We moved to the front of the building. The guards dragged out one of the round tables and arranged chairs, with Arwen sitting on one side and the rest of the party on the other. The two bodyguards stood next to their boss. They glowered at us to overcompensate for being ambushed. My eyes drifted away from them to the wooden partition and the children peeking through its cracks.

"How many orphans do you keep here?"

"Orphans? No, these children have parents.”

"Where are they?"

"Working. In the Dellends, both parents work to feed their families… and you’re lucky to have two parents."

“In the capital, the children would be working too.”

"Yeah, used to be like that here, but we're trying something new."

Arwen gestured to the girl who let us into the building. She stepped forward carrying a tray of tea and biscuits.

"This experiment. What is it?" Castille asked.

Arwen nodded thanks to the girl before taking his steaming hot cup. The smell of peppermint overpowered the lingering odour of charcoal.

"It’s simple, really. You pool all the kids together and create one location to take care of them while their parents work. A place where they can learn, socialize and have fun."

"Is she having fun?" I asked, gesturing to the girl serving us tea. I waved her away when she stepped closer to offer me a cup.

"The older kids are taking care of the younger ones for now. If this works out, we'll scrape enough money together to pay some of the adults to help out."

"That’s amazing," Isla said, taking her cup of tea.

Dugan nodded in agreement.

The more Arwen talked, the less I knew what to make of him. There had to be some kind of catch—an angle that I was missing.

He pursed his lips together.

“Mmhmm. So, miss… about the curse…."

“Oh, right! I almost forget.”

Isla shot up from her chair, pulling the pouch of rocks off her belt and spilling the contents on the table. Among the round stones were a few with irregular shapes. Golden and copper growths bulged out of their rocky surfaces like tumours. Isla picked one of them up.

“This happened within minutes of standing beside the orb in the Lagos estate’s hall."

She passed it to Arwen, who picked it up between his thumb and index finger.

"I've gone to the Lagos brothers’ parties for years and never seen anything like this. What changed?"

"More souls," I said.

Dugan's right hand tightened around the handle of his cup.

"What do you mean more souls?" Arwen asked.

Isla looked up, pressing her index finger on her cheek.

"How do I explain this? OK! Here’s my hypothesis. When we die, our quintessence is absorbed into the land and is infused with the character of the land. I believe the orb reverses that phenomenon. It takes our quintessence and harnesses it to make the land more like the orb. The more quintessence it absorbs, the stronger and larger the effect."

"Then there must be dozens of these orbs!”

Isla shook her head.

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"Most likely the one in the hall is an early version of the one affecting the entire region."

"What makes you say that?"

"Two things. One. The curse started under the Mountains outside Steeltown. Two. Quintessence is only the conduit for the transformation—the thing that greases the wheels. The orb is powered by the will of those around it. Therefore, whoever is powering the orb has to stay close to it."

She paused for a moment, speechless.

"The amount of will required to power a fully working version of the orb is… monstrous."

I swallowed.

Nostrand Del, what kind of beast are you?

Arwen rolled the deformed rock between his fingers, shaking his head.

"We've lost people: sons, daughters… parents. I lost my sister. All because of this damn curse!"

He threw the rock down on the table; it bounced and skittered against the other rocks before coming to a stop.

Castille lifted her cup, narrowly missing an incoming stone.

"We need access to Brimspoke Mountains. We can destroy the orb and the person who powers it. Will you help us?"

Arwen rubbed away the tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"We didn't want to become miners—didn’t want to defile the resting place of our parents and grandparents. But now, it’s all we have. What will happen to us if you break the curse? What will we be left with?"

Isla perked up, raising a finger to answer the question.

"Well, nothing will change at first, but the nobles will be able to bond with the land. It will be a slow process, but they should be able to remove the lead and arsenic from the earth.”

"All the benefits of the curse and none of the downsides," Castille said.

Arwen furrowed his brows.

"Hmm. I'll need to talk to the Council."

"The Council?" Castille asked.

"The mining crews elected me to be their leader, but we need to vote for a decision like this."

"How long will that take?" I asked.

"By the end of the day. I'll hold an emergency meeting after the crews get off work."

I raised my hand, mirroring Isla.

"Sorry, I need to talk with the rest of my team for a second."

We stepped away from the table and huddled near the entrance. I took one last look at Arwen and lowered my voice.

“We can still take him. He only has two guards.”

“What?!” Isla whispered.

“Not gonna happen,” Castille said.

"I gave Van Lagos my word. Do we really want to double-cross the Lagos brothers?"

"Jacob. We were always going to double-cross the Lagos brothers.”

She smirked.

“Why do you care so much? Is there something going on between you two?”

“What?!”

She shrugged.

“You’re just awfully friendly with each other.”

I frowned.

If we broke the curse, the Vangraves would return to power and, with it, law and order. The Lagos brothers would be fugitives once again, with no place to call home. Finnick was right about me. I betrayed Kirk, the mansion staff… Cynthia… and the Lagos brothers were next. This is who I am. Why did it leave a bitter taste in my mouth? I was supposed to be past caring about other people. I was a weapon, and everyone else was either a victim or a tool. That’s why I needed Van Lagos.

He was a useful tool that knew about the fire that didn’t burn.

"Dugan, back me up here. Van has been nothing but nice to us. He’s more useful than Arwen."

He looked at me and shook his head.

"Wwwe came here to do a job. This is bigger than how we feel about Van Lagos."

“By the spirits, are you two in love with the man?” Castille asked.

“He’s a hard man to hate,” Dugan said.

Castille's eyes sparkled.

“Oh, it’s like that, is it? I’m sorry for hogging all his attention.”

I sighed.

Why are they like this?

I glanced at Isla. She was against working with the Dahlgeshi from the start. It was three-on-one, and I couldn't do this quest by myself. Maybe there was a way through this—a way to play both sides.

"Fine. I'll work with Arwen, but I won't be happy about it."

Castille smiled and punched my shoulder.

"I knew you would see sense."

We walked back to the table as Arwen finished talking to his bodyguards.

"So, are we all in agreement?" Castille asked.

Arwen returned the question with a curt nod.

"I'll leave at once. Eric will send word on the Council’s decision."

"That won't work," I said.

"Why not?"

"The Lagos brothers could have eyes on this building. They expect us to leave with you bound and gagged."

Arwen frowned.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"We kidnap you."