“Shh, my darling.” Grace brushed her fingers across Leanne’s forehead, pushing her hair back. When her fingers touched Leanne’s skin, the fear and horror bled away, vanishing, as though it had been pulled out of her. In its place, a calm descended. The memories began to fade, losing impact, like a nightmare seeping away in the hours after waking. Jayne, disappeared into the forest. Paul, called out of his seat. Henry, stepping out of bed and approaching the open bedroom door. As that final memory began to fade, a part of Leanne wanted to let it go. It was painful, and releasing it would be a relief.

But she didn’t. She held on to the image, clutching it tightly, not letting it be pulled away from her for a second time. It hurt to keep it, but that pain was what she needed.

The thrall broke. The comfort that had descended over her fled, replaced by the fear and cold once again. She stepped back, yanking her hand out of Grace’s. “You killed them.”

The blue eyes widened. “Sweetheart—”

“You don’t know my name, do you?” It had always been sweetheart, or darling, or any one of a dozen other doting titles. That was all any of them had been called. “You went through so many children that you don’t remember any of their names.”

Grace still held the candle, and the flame shimmered as her hands trembled. “You were so much nicer as a child.”

“What is this place?” Leanne took another step back. The wall of children parted, moving away so that she would not bump into any of them, but their eyes didn’t leave her. She had never been able to find out much about Bellamy online. At the time, Leanne had believed the asylum had been too small for many people to remember it. Now, she suspected otherwise. “Was this even a real institute? There were never any inspections. Never any families visiting. Did anyone know about Bellamy except the people who lived here?”

“No.” Her tiny smile showed white teeth. “Our home was a secret. We were safe here, where we could not be disturbed.”

“Where did the children come from?”

“I called.” Grace’s eyes glimmered in the soft light. “I called out to lost and lonely children, and you came. Walking through the forest. Arriving at the front gate, where I could take you in and protect you until you were ready to step over.”

Leanne blinked. She tried to remember a time before Bellamy. Where had she lived? What had her family been like? She had always believed she and Henry were orphans, but was that even the truth? She remembered being new at Bellamy. She remembered crying on her first night. Being found by Grace. Having her hair stroked. Feeling calmer. But nothing before.