Her eyes sparkle in anticipation. She licks her lips as she reaches out to grab a strip of bacon, but before she can touch it, the plate is snatched away from her.

Her eyes widen, and we both gaze up at her scowling brother.

"You know you're not allowed to eat this." He grits his teeth. Barking an order at the waiter, he hands him the plate, throwing a couple of hundred-dollar bills toward him.

"We're done here." He levels his sister with his icy stare. Yet just as I think Thea is going to protest—as she usually does—she hangs her head in resignation as she gets up from the table.

"What's going on?" I ask as I follow after them.

Cer doesn't stop until we're out of the hotel. He suddenly comes to a halt, pivoting to face us.

"Here." He hands us each a ticket to a musical being performed at the New Amsterdam Theatre. "The show starts in a couple of hours."

"Thank you," I murmur, glancing down at my ticket.

The title of the musical is in bold letters on top of a colorful background—Penelope's Odyssey.

In small script, the description of the musical implies it's been adapted from Homer's Odyssey but it's focusing instead on Odysseus's wife, Penelope.

"There's only one show today and none until Friday," Cer continues. "If we remain in the theater after closing hours, we'll have at least a couple of days until the staff comes back to work."

"How do you know that?" Thea fires back.

"I asked around." He shrugs. "There's a national holiday the day after tomorrow too, so it's unlikely anyone will be present. That gives us plenty of time to deal with that rogue spirit."

I nod, impressed.

"Since we're going to be there for a few days, we should get some supplies," I suggest.

"Like what?" Thea frowns.

"Food, some spare clothes, flashlights, and maybe a few sleeping bags."

Cer stares at me intently before his gaze moves to his sister. He purses his lips, pensive for a moment. Thea sports a contrite expression as she meets his eyes, almost as if they're having a silent conversation.

Or maybe they are? I'm not sure what their abilities are—besides Thea's extreme charm—but I can't discount the fact that they could be capable of some crazy stuff. Just like I can't discount the fact that for all intents and purposes, they are strangers. We may be on the same team now, but I'm still unsure about their intentions or their plans. For that reason, I need to keep my guard up.

"Fine. We can do that," Cer says.