude and unlucky to kill a horse, especially to make a couch with it. For a while, some city-states even outlawed it.

Now, no one - besides the few who insisted on believing in the old gods - cared what furniture was made of, but the practice already fell out. Those who wanted a horsehair couch needed to trade beyond the Pagída, the mountain range limiting Synoliká's ability to interact with the outside world.

Finding someone with anything from the outside world was expensive on its own. Not to mention one willing to sell to a group of teenage Freed.

"Did the Purities give you any trouble, or did they just block the streets?"

Hallie looked down. Miscenus and Semele lay on the floor, the former criss-cross-applesauce and leaning against the couch an inch from Hallie and the latter in a starfish position on her back. Both studied Kirphis expectantly, even though Semele should know the answer. She was there.

"No, just a traffic jam."

Semele huffed. "You'd think a Kardián would report them already."

Miscenus gave a wry smile. "If only. Half of them believe in the cause but don't want to join, and the other half wants to crush them."

"And should one side report the other, the other will report them back," Hallie whispered, her sister in a white toga flashing before her eyes.

Kirphis turned to look at her. "Exactly. An unspoken truce, and the closest thing we'll ever get to peace. They deal with the two extremes while nipping at each other's heels after every screw-up."

Hallie took a deep breath. It was okay. It's not like they killed someone or were doing it out of greed. They did it because they had to. And hey, maybe they told the truth, and Taryn's late grandfather's inheritance was real. The benefit of the doubt was a miracle worker.

"They're bloodhounds," Miscenus said. "I wonder what they're going to do about the rumors. Like it or not, they're willing to do anything to keep their kind safe."

"Their kind," Kirphis echoed.

"What if we find out?"

Hallie shrieked for the second time in less than an hour. But with no human shield on hand, she resorted to the tried-and-true method: curling up in a ball and becoming as small as possible.

She peeked through her fingers and saw Taryn wincing, once again the cause of the shriek.

Nikas and Perialla seemed to be having a calm conversation, so their story must have held up enough to satisfy Nikas for the time being.

"Sorry," Taryn said, rubbing the nape of her neck. "I forgot to make clear I was sitting next to you."

Hallie slowly emerged from her shell. "I-It's okay."

"You sure?" Miscenus glared at Taryn.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay." He turned to Taryn. "What do you mean 'what if we found out?'"

"I mean, let's find out." She stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "We have nothing better to do, so why not? It's not like we have nothing left to lose either."

"We have each other to lose."

"Yeah, yeah, stop being so sappy."

"Rude..."

"Semele has a point, Taryn." Perialla stood and walked toward her girlfriend. "I know it may not mean a lot to you, but we're a family. We take care of each other and will be sad if something happened to someone."

Taryn scrunched up her face as if considering it.

"Oh, you listen to her?" Semele grumbled.

"Okay, fine. I would be sad, but I still want to know," Taryn said. "I'm bored."

Perialla laughed. "Is that the reason you do everything? Boredom?"

Taryn scowled.

Semele sat up. "Want to come Hallie? Nikas? Perialla and Taryn are just being anticlimactic. I doubt anything horrible will happen."

It would be a lie to say Hallie wasn't the least bit intrigued by the idea. If anyone were to believe the rumors, it would be them. Consider her curiosity spiked.

Be that as it may, there was no way she was going without Nikas. She didn't know Kirphis, Perialla, Taryn, Miscenus, or Semele enough to trust them just yet. In time, maybe. Right now, nope.

Hallie looked at Nikas, conjuring up the best set of puppy-eyes she could manage.

"How would we do it?"

Taryn's face lit up. "Easy! The Purities and Blessings never try to hide the fact that they joined a cult. We can tail some of those members and see what they're up to."

Kirphis bit his lip. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

Semele poked his ankle. Achilléfs would tremble before her. "Why? Does your father forbid it?"

He flushed. "No!"

"Amazing! So we can all go!"

Semele jumped up, but her efforts were thwarted by her brother grabbing her arm and dragging her backward.

"Not so fast. You're not going."

"What?!"

"You're fifteen!" Miscenus said, crossing his arms.

Semele twisted her lips. "Excuse you, I'm sixteen."

"And I will consider you sixteen once you turn seventeen," Miscenus said. "No fifteen-year-old is coming."

"It's not even dangerous!"

"We could be arrested for stalking."

"So?"

"We'd go to prison."

"I don't care!"

Nikas leaned toward Perialla. "Do they always fight like this?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She sighed. "This could take a while."

"What about Taryn?" Semele screeched. "If I'm fifteen, that means she is, too! How come you aren't making her stay?"

Taryn smirked. "I'd like to see him try."

"She's not my sister!"

"Oh, and I am?"

They stared at each other. Hallie cocked her head. This was much more entertaining than a wall. Who knew?

"I still think this is a bad idea."

"Shut up, Kirphis."