We run our hands along the frame, searching for anything that feels amiss, but it seems like just a normal bookcase. Bram and I trade places, and go even more slowly, trailing our fingers over every inch of the wood, looking for anything that might be a mechanism to trigger the door.

But there’s nothing. Maybe the room Avalina was talking about doesn’t exist anymore. And maybe this floor just doesn’t collect dust.

Tessa comes up behind me and lays a hand on my shoulder. “We didn’t find anything. Any luck over here?”

“No,” I say. “We should go. Everyone in Ivory Hall will be awake soon, and someone will notice we’re missing.”

Bram searches my face. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t know what other option we have.”

Talon leans his back against the bookcase and lets out a heavy sigh. “I’m so sorry, Saskia.”

I shrug. “We only had a slim chance of finding anything. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Talon grins. “Maybe we should stop on the way back and get dessert? I bet a pastry would cheer you up.”

“Yes, if my death is imminent, I should probably take every opportunity to enjoy my life.”

“Excellent point. Let’s go.” Talon’s voice is full of grim sarcasm. He pushes off the bookcase.

And the bookcase follows him.

My breath catches. It really was a door. Bram and I must not have put enough pressure on it to engage the unlocking mechanism.

Talon spins around. His eyes widen as he takes in the gap behind the shelf. “Did I do that?”

“Yes,” Bram says, “I think you did.”

“Surprise,” he says, and then gives a little bow.

I attempt a faltering smile, and the playful expression slides from his face.

“Go ahead,” he says. “We’ll be right behind you.”

I hesitate, my hand clutched around the edge of the bookcase, bracing myself for the avalanche of disappointment that I’m certain will follow. Latham is like a ghost—appearing when his presence is unsettling but impossible to see when I’m trying to find him.

My knuckles have gone white. I gather my courage and push open the door.

A roar explodes in my head. My emotions careen from one to the next like a child’s toy, spinning from shock, to disbelief, to horror. But then the whole world goes silent and still. My emotions distill into a sharp, hot point. Rage.

The room is overflowing with bones.

And they belong to my gran.

Chapter Twenty-One

Gran’s bones are everywhere.