There was a creaking on the stairs. Belle’s breath fluttered, the sob stopped up inside her like a bottle stopped up by a cork. Her gaze flicked to the turning doorknob. Edwin was supposed to be at the store, gathering ingredients for a celebratory dinner. If he caught her in his daughter’s old bedroom, she didn’t know how he would react.

She braced herself for the worst.

Then a girl stepped into the room, and Belle rose to her feet, stumbling forward. Lily met her in the center of the attic. Strong arms encircled her, and Lily’s breath was warm on her cheek.

They held each other tightly and didn’t speak.

Slowly, they pulled apart, and Lily looked down at her hands. “I know you’ve heard everything by now. That I stole the flowers from your garden. That I brought them to Raven’s house. If you hate me, I would under—”

“I could never hate you,” Belle said. Without a word, she led Lily back to the stairs, and they descended together, following the hallway to Belle’s room.

Lily sat down on the bed. Meanwhile, Belle began pulling clothes out of her drawers, piling them on the floor. Soon, the pile was up to her knees, and she strode to her closet, removing a suitcase from the highest shelf.

“What—” Lily began, but Belle cut her off.

“You’re free of the facility,” she said, folding a black lace dress and setting it lovingly in the suitcase. In spite of everything, she appreciated what Edwin had given her. A wardrobe worthy of a princess. A bedroom fit for a queen. And a house that had felt like a castle in a fairy tale, until she’d realized how easy it was to be trapped inside those walls. Beautiful doorways held no value when you couldn’t walk through them.

“Raven’s free too, because with Evelyn gone, he and his dad can actually be happy. So can Jack, since Jack and Raven have always looked after each other. Even before I came along,” Belle added with a sad smile, because maybe, deep down, she’d known their story would end without her. She’d never really belonged with them, like she’d never really belonged in this house.

But she belonged with Lily.

“I can’t stay here anymore,” she pushed out in a rush, piling clothes into the suitcase. “I’m not going to disappear on Edwin. I would never do that. But as long as I’m here, he’s going to do everything he can to keep me safe, and I don’t want you to have to sneak over in the middle of the night. I don’t want to sneak out—”

“You want me to sneak over?”