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"I think I ht be familiar to them," I say "I used to clean the temple trees, where they loved to roost But the temple trees have no leaves anymore They’ve all fallen"

"They have?" Fen asks "What else has changed?" I hear ho," I say And then I realize we didn’t even have time to tell Fen and Bay about the deepmarket "The deepmarket drowned," I say "There was a breach"

"No," Fen says, sounding horrified "How many died?"

"Hundreds of people," I say "And the bats were starting to die, too" I take a deep breath I think the bats are calht?" Fen asks "How are you going to get around Nevio? What are you going to say?"

"I don’t know"

"You have to think of soitated "This is Bay’s life you’re asking for And True’s"

"Did Bay tell you? What I am?"

"She said that you had a secret," Fen says, "and that it was yours to tell But I think I’ve figured it out"

He’s sht her eye, why he has a hold on her heart

"You’re a siren," he says very quietly

"Yes," I say

And then Fen leans forward, coughing again, this ti to hear us He has to stop I take e and put it on Fen’s back Soon he’s quiet and his breathing settles

"I’ll wear the mask from now on," he says "I pro when I have it on"

"I understand perfectly," I say

He looks at uess you do"

He pulls the mask over his face and we settle back inside the closet to wait, closing the door

"I heard there was another civilization that lasted as long as we have," Fen says after a while, softly "They separated their people, too, around the same time we had the Divide Some stayed on land, and the others went into the sky Maybe those people are up there, watching us now Maybe they’re waiting for this to all play out, and then they’ll come down and take what’s left"

"People up in the sky? That sounds like the gods"

"I don’t believe in the gods"

"Bay does"

"I know," he says "Do you?"

"I don’t know," I say

Then we hear soe room