“I forgive you for entangling me in your countless schemes, because it felt so good to be doing something with my brother. Remembering how we could be when there weren’t guards herding us around, people judging our every move.”

Daniel let his shoulders drop.

She managed a soft smile. “And I forgive you for thinking it’s perfectly reasonable to summon demons from another world. Though we both know it’s really because you can’t resist Herr Doyle and his damned dimples.”

His face burned. “I never said—”

“You didn’t have to.” Rebeka brushed a hand against his shin. “I know you.”

Daniel blushed, thinking of Liam’s babbling after the morphine kicked in the night before. Mostly a bunch of astronomical jargon that only Phillip understood; but at one point he’d stopped in the middle of it to stare straight at Daniel. You have beautiful hands, Liam told him. Promise you’ll play viola for me someday.

“You seem to know a lot of things,” Daniel muttered.

He hadn’t meant it as an accusation, but she reeled back as if she’d been struck.

“Rebeka?” Daniel reached out for her hand. “What is it?”

Sunlight danced across her face, making it look, for the briefest moment, flush and full once more. Then a cloud passed over the sun—she was nothing but shadows and hollow bones again.

“There’s—” She caught her breath. “There’s one more thing I must ask forgiveness for. A big one. But it’s not fair of me to keep it to myself any longer. Not when I could lose you without a moment’s notice.”

He furrowed his brow. “Of course. Anything.”

“No—you don’t understand.” She bit her lower lip. “I haven’t been telling you the whole truth.”

Rebeka clasped his hand with both of hers. He felt a sudden, sharp instinct to pull away, though he couldn’t say why.

“I . . . I see things, Daniel. Visions, or glimpses of somewhere else, or . . .” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to call them. It’s like I’m watching other people through a foggy mirror. I learn things I shouldn’t.”

His brow wrinkled. “What are you talking about?”

“Usually it’s—conversations, but sometimes worse.” Her voice caught. “I know how mad it sounds. I never told anyone because of how mad it is. You wouldn’t have believed me before. But now that we’ve seen this—this other world, these shadows, maybe it isn’t so strange after all.” She looked up at him, eyes gleaming. “You believe me, don’t you?”

Daniel’s hands trembled in hers. “I—I don’t know. You’re right. It does sound mad. But I’ve seen a great many things that don’t make sense recently.” He tilted his head. “Why are you telling me this?”