“I’m not,” Kleo said, though her eyes were worried. “I can’t risk getting my family in trouble. I’ll help you as long as you make sure Lyric doesn’t find out who you really are and you leave first thing in the morning. Do we have a deal?”

The morning. That left only a few short hours in which to figure out how to steal—gather, really—the Love Knot Tine. It wasn’t enough time!

“Actually,” Claire said slowly, “I need to stay here just a little bit longer. I need to …” But she stopped talking, as Kleo shook her head.

“No,” Kleo said. “You can’t. It’s not just about me—it’s also about you. It’s too dangerous for you to be in Needle Pointe. All these shoes and ribbons and dresses, they look pretty, but they can be downright dangerous. If you’re not a Spinner, you could get hurt. Badly.” She pointed at the red cowboy boots. “Do you know what those are?”

Claire glanced down. “Boots?”

“They’re Seven League Boots. Take a single step with them, and you’ll suddenly find yourself seven leagues away from where you started.”

Claire stared at them with new interest. “What’s so bad about that?”

“Do you know how many buildings and trees are between here and seven leagues? If you’re not careful, you could splatter into a wall. There are Method Mules in here that if you slip them on, they can turn you into the previous owner—they’re popular for actors getting into character, and sometimes they never come off. And it’s not just shoes.” Kleo waved her arms. “There’s an entire closet here named the War-Drobe, filled with dresses that if you put them on, they will set you on fire, and feathered boas that take after the snake they were named for. A trained Spinner can recognize what is a crafted object and what is just a usual set of underwear, but if you’re not trained—and not a Spinner—then everything here is dangerous. So—do we have a deal?”

Her mouth dry, Claire nodded.

Kleo sighed and glanced around. “Now. Where to put you?” She tapped her feathered quill nervously against her lips. “How are you with a needle and thread?”

“I can make friendship bracelets?”

“I don’t know what those are,” Kleo said with a shake of her head that sent her inky-black hair bouncing. “What else can you do?”

Claire could do lots of things. She could make gems glow and clay explode and unicorns come out of rocks, but she didn’t think that was going to help her case with Kleo.

“I can draw,” Claire offered.

Kleo brightened. “Great! You can work on some traveling backdrops that we’ll need once Queen Estelle is in court. Most Spinners prefer to be in the spotlight, not painting backgrounds. So they’ll hardly notice you.”