Aloe was staring at her like he was waiting for her to say something that would stitch it all back together. Bitter felt beyond empty. The space between them was a canyon crammed into a hallway. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out, because there was nothing she could say that would make Aloe feel better and also be true. He hadn’t been a priority in the last few hours, and he wouldn’t understand why, because he didn’t understand what her life had suddenly been warped into.
“Everything okay out here?” Miss Bilphena had joined them in the hallway, her voice low but firm. “You two were getting a little loud.”
Bitter and Aloe both looked down at their feet, rolls of sullen energy pouring off them, but they didn’t say anything. Miss Bilphena looked them over for a moment. Then her face gentled. “It’s been a very long day,” she said. “Do you have any idea how late it is?”
Bitter was clueless. It felt like time had muddled itself into a dark, soupy stretch of heartbreak and terror.
Miss Bilphena shook her head. “You both need to get some sleep. Be gentle with yourselves and your bodies.”
“How can we sleep when there are angels out there?” Aloe asked, his hands tightening into fists. “As if everything’s okay and nothing’s happening!”
Miss Bilphena went up to him and took one of his clenched hands in hers. “Breathe, Aloe.” He inhaled shakily, and his fingers uncurled as he exhaled. “In order to fight, we must know when to rest,” she continued. “Even getting a few hours of sleep makes a huge difference. We’ll gather again in the morning and discuss next steps, don’t worry. I’m going to call more of the Elders in, and we’ll see what can be done.”
“What if they kill someone tonight?” Bitter asked, her fingers twisting together. She could see Vengeance’s mouth stretching open like a nightmare, coated in her own blood. “Shouldn’t we be stopping them instead of resting?”
Miss Bilphena sighed. “There is nothing more we can do tonight, baby. We don’t have enough information. I know it’s hard, but for now, it is out of our hands.” She waited for Bitter to nod, then turned back to Aloe. “Take her upstairs to the tangerine room.”
Bitter wasn’t sure about spending the night in the Assata safe house. She wanted her room, her paintings surrounding her like a siege wall. “Wouldn’t we be better protected at Eucalyptus?” she asked. “No offense, Miss Bilphena.”
The older woman laughed. “Not at all. I know you used to the walls of your school, but rest assured, our safe house is impenetrable, baby girl. We have more to protect within these walls than Eucalyptus does. Those who are out hunting now know only too well what it is like to be hunted.”
“Impenetrable?” It was a bold claim, as far as Bitter was concerned. Eucalyptus was safe because it wasn’t considered a threat, so how could Assata assure that they were just as safe?
Miss Bilphena winked. “We have our secrets. Some tech, some spirit work, and no one can find or touch us.”
Bitter frowned. “You joking,” she complained.
“No, she’s talking about Sunflower,” Aloe said. “She’s been in charge of their security for decades.”
“Oh, she’s an Elder?”
Both Aloe and Miss Bilphena made the same face, their noses scrunching up. “Sunflower doesn’t work within time like the rest of us,” Miss Bilphena said delicately. “Think of her as … ageless.”
“Eddie once told me to think of her as a cyborg,” Aloe said, a small smile on his face. “Like she’s a person, a spirit, and tech all fused together. No one knows how she works, but she works. Keeps the safe house masked at all times, on all fronts.”
Bitter side-eyed him. “The tech part I does understand, but … spirit work? Come on, nuh.”
Miss Bilphena raised an eyebrow. “Coming from the girl who called an angel out of a painting?”
Bitter flushed.
“Exactly.” Miss Bilphena’s voice slid into the cadence of a teacher, clearly a role she’d spent most of her life in. “We’ve known that the other realms are real for a long time. We’ve called on them for centuries, for millennia, since and before our ancestors were taken over the deep water. We can ask spirit for shielding and protection, and in this case, to keep the safe house unseen in the eyes of Lucille. Sunflower has been masking the house for more years than even I know. Trust me, child, it cannot be breached.”
“Except by angels,” Aloe pointed out.
Miss Bilphena laughed. “Well, they are a clear exception. A shocking one, obviously. We’ve never had the other side reach over so blatantly, but it makes sense.” She flapped her hands at them. “That’s enough talk. Off to bed with both of you—rest your angry little tongues.”
Bitter watched as she sailed back into the den, then glanced over at Aloe. “You still vex?” she asked.
He sighed and shook his head. “Yes and no. It’s just—it’s been a really bad day.”
Bitter worked up her nerve to reach out and pull him into a warm hug. Aloe was always the one doing the comforting—it hadn’t really occurred to her that maybe he just needed what he always gave so freely. “I real sorry my communication was shit today,” she said as he slowly wrapped his arms around her. “It will make more sense after you see the angels. Just know I never meant to hurt you or leave you out, okay?”
He pressed his lips to her head, and Bitter felt the knots in her heart ease up a little. “I’m sorry I was lashing out at you,” he whispered. “I didn’t realize how much it stung not being a full part of Assata until you got involved in it, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I’m so glad you’re safe. Me, I can’t imagine what I’d do if something happened to you.”
Bitter squeezed him tightly. “Same,” she said. He was whole under her hands, and they were together and safe for now. The day could have gone very differently. “How’s Eddie?” she asked.
“Not talking much. She wasn’t even here when I arrived. Turns out she decided to go to the vigil instead of resting. I had to patch up a few of the others while waiting for her to come back.”
Bitter leaned her cheek against his shoulder. “Blessing took me to the vigil. I was shocked that Eddie was up and about.”
“Yeah, she definitely should have been in bed. But she said she wanted to show up for Chijioke, and she wanted to remind people what had been done to her while it was still fresh, you know? Sounds brutal, but she said it was—what’s the word she used? Effective.”
Bitter winced. “She shouldn’t have had to do that.” She could still see of Eddie up on that dais, her face swollen past recognition.
“There are a lot of things we shouldn’t have to do,” Aloe said, and his voice sounded sad. “That’s why half of Assata is out hunting with the angels. They’re doing what none of us should have to do.”
Bitter didn’t want to argue. They could both agree that the world wasn’t supposed to be like this. For tonight, that had to be enough.
“Come on,” Aloe said, guiding her upstairs. The walls of the staircase were lined with handmade quilts, carefully stitched words and pictures. Bitter trailed her fingers across them lightly. “These are beautiful,” she said.