A fresh uniform had been laid out on the bed. I found a note on the pillow, written in a bold black cursive.

Wait for the bell.

I thought back to the oration. Nobody had mentioned a bell. I scrunched the note into my hand and tossed it into the hearth, where other scraps were waiting to be burned.

I spent a few minutes scouring the room, checking every corner. There were no bars on these windows, but they couldn’t be opened. The walls hid no secret seams or sliding panels. There were two more doors, one of which was hidden behind thick red drapes—and locked. The other led to a large bathroom. Finding no light switch, I took one of the oil lamps inside. The bath was the same black marble as the library floor, surrounded by diaphanous curtains. A gilded mirror took up most of one wall. I approached this first, curious to see if the mutilation of my life showed on my face.

It didn’t. Save for the cut lip, I looked just the same as I had before they caught me. I sat in the darkness, thinking.

The Rephaim had struck their deal in 1859, exactly two centuries ago. That was Lord Palmerston’s time in office, if I remembered my classes correctly. It was long before the end of the monarchy in 1901, when a new Republic of England took power and declared war on unnaturalness. The republic had taken the country through nearly three decades of indoctrination and propaganda before it was named Scion in 1929. That was when the First Inquisitor was chosen, and London became the first Scion citadel. All this suggested to me that, somehow, the Rephaim’s arrival had triggered Scion. All that bullshit about unnaturalness, just to sate these creatures that had come from nowhere.

I took a deep breath. There must be more to this, there must be. Somehow I would understand. My first priority was to get out of here. Until I could do that, I would search this place for answers. I couldn’t just walk away, not now I knew where voyants were being sent. I couldn’t forget all I’d heard and seen.

First I would find Seb. His amaurosis made him ignorant and scared, but he was only a kid. He didn’t deserve this. Once I’d located him, I’d find Julian and the other detainees from Bone Season XX. I wanted to know more about the Emim, and until my keeper got back, they were my only source of information.

A bell rang in the tower outside, echoed by another, louder chime in the distance. Wait for the bell. There must be a curfew.

I placed the lamp on the edge of the bath. As I splashed my face with cold water, I considered my options. It was best to play along with the Rephaim for now. If I survived long enough I would try and contact Jax. Jax would come for me. He never left a voyant behind. Not a voyant he employed, anyway. I’d seen him leave buskers to die more than once.