”Take it,” Kenzi pushed the photograph into her hand.

Lauren studied the photograph and remembered it as if it were a dream. She knew why she had smiled that day. Not because of the pleasure of having found a dusty book but because of the treasure she’d left behind. The lines within the book of poems she held in hand, so intimate and profound, conspired against her in that moment. The love she fought to ignore drummed steadily in her heart in spite of any resistance. Even in the midst of the frenzy of the Grand Bazaar, Bo had seeped into her skin through the words that leapt so effortlessly from the page: ”I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.” These were the words of Neruda; this was the song of her heart. There isn’t only courage within poetry; there is truth.

Lauren felt Kenzi staring at her. Her mouth formed into a half smile. ”Are you in?” she asked gently.

”Really, Lauren?” Kenzi mocked her. ”For a genius, you ask some pretty dumb questions.”

Singapore

After months in fleabag apartments, Tamsin insisted on an upgrade. Either Bo found them decent rooms in Singapore or Tamsin would quit, which was unlikely to happen, but still, an aggravated Valkyrie behaved very much like a Harpy: annoying, cruel, and prone to generally ugly behavior especially during mealtime. ”For the love of Minerva,” Dyson had begged, ”give her what she wants!” So Bo acquiesced and moved them into suites in one of Singapore’s highest towers, fifty-five floors above the marina with aerial views of tree-lined roads and the sparkling skyline of mirrors and chrome. They’d traveled throughout Asia for weeks and were only just starting to grow accustomed to the constant humidity and inferno of the tropics. They felt ridiculous in their leathers: the corset-grabbing vests, even the thigh-high boots Bo adored seemed superfluous. She, like her traveling party, had transitioned to more native-friendly outfits, opting for light, loose fitting fabrics and the pajama-style pants that made it possible for them to avoid wilting everywhere they went.