She took hold of Mrs. Redmond’s hand, crushing it inside her own. Mrs. Redmond let out a howl like a wounded animal. The vial of Living Elixir fell from her fingers and landed on the counter. Karter squirmed in the grip of the black dog.

“Heel,” said the woman. The dog retreated and Karter grabbed his leg to stanch the bleeding. The woman turned back to Mrs. Redmond. “Katrina Valek.”

“Wha—what?” I stammered.

The woman narrowed her eyes at Mrs. Redmond in a way that sent a bolt of pure, unfiltered terror straight through me. “You’ve denied your own name? Melissa Redmond, Louise Farris, Angela Carroll. Lies.”

My mind looped back on itself. Those were names from the apothecary’s ledger. She’d been here, trying to get access to the Heart for years, decades.

“How did you find them?” the cloaked woman asked. She closed her hand tighter around Mrs. Redmond’s—Katrina Valek’s—throat when she didn’t respond. “The guardians of the Heart. How did you find them?”

Katrina kicked her legs wildly. The woman loosened her grip slightly.

“Jason’s line remains,” Katrina gasped. “We’ve been hunting them since the Heart’s inception. We should be the ones to reap the benefits of its magic.” Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

“The keepers of the Heart determine who is and is not worthy of possessing it,” said the woman.

“Why?” Katrina asked, angrily. “Why do they get to decide? Selene was selfish. She wanted to keep it for herself!”

“To protect it,” said the woman. “And you slaughtered her like an animal.”

I flinched. It hurt to hear what Mrs. Redmond—Katrina—had done to Selene. The woman paused for a moment, glancing back at me. Her gaze was hypnotic. There was something unnatural about the way she moved, the way she spoke.

“You will not wield it,” said the cloaked woman. “You are not worthy of the power it will grant you.”

“I deserve to be among them! Among the gods!”

The tall woman tilted her head back and let out a laugh that shook the walls and rattled the floor. “You deserve no such thing.”

Katrina struck the woman in the face. She didn’t even flinch. With a flick of her wrist, the woman tossed Katrina onto the floor. The dog descended on her, sinking its teeth into her shoulder. She wailed in agony.

I stumbled back to where Mo sat with Mom’s lifeless body. My ears popped like the air pressure in the room had changed. A huge, black void appeared by the door. Heat radiated from it, so stifling I threw my hand up to cover my eyes. It burned my nose and the inside of my throat.