The reverie exuded Victorian elegance, but in a way that looked costumed to Kane, like dress-up.

Beside Kane was a young girl with chubby cheeks and large teeth. She was dressed in a satin gown the color of red roses and had on a hat piled with fake birds. She looked into the garden. Her eyes were brown, full of a dreamy hunger. She was real, and unless the reverie had drastically transformed one of the Others, Kane was sitting next to Helena herself.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?”

Kane followed her gaze to a massive gazebo. Before it sat rows and rows of white chairs. Ivory ribbons trailed in the breeze and petals littered the ground. Helena was staring at a particular couple who Kane assumed had just been married, for the man wore a gorgeous black tuxedo and the woman was swathed in such an intense amount of tulle that to assume she was anything other than a bride would be absurd. As the bride turned, sunlight caught in the coronet of orange blossoms woven into her crimson ringlets, illuminating a wide and pale face.

Kane nearly scoffed. The guise was brilliant. The only unfinished bit of the costume was Ursula herself, who steamed with discomfort in her huge dress.

Kane couldn’t help it. He laughed.

As soon he did, he knew it was a mistake. His throat closed, like he’d inhaled sharp smoke. He wheezed and gasped until the constriction melted away. This reverie wanted him silent.

Helena rubbed his back. “Oh Willard, you mustn’t strain yourself. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t be talking on and on like this, as though you care at all. But, I must confess that your silence is a relief.” She leaned in close, champagne and strawberries on her breath. “I have a secret for you, Cousin Willard. There is a very important man here. A Mister Johan Belanger, who everyone believes will propose to Katherine Duval tonight.”

Kane wished he could push her away. Gradually, his body was awakening to his own control, and as it did he found that his hands stung with something cold.

The whistle! It was still nestled in his palms. Focusing on it brought a deluge of sensation back to Kane’s body.

Helena went on. “And I know everyone gossips about my rivalry with Katherine Duval, but the truth is I know her better than anyone else. She truly believes that Johan loves her, and it makes her weak. She is distracted by this lie, as is everyone, but not me. Which is why I shall prevail.”

She leaned closer to Kane, eyes darkening with determination. She placed her hands upon his.

“What’s this you’ve got here, Cousin Willard?” She pried open his fingers.

No!

“Come on, let me see. Is it a toy? What’s gotten into you?”

She got one hand open, then the other.

“Sister!”