“Thank you, Miss Satomi.” She paused, then continued. “My mother thinks about you every day.”

“As I her,” Shizuka said softly. There was a flash, and Shirley was gone.

For a long time afterward, it was silent.

“You played magnificently,” Shizuka finally said.

Katrina turned to her teacher.

“So, when do I die?”

Tremon Philippe was right. Give someone with nothing the slightest chance to shine, and she will gratefully trade her soul.

“Just to be clear, Shirley was correct. I have taught six students. Each desired fame, musical immortality, love, triumph. But each felt they lacked a certain quality or aptitude necessary to succeed. So they traded their souls for supernatural technique, charisma, luck. And so on. And so on.

“Each gained exactly what they asked for. No one was cheated; their contracts were honored to the letter. But when they died, each died alone. Each died broken. And each will suffer eternally.

“And yes, as the mode of transmission, each of them used a certain bow.”

“I understand,” Katrina said, her voice shaking only a little bit.

“Are you sure? You understand the terms of the deal?”

Katrina Nguyen nodded.

“So … your soul for … what will it be?”

“Miss Satomi?”

“We need to be clear on that part, as well. So fame? Immortality? Winning international competitions?”

Katrina was confused. She knew what it felt like to lack something. But for her, music had nothing to do with lacking anything.

Katrina was ecstatic with how much music she was learning. She had a hot bath in the evening and icy tangerine juice in the morning. The garden was beautiful; she had super fast Wi-Fi. Helping Astrid in the kitchen was amazing; her mother had never taught her how to cook. And one day, she might have aubergines …

Miss Satomi laughed. “Well, you don’t need to sign your soul away for aubergines.”

Had Miss Satomi read her mind?

“I don’t even want to play in a competition.”

“Then you don’t have to.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” her teacher said.

“But, Miss Satomi, if I want none of what you offer and you aren’t demanding my soul, then why?”

“Let’s keep practicing to find out. But not until tomorrow. This evening has already been eventful enough.”

Shizuka watched her student run upstairs. It had been quite an evening, hadn’t it? To protect her student, she would have destroyed Shirley Tran right then and there.

But she didn’t have to—because Katrina had played that way, just like that, without the projector, without any enhancement at all.

Incredible. The girl was becoming quite the musician, wasn’t she?

Yes, Shizuka would complete the contract and deliver her soul.

But now was not quite the time.

Later that night, Shizuka tuned her violin. She frowned, then started again.

“Am I disturbing you?” It was Astrid.

“Oh, no … not at all. She’s a little out of sorts.” Shizuka glanced to her Guarneri. “So, what’s on your mind?”