I nod slowly. Kate’s right. Claus will think we’re doing exactly as he’s asking, but secretly someone will be with me.

“Who wants to be my backup?” I ask.

“We are not doing this.” Lucas shoves back his chair. “We’re not sacrificing anyone!”

He throws his napkin onto the table and storms off toward the doors to the courtyard. All three of us watch as he disappears outside.

“I’ll go after him.” I push back my chair too, squeeze between two tables, and follow him outside.

In spite of everything, the beauty of the Riverside still hits me.

The courtyard garden is huge and enclosed within the walls of the hotel. There are a few large trees out there, with strings of lights that give off a warm yellow glow.

In the middle of the courtyard is a fire pit, and pairs of diners are dotted around it.

I spot Lucas in a sheltered spot, close to the fire. When I go sit beside him, I can feel its heat. The wood is crackling and I hold out my hands to warm them.

“What’s up?” I ask quietly.

“I don’t want this to happen.” Lucas looks at the flames. “I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself. Whatever that means. I’m not leaving you alone with a dangerous lunatic.”

“Someone has to do it.”

Lucas sighs. “Not you.”

“Why not?”

Suddenly, I feel two warm lips on mine. I’m so startled that I make a weird noise.

Lucas pulls me toward him, with one hand under my braid.

The whole back of my head tingles.

This is Lucas—that thought keeps shooting through my head. The boy I’ve known for nine months, who always flirts with me. And I thought it didn’t mean anything.

Then he suddenly lets me go.

“Now you have your answer.” Lucas gives me a cautious smile. “That’s why you can’t go.”

If you ask me, a lot of guys would think you’re pretty.

Claus’s words flash through my mind. Had he already realized that Lucas likes me? How long has he been watching me?

I look around. The Riverside’s windows are everywhere. The four floors wrap all around the garden.

Is Claus at one of those windows? Someone from the hotel comes to ask if we want a drink, and we both order cappuccinos.

As we sit slurping the foam, someone throws another log onto the fire.

For a moment, Claus fades into the background. It feels like we’re just having a weekend away.

“What was she like?” I ask then. “Isolde?”

“Why do you want to know?” asks Lucas.

“Because I want to know who started all this.”

“Why don’t you ask Kate?”

“I’m asking you.” I think back to the moment in the bar. “Or are you going to keep claiming not to know her?”