Page 58 of Fool Me Twice

It has to be a trick. A test by the Sanctum to judge her loyalty, or a con the Chain devised to deceive her, or‍?—

“So what do we think?” Ez is hovering just next to Roma, her arms crossed over her chest. Distantly, Roma knows that Ez is talking to both her and Obie, but right now, she doesn’t trust herself to speak past the raw emotions choking up her throat. “Do we think they’recrazycrazy? Or justmostlycrazy?”

Obie’s jaw tightens. “I want to see their evidence,” he says quietly, a thread of pain creeping into his voice. “And I want to know how long this has been happening. If all the neophytes we always thought we were saving ended up trafficked straight to the Sanctum’s prison…” He shakes his head. “If they’re right, if thisisa conspiracy, then it’s deep. Deeper than I even want to think about.”

Nausea licks up Roma’s throat. She swallows it down hard, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees and bury her head in her hands.

Naomi and Sawyer can’t be right. Theycan’tbe. They must have been fed some faulty information along the way, from Gregorio or Micah or the Chain itself. They must have drawn the wrong conclusions, followed the wrong evidence, gone down the wrong path‍?—

For a split second, Roma remembers life at the Sanctum before they defected. Remembers Sawyer’s raw skill and purebred confidence, remembers all the status and power she held as the top self-defense instructor. Remembers Naomi snapping at her heels, fighting tooth and nail for that same spot, working twice as hard because she was a mixed breed‍—and still achieving a level of recognition that most hunters could only dream about.

They were on top of the world back at the Sanctum. How could they have given that up if they weren’t certain?

“Roma?” When Roma looks up, dazed, it’s to see Ez and Obie staring down at her. Obie mostly looks wary, but Ez actually looks a little worried. “You good?”

“Not really,” Roma says honestly, relieved that her voice comes out firm instead of small and hoarse. Taking a deep breath, she sits up straight, ignoring how the Courtyard still feels like it’s spinning around her. “Obie, you mentioned that you know the spell to check the Deep. To see if it’s responsible for the epidemic. Does it require a second spellcaster? Or‍—or human magic?”

Obie casts his eyes towards the sky, grimacing. “I’m not positive. I knowofthe spell, but I’ve never cast it, and I don’t have it memorized. It might take me a few days to dig it out of my reference library.”

“The one in your house?” Ez asks, her eyebrows furrowing. “I can help you look.”

Obie shakes his head. “No, this is in one of my safe houses. One of the many that you don’t even know about.”

Ez whistles quietly. “Do you have the Library of Alexandria stashed away in there?”

“I wish. I was in South America during the Great Library’s heyday,” he says, and he glances back at Roma, a note of caution dropping into his voice. “If it does need human magic or a second spellcaster, though, would you be willing to help Ez? It’s a varsity-level spell, but it’s a proven one. The risk of death and dismemberment is minimal.”

Roma’s stomach churns. Checking the Deep to see if it’s repeatedly activating the spell that destabilized it? The spell that Bryant and Chester cast, the spell thatRomagave them to use?

She thought the odds were in her favor to cast a pre-WMSA spell directly above a magic reservoir, but apparently, that was just one more thing she’s been wrong about recently. Now, not only is the entire mega-rift epidemic her fault, but it’s a mistake thatnevershould’ve happened. Roma knew better than to muck around with pre-WMSA spells.

After all, Naomi always warned her to stay away from them.

“Gutierrez?” Ez prompts, shifting the slightest bit closer to her. “You still with us?”

Roma winces. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m with you,” she says, and she squares her shoulders. “And yes. Yes, I can help with the spell. Just, uh. Just let me know if you need me.”

“I’ll be in touch,” Obie says, and he turns to Ez. “You want to head back to Cass’s place with me? I feel like he and JJ might appreciate someone watching Desi for a while.”

The words jolt through Roma. Ez swears under her breath. “You’re probably right. JJ is going to be a wreck after all that.Meet you there? I just need to go over a few details with Gutierrez first.”

“Sounds good.”

“Take care of him,” Roma blurts out, and when Ez and Obie shoot her startled looks, she swallows hard. “JJ, I mean. Just‍—just please take care of him?”

After a long moment, Obie nods. “We will. And Cass always does.” He snaps his fingers, peeling open a rift. “See you soon, Ez.”

He vanishes in a whisper of purple-gold smoke, and Ez turns back to Roma, her eyebrows furrowed. “Hey,” she says, and to Roma’s surprise, she eases herself down on the bench seat next to her.“Areyou good? That was… a lot.”

Roma’s heart twists at the concern on Ez’s face. She tries to hide it behind a scoff, looking away. “Afraid your spellcasting buddy is going to fall apart on you?”

“Yes,” Ez says, and she ducks her head, trying to meet Roma’s eyes. “Roma. Seriously. You just found out that your sister abandoned you because the organization that brainwashed you might be working with your worst enemies.”

Roma chokes on a half-hysterical laugh. “Wow. And I thoughtSawyerwas the one with no tact.”

Ez’s lips twitch. “Still. Are you okay?”

A bell tolls in the clock tower nearby. Seven o’clock, Roma realizes. Less than an hour ago, she was getting ready to head back to the Sanctum, looking forward to eating dinner and collapsing into bed after a long day of closing mega-rifts with Ez.

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