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“Theo is waiting there,” she said simply.

My throat tightened. I carefully set down the little girl in my arms. She grabbed onto Persis’s sleeve, looking up at him as if she knew him already. Persis stared up at me, his face grave.

I crouched beside him. “Listen to me,” I said, my voice wobbling. “You have to be brave now.”

He straightened up, and I knew he was trying hard to look older than he was. I bit my lip, trying not to lose control. “I am brave,” he declared.

I smiled. Tears burned in the corners of my eyes. I blinked them back. “I know you are.” I touched his cheek. “I am so glad I found you, Persis. I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Can I take Nell?” he asked suddenly. I saw he was looking across the room. Florence sat down on an overturned crate, and the little fluffin had taken up a place by the girl’s feet.

I swallowed. “I think Nell may still have more work here to do.”

I expected him to cry, to protest. But instead, he just nodded. “All right.”

“You need to lead everyone through,” I told him. “Do you think you can do that?”

He nodded again. “I can do it.”

“You’re going to get them to safety. Just like a hero in one of your books.”

His eyes lit up a little at that. “Like Sir Prancelot.”

I laughed. “Wasn’t he a horse?”

“A talking horse, yes. And a noble knight.”

“All right, fine. Be like Sir Prancelot.”

Persis looked around at the children. “I think we should all hold hands.” He raised his voice a little. “Listen to me. Everyone take someone else’s hand. See to the little ones.”

Lunaya and Lysander stepped in, helping to organize the children with gentle words and soft touches. Soon the children had formed a chain, every small hand in someone else’s with Persis leading at the front.

There were no tears. No fearful protests. They looked beyond tears, most of them. Around us the manor shook again, reminding us of the dangers that still lay above our heads. Persis had a little boy in his arms, while an older girl clutched his sleeve.

“Someone will be waiting for you on the other side,” I said, trying to make my voice sound firm and confident. “His name is Theo. Tell him who you are, and he’ll help you. Listen to him.”

“Be strong,” Persis told the children. “It’s only a step. Just one little step.” He turned toward the glowing arch, the children linked behind him in a fragile chain, and led them into the light.

Lunaya waited until the last of the children had vanished, then she turned to Lysander.

The prophecy. I’d nearly forgotten. “The Pure Maiden,” I blurted out. “Of course! You couldn’t go because of the prophecy.” Lunaya and Lysander looked at me strangely. “Lysander,” I said, “tell her.”

But he didn’t speak. I looked at Lunaya—at the black veins weaving across her skin, at the way she seemed to be just barely holding herself upright.

She smiled sadly. “No, Regan,” she said gently. “I’m not the Pure Maiden.”

“But I thought …” I looked at Lysander in confusion.

Lunaya gestured to herself. “The corruption began to fill me the moment Catherine raised Molindra from the dead. Marcus had bound me to himself with blood magic long before that.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. If it wasn’t Lunaya, then Rodriguez must have been right. It was Medra.

Lunaya had turned back to her brother. “I’m happy for you,” she said quietly. “For all of you.”

Lysander’s careful composure shattered in an instant. I watched him fall apart, knowing I needed to hold back. A sob left his throat, and then his whole body shuddered. Kage made a sound, and his hand twitched at his side. I knew he was feeling what I felt. I moved to stand next to him, and he wrapped his arms around me.

“Lunaya,” Lysander whispered.