I wanted to ask more, but I knew this would only get harder the longer I waited. “All right,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

Shireen nodded and extended her hand. I took it, feeling the touch of her skin—

* * *

Iwas back in the girls’ room in Richard’s mansion, but something was different. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but somehow I knew that this memory was from the end of my time in Richard’s mansion, after I’d tried to rescue Catherine but before I’d escaped.

The mission to America had changed things for the four of us. In our first year we’d competed, but there had always been a vague sense that even if we might not like each other we were still on the same team. After the fight in the canyon things were different. Tobruk had always been dangerous, but killing Matthew had made him worse; it was as if there wasn’t anything holding him back anymore. Shireen was on edge, angrier. I hadn’t realised it at the time, but the same things that had gotten to me must have been bothering her too. Only Rachel had stayed the same. Right now she was sitting on the bed with her back against the wall, reading. It was daytime and light was streaming in through the open windows.

Shireen was in an armchair, her elbow on one of the armrests and her head propped up on her hand. She was studying an old clothbound book and frowning, and as I watched the frown kept getting deeper. “This is really messed up,” she said at last.

Rachel didn’t answer. “Rach?” Shireen said. “Have you read this?”

“Hmm?” Rachel said without looking up.

“Listen to this,” Shireen said. “It’s a study about mages who Harvested someone. Are you listening?”

“Uh-huh.”

“‘Mages in Category A appeared to complete the ritual successfully with no significant side effects. Mages in Category B displayed symptoms of mild psychological consequences. Mages in Category C displayed symptoms of moderate to severe psychological consequences. Mages in Category D were unavailable for study for reasons including: (a) subject location unknown, (b) subject unwilling to participate in study, (c) subject deceased in subsequent altercation before sufficient data could be obtained. It has been suggested that a significant fraction of mages who should have been assigned to Categories B and C may have been incorrectly assigned to Category A due to lack of relevant data . . .’” Shireen looked up. “Rach? Are you listening?”

“Yes.” Rachel looked up. “What?”

“This is important.”

“No, it’s not,” Rachel said. “We’re supposed to be learning how to do this, not what’s happened to other people.”

“Isn’t some of this stuff worrying you?” Shireen said. “‘Psychological consequences’?”

“That’s only if you do it wrong.”