“Good night,” he said, and left the doorway abruptly.

“Good night,” I said, my jaw so slack he’d closed his door by the time the words had left my mouth.

CHAPTER 8

Last night had given me hope. Magnus was difficult, but at least he had a heart and conscience. At least he was human. Perhaps working here wouldn’t be as miserable as I thought.

I left my room with renewed energy, and found Emma standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh, thank the Lord Jesus.” Emma tapped on the rail, looking over her shoulder, as if someone might catch her conversing with me. “I know you have a lot of things to take care of, but this room is a bit of an emergency.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to avoid contradicting her. To people with Manifestations in their house, every room was an emergency. But it wasn’t as if I had anything better to do.

“Lead the way,” I said.

Emma smiled, relieved. “It’s just down here,” she said, gesturing down the hall but walking beside me. “So, how are you settling in?”

“Really well, actually.”

“Really? You haven’t broken any of the dozens of rules?” Emma laughed. The rules were more tedious than funny, but I smiled so she wouldn’t feel alone. “They’re nonsense. A waste of your time, if you ask me.” She hooked her arm around mine, and I tightened my muscles against the urge to pull away. “The only rule you need to know is that Magnus is mad as a hatter and should be avoided whenever possible.”

“He’s a little eccentric,” I said with a shrug.

“He’s mad, just like his father was,” Emma confirmed. “Peggy said the curse makes him that way, but I would be equally mad to spend enough time with him to find out for sure.”

We walked over a rug I could’ve sworn hadn’t been in the hall yesterday, rounding a small table resting on it I was positive hadn’t been. An obsession with redecorating wasn’t quite enough to dub one “mad,” but it was certainly a little … strange.

“I suppose there’s two rules,” Emma went on. “Stay away from Magnus and don’t go out at night.”

“I’m clear on that one.”

“That one is the most important.” Her step faltered, and when I looked at her, her brows were knitted into deep lines, her eyes tearing. “People go missing in this house if they’re not careful.”

“Go miss—”

Alone.

The word tickled my ear, like a whisper, and I tripped to a stop. “What?”

“Go missing,” Emma repeated. “Disappear.”

“No, I mean—”

You are alone.

A chill crawled over my already cold limbs, the words drawing my eyes to the closet we’d stopped beside. My amulet throbbed like an aching heart.