“And look how that turned out,” Natalie snaps. “You were attacked by a cercatore and have nothing to show for it. How do you even know she was telling the truth? This whole thing sounds like a setup, and she’s a death-speaker practicing death magic.”

“I’m a death-speaker,” Anora argues.

“You’re the Eurydice. There’s a difference.”

Anora doesn’t reply, but I can tell there’s a response bubbling under the surface.

“What Nat is trying to say”—I glance at her—“is we’ll help you find the coin. We don’t know why the killer chose Lily, and we don’t know who they’ll target next.”

She doesn’t argue, so we make a plan for tomorrow that includes a list of places Jacobi was able to track Lily’s phone to the day she died: the school, her home, June’s, a beach near the lake, and the train yard.

“We’ll split up. Look for clues and interview as many people as possible about Lily’s behaviors. Anora’s with me,” I say. Thane’s dark eyes meet mine. “She’s the Eurydice. She’s to have a shadow knight with her at all times.”

I expect an argument, but Thane says, “Whatever. I can’t help tomorrow anyway. Uncle Malachi wants me in the city. He wants to show off at…some gala.”

Once we have our assignments, Thane and Anora get up to leave. As she follows Thane to the door, I call her name. She turns and looks at me. My heart beats hard in my chest.

“I’m sorry for what Chase did.”

“Don’t apologize for him,” she says, almost frustrated, then pauses and clears her throat. When she speaks again, her voice is soft. “Thank you. For letting me tell my story.”

“You’re welcome.”

We stare at each other for a moment before she turns, gets in Thane’s car, and leaves.

* * *

After Natalie, Jacobi, Anora, and Thane leave, I lie awake, staring at the ceiling.

Anora and Thane.

I don’t even like saying their names in succession. They left my house together. I wanted to follow, to make sure she made it home safe. I mean, Thane led her into the Underworld and into the hands of a cercatore. Can I really trust him with the Eurydice? I try to tell myself it’s because she’s the Eurydice that I care so much—she’s like a gold mine, far too valuable to lose—but in reality, I know if anything happens to her, I will never be the same again.

And it makes me feel crazy. It makes me feel like this thread connecting us is wound tight around my heart. I need to tell Jacobi about it so he can research it in the archive. I’ve kept it from him for too long.