Page 79 of Find My Way Down to You

From corner to corner, curious eyes are drawn to a beautiful girl with ivory hair and fair green skin. A collection of white leaves makes up her mask. Her iridescent dress shimmers.

“Leu,” Henri says, awed.

“Is she a Deathless?”

“No. But Milos is fond of her.” He grimaces. “Never tell Aminta I said that.”

I nod, reminding myself to find her.

“Though Milos might have a new favorite.” Henri’s wicked smirk is pointed at me. I duck my head. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

He laughs. “Do you like him?”

I don’tknowhim, I want to say. That would shatter the illusion of why I’m here. I trust Henri. More than anyone else in this room. But is that enough to share my secret with him?

A server pauses in front of us. Henri grins, swiping two flutes from his tray. When I look closer, I recognize the boy. From outside the elevator my first time here. That same white shimmer surrounds him, but it’s not the lighting this time.

It’shim. He’s glowing.

With a bow, the server scurries away.

“He’s a—” I start.

“Soul,” Henri fills in. He gestures around. “They all are.”

My eyes dart around. Despite their burgundy uniforms, every server illuminates like the sun reflecting off Santa Ynez’s snowcapped peaks. There’s at least two dozen of them.

Henri reads the confusion on my face. After a sip, he says, “Souls arrive here constantly. Sometimes hundreds in a blink of the eye. It’s a chore to keep track of them. Milos does his best. And Aminta helps.”

The tablet, my brain screams.

I grip the drink Henri hands me, mouth dry.

Frowning, he notes, “Not every soullikestheir next destination.”

I think back to Leila, the woman in the throne room. Clothes stained in blood. Her cries, begging.

My gaze follows a server carrying a tray of glazed tarts. “So how do they end up here? Like this?”

“Occasionally,” Henri says in a lowered voice, “Milos bargains with them. They work in Aides. Help maintain everything. It’s like a fresh start.”

In a shadowed corner, a soul cleans up a mess made by rowdy guests. Light brown hair falls over his shimmery face. My pulse spikes. For a brief second, I think it’s London. When his chin lifts, I see that it’s not.

I bite the inside of my cheek and push the disappointment away.

Henri sips from his flute. “Eventually, they’re brought before Milos again. For a reevaluation. He sends them to the Meadows. Or Elysium. Or they stay here—”

His eyes stray to another corner, where Aminta watches the room closely.

“—and become part of us,” he finishes.

“You mean, Leu? And Aminta? They were…”

He nods slowly. “More than just them.”

I almost choke on my next breath. Aminta was a soul. She wasmortalonce, like me.