The door to Valentin's room is not fully closed, and the smoke reaches you first. You push it open to find the three of them — Peregrine stretched on the bed, Sylvester against the far wall, and Valentin in the chair by the black window, a cigarette burning down between his fingers. He has been waiting for you; you can tell by the way he does not look up right away.
You only came to say you were going out. Before the words are out, his eyes travel from your face down the dress and back, slow enough to be deliberate.
"You're not going anywhere in that outfit."
He says it to the room, not to you, and the other two go quiet the way a room goes quiet when a door latches.
He stands, and the space between you and the door is suddenly his. Peregrine is smiling into his glass. Sylvester is not smiling at all.
"Sit down,"
Valentin says, and it is not a question.
"Tell me where you think you're going. Then tell me who's waiting. And then we'll see how far you get."