"I don't know." I tapped the stoppered containers. "We need these for the induction ritual. I'm guessing the amulet is part of it as well, but Dr. Gelman didn't tell me why." I held the disc up to the light, twisting it in between my finger and thumb. "She seemed very concerned that no one see me take it from her."
He held out his hand and I dropped the amulet in his palm. "I've never seen anything like it. Do you want me to research it? Discreetly?"
"No!"
Rohan handed it back. "O-kay."
I gripped his sleeve. "I am trusting you with my life by telling you this."
His expression hardened. "Meaning?"
"Meaning if the Brotherhood finds out that I've discovered a way to induct a Rasha that they haven't sanctioned, they'll kill me and Ari."
Rohan spun off the bed, cursing. I sat there, plucking at a loose thread in my skirt until he ran out of steam.
"You can't tell anyone," I said.
"Fuck, Nava." He punched the wall and I flinched. "I think that goes without saying." He rubbed the side of his hand over his forehead. "That's who you were with, wasn't it?"
I nodded, gathering everything up and placing it all in the tiny safe in my closet.
"Is Ari worth it?" he asked.
"Yes," I said, but my hands shook as I locked the safe up.
Rohan turned me into his arms. I tensed again. "I didn't spend the night with her," he said.
"Who?" I asked.
"Anyone."
I lay my cheek against his chest, relaxing into his embrace. Needing this comfort like a balm. "Stick it in whoever you want, Snowflake."
"Your permission is duly noted. For the record, I watched a Breaking Bad marathon. Heisenberg is either way scarier or not at all in Czech."
"I know. I couldn't decide either."
His heart beat in time with mine. "The other night … " he began.
I inhaled, letting his presence envelop me on every level. "No point rehashing it."
Rohan tipped my chin up so that I had to meet his eyes. "No more knives. I promise." His voice held a quiet sincerity that led me to believe him. Besides, the faster this was all put behind us, the faster we could continue as I meant us to go on. Fuck buddies and fighters.
"We're good. Drio told me why you had to get drunk." The way he searched my face had me wondering if he was worried that Drio had told me too much.
He slid his hands down my arms, stepping away. "Come on."
"Where?"
He grinned. "Do you trust me?"
"Situationally."
He held out his hand. "Good enough."
19
Rohan pulled a navy knit cap over his hair, slid on a pair of shades and buttoned up his long, wool coat.
"Incognito-level achieved?" I slid on my own heart-shaped sunglasses, keeping my expression bland.
"If I'm lucky." Rohan saw the glasses and mimed having a heart attack. I giggled. He jerked his head to the road running left from the hotel. "This way."
"For someone who hates fame so much, you're not an asshole to fans."
"The other night notwithstanding," he said with a wry twist of his mouth. "My mom made sure I understood what a gift of time, love, and money fans gave me. But this is about you. You've been dealing with a lot and you need a break. Luckily you're in the perfect city, with the perfect tour guide."
"Luckily."
Rohan's disguise worked because we weren't given a second look as we crossed the street into the middle of the rectangular plaza. "Wenceslas Square," he said.
"Of Christmas carol fame."
"Of revolution fame." He pointed up to the top of the square. "Imagine this entire space filled with Communist tanks. That's what happened in the late 60s."
I shivered, imagining row upon row of Soviet tanks looming large under a gray sky. The image faded, replaced with the reality of food trucks and art deco hotels. I cocked my head, taking in the most majestic building. "That hotel is probably a hundred, hundred and fifty years old. Vancouver pre-dates it by a bit. But we don't have anywhere near the sense of history that infuses Europe." I loved the idea of being deeply rooted in something.
He let me admire it for another couple of minutes before cheekily saying, "Stay with the group," and walking off. He led me down to the river and these two weird modern buildings that stuck out amidst the surrounding architecture. The one on the right was a round cylinder with rectangular windows all the way around. The building narrowed at the bottom, a single pole protruding from the bottom like a leg.