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As the door’s hinges finally break, a Wraith’s long, clawed arm shoots forward and grapples for Laine. She darts out of the way—right as I reach her and stab the Wraith’s arm with the metal poker, as forcefully as I can.

It lets out an unearthly shriek and disappears behind the door.

I drop the poker and grab Laine’s arm. Together, we make a mad dash toward the broken window—and as we do, I hear the door behind us break open, Wraiths surging into the chamber in pursuit.

I reach the window. The canopies of the trees are just shy of what I can realistically jump, but there’s no time to hesitate on whether we can make it. I just take a deep breath. Then I kick off against the windowsill with every ounce of strength in my body, and launch myself through the air. Behind me, Laine swears before following in my wake.

I manage to reach the nearest branch—barely. But it’s impossible for me to hang on properly, and the branch snaps off almost completely, making me swing wildly as the bark peels down the side of the trunk. Behind me, Laine hits part of the canopy and fights to grab on to something, anything. She misses, arms swinging.

I reach frantically for her, and she tries in vain to grab my arm, but both of us are falling now, tumbling to the grass below. The world rushes at us.

And then, suddenly—something green and alive surges up. Envelops us. My fall is cushioned, and an overwhelming perfume of jasmine blankets me.

I find myself clinging to a dense tangle of fragrant vines, all growing haphazardly in every direction from where they have covered the tree’s trunk. Laine, too, has been swallowed by green tendrils that coil around her body, stopping her fall.

I look down to see a girl standing at the bottom of the tree, sweat beading on her brow, waving frantically at us.

It’s Charlotte.

Charlotte, always looking out for me even when I’ve failed to be there for her.

Never have I felt happier or more frightened for her.

“Jump!” she shrieks.

When I glance over, I see that the jasmine vines she’s weaving have snaked all the way to the broken window, covering it so thoroughly that it blocks the Wraiths from coming through. I can see the Wraith’s claws slicing at the vines, cutting through them as Charlotte sends them toward us, but Charlotte grits her teeth and forces the greenery upward.

I let go.

The vines break my fall—I land with a soft grunt on the grass, where the tendrils uncurl from my limbs, letting me roll to my feet. Nearby, Laine lands safely.

I could lift Charlotte off the ground with a hug right now, but there’s no time. She backs up, her focus still on the window. Other Wraiths are gathering in the shadows of the estate, too, emerging from the front door and the trees lining the side of the property.

Raven will know soon about my escape. He might already be on his way.

At last, Charlotte drops her arms with a tired grunt and starts to run. “Willow’s waiting for you,” she calls back to me, then casts Laine a skeptical look. “You too, I guess.”

“What’s happening in the city?” I shout as we go. “Do you know?”

The expression on Charlotte’s face is too haunted for her age. She nods as we reach a waiting car. “Your patron god,” she answers breathlessly. “He’s claiming the souls of anyone he deems connected to a future thread that might cause a bad event. No matter how far out. There are deaths all over the world.”

Her confirmation of my suspicions sends a stab of grief through my heart. Oh, Raven.

Charlotte hops into the driver’s seat. “Hurry up,” she snaps at us.

Even now, I can’t help raising my eyebrow at her as we slide in. “You’re driving us?” I say incredulously. “Do you even have a permit?”

“You want to get out of here or not?” she calls back, then steps hard on the gas.

Then we are pulling away from the estate, leaving the tangle of Wraiths in our wake for now. I watch them recede in the rearview mirror, my heart knotted in my chest. Étienne is still trapped in there, his soul a scarlet thread winding through the Eternal Tree.

And in this moment, all I can think of are Raven’s words in the atrium, grim and determined.

The things I have seen humanity do, Rose.

I have to fix this. I have to save him.

But we are running out of time.