The woman turns to us, eyes rimmed in kohl. She has long, black hair and wears a layered skirt and a loose-fitting shirt. Bangles on her wrists clash together as she moves, and several gold rings sparkle on fingers firmly planted on her hips.

“What happened to him?” I ask.

If she thinks it’s inappropriate, she doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t even blink.

“He asked for revenge on his cheating wife,” Samael explains. Then she twists and enters the room.

Thane and I exchange a look before rising to our feet and following. Behind us, the man lets out a guttural sob. “This isn’t what I meant!”

Samael closes the door behind us, muffling his cries.

She walks around us and takes a moment to light incense. The smell makes my head spin, a mix of sage and jasmine. After, she positions herself on a bed of pillows in the corner of the room.

“Sit.” Samael directs us to pillows on the floor, and I do as she instructs. “You will not sit?” she asks Thane.

“I prefer to stand.”

She shrugs, dragging her eyes back to me. Her berry lips pull back into a smile, and yet there’s something cold about her. Maybe it’s her heavily lined eyes, studying me like a difficult spell.

“What can I do for you?”

I open my mouth to answer, but Thane takes the lead. “We’re looking for a soul.”

Samael’s lips part, and she nods once in understanding. She holds out her hand, and Thane drops money into it before I can register what she’s asking for. She reaches for a glass bowl and pours various substances inside—powders and liquids. I wonder how often people come to her for this sort of thing.

“Do you have an item of theirs? Something they wore, perhaps?”

Thane steps forward. “It’s not something she wore…but it was a gift from her.”

He drops a necklace into Samael’s palm, and a heavy weight settles in my chest. I wonder when Lily had given it to him—was it before or after the falling-out with Shy?

Thane doesn’t look at me as he returns to his spot behind me. Samael drops the necklace into the mixture and lights the contents on fire.

I gasp as dark red flames erupt from the bowl. “What are you doing?”

“She gave a part of herself to the boy when she gave him the necklace. If I can resurrect that part of her, perhaps she will tell us where she is.”

“But…I thought resurrection was illegal.”

Samael looks at me, part in challenge, part in annoyance, and answers, “It is.”

I sit in silence, sorry I interrupted her, and watch the flames. A single form rises from the fire—beautiful, like a doll with long limbs and graceful steps.

“She felt safe when she died,” Samael says at last. “Relieved.”

“Relief?” Thane echoes her.