Now that I’ve been here a few times, I can recognize the feeling in the house. It’s like the outside world falls away, and I can simply be. I know Willow is feeling it too. Everything about her looks more relaxed, from her rumpled dress to her untied sneakers. I lean in slightly, my shoulder touching hers gently as I gesture to the letter. “I don’t buy it.”

“Why not?” She doesn’t move away. Instead she leans in more, and now her arm is pressing against mine. Is the same electricity phenomena happening to her? Focus.

“Because Lily was her sister. And she loved her. They had history. Would Thalia really curse her for eternity because she was enjoying a party?”

“The story doesn’t say she cursed her for eternity.” Willow’s smiling now, her hair back in my face. “And it wasn’t about the party. It was about Lily not following through on their plan.”

I shake my head again. “I still don’t buy it. Something’s off.”

“Maybe. I guess we need to find the next clue.” She points to the bottom of the letter. “Find Lily, aka Cordelia Bell. Any ideas?”

I shrug. “None. I don’t think I saw her name in any of my research I did on the house. But I’ll look again. And maybe we can search through all the rooms? Maybe there’s an actual lily, like the flower, somewhere.”

She hesitates for a moment, her eyes locking on mine. “And why were you researching my aunt’s house, exactly?”

For a moment I wonder if I should tell her about my mom and the signs, but then I think about what that would actually entail. People never seem to get why I want to be back with my mom so badly—and in some ways, I get it. She’s let me down over and over, but that doesn’t negate the fact that she’s still my mom. Would Willow understand? My stomach rolls. I’m not ready to find out. “Because it’s magic here. Every time I’m here, it feels like…” I struggle for the word.

“Like you’re home?” she asks quietly.

We meet eyes again. “Yeah. Exactly.”

She nods. I can’t read the emotion on her face, but I can tell that whatever she feels here is important to her. It shifts my attention from myself to her, and suddenly I want more than anything to help her.

“Hey, what if we go do an inventory of the house? I only guessed where tonight’s letter was because I’d seen the masthead and the photograph of the ship. Maybe if we walk through the house, we’ll see something that makes us think of Lily.”