"I was wondering what kind of girl could have botched up a rescue attempt so badly. Now that I know it was you all along, everything makes sense."
"Go away."
Rome runs his nose down the side of my face, smiling at the way I shiver. "After all thes...
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IT ISN'T UNTIL A WEEK LATER THAT ROME NOTICES HIS LACK OF SILVERWARE. And it's not him that realizes it at all. His little sister, Ava, is the first one who asks the question. "Where did the spoons go? The one you got from Great-Aunt Bella?"
"Second drawer to the right," He calls.
Rome lies with his back to his sofa, aimlessly scrolling through his social media feed. Photos of people posing in front of landmarks and fancy cars beam up at him. His follower count goes into the millions, but he doesn't post anything anymore. Nothing in his life inspires anything that would be enough to brag about online.
Ava moves around the kitchen, heels click against the tiles, and opens the drawer.
"They're not here."
Rome reaches for the silver spoons with his invisible hands. But where the utensils usually lie, there's only an empty space. Without lifting his head off the couch, he shuffles through the rest of the silverware. Metal clinks and jingles sound from the kitchen. Nothing else is missing.
Rome turns off his phone. "Where are they?"
"Like I previously said, they're gone," Ava crosses her arms as Rome enters the kitchen. "Maybe you should ask your mate. It's clear that she has no concept of elite protocols. She probably used them to eat cereal and put them in the wrong spot without thinking."
"Winifred has a startlingly strong memory. She wouldn't make such a mistake," Rome opens the drawers, hands in his pockets. Giving each a quick skim, he closes them. "Besides, they haven't been moved. They're gone."
"So she's stolen them. They're probably worth more than her apartment," Ava picks at her nails, voice bored. That's the trick about Ava. The more casual she tries to act, the more engrossed in the conversation she actually is.
"Be nice," Rome admonishes. He scans the glass cabinets next, though he isn't expecting them to pop up anywhere. "She and her aunt have worked for our family for years now and they have never stolen anything."
Ava sniffs. "You wouldn't say that if you saw her. She walked around her with slouched shoulders and narrow eyes, like she was cataloging the price to everything."
He pauses. "When did you see Winifred in this apartment?"
"Like two weeks ago," Ava shrugs and flips her hair so her silver-gold locks curl down her shoulders. "Stumbling around like a peasant who found her way into a dragon's treasury."
Rome feels a sliver of fury ride up the edge of his spine. At the emotion, the powers inside of him threaten to burst. Unnoticed by Ava, all the appliances begin to rattle.
Rome inhales deeply. His powers threaten to grow worse with every emotion that grows loose. The meditation rituals from the monks he met two months ago, however, help. On his third breath, he manages to get everything in control.
