Page 128 of Find My Way Down to You

It’s Aminta.

We don’t take the elevator. Instead, she leads me through a bronze door hidden at the back of the room. The winding halls are lined with burgundy wallpaper. Filigreed damask patterns shimmer under elaborately crafted lanterns. Cinnamon and smoke scent the air.

Aminta’s silent as we walk. My eyes dance to the tablet by her side. On instinct, my hand wants to snatch it. Run away with it. Find London on my own.

But do I still need the tablet?

Descendant of the Deathless of life.

Milos’s voice echoes in my head. I’m still unsure what power I have. If I have any.

The hall changes again. “Where are we?”

Aminta ignores me, her steps quickening. Soon enough, we’re cast in an amber haze outside a pair of doors I recognize. It’s the room where I put on my suit for the ball.

Where Cary danced with me.

You will lose more than you think.

His words stick to me like honey. I don’t trust Milos. At least, not completely. But he hasn’t kept any secrets from me. Not the way Cary has.

Aminta unlocks the crimson doors with her tablet, then turns to leave. “Aminta, wait,” I blurt.

Her ivy eyes narrow like she can’t believe I said her name.

“You used to be a soul, right?” I ask.

She doesn’t answer.

“And you made a deal with Milos.”

Again, she’s quiet. Her arms fold protectively around the tablet, pulling it to her chest. She’s hard to read. There’s obvious irritation pinching her features. But her cheeks suck in as she thinks.

I hold her gaze. “You know who I am, don’t you?”

Slowly, she nods.

“Can I trust Milos? Will he give me what I want?”

Something familiar flares across her face, small but noticeable. She was human once. I wonder who she left behind after dying. Are any of her loved ones here now? Have they faced Milos yet?

Would he bargain with them like he did with her?

“Tell me what to do.”

Please, I say with my eyes.

Aminta examines me. I stare back, open and honest. Finally, she steps aside, motioning toward the room.

“Wait here.”

I walk inside. “Will you help me?”

“No.”

It comes out so fast, so final, I stumble. “N-no?”

Her teeth clench. “Why would I ever help you?”