Maybe unsurprisingly, Valerie dreamed her terrible dream about sinking into darkness again, but it had lost some of its poignancy. Someone nudged her gently awake and she sat up, shrugging off a blanket that had mysteriously appeared to cover her as she slept. Henry walked across The Horseshoe holding two steaming mugs.

"Hot chocolate. I finally found a little shop that makes it, and it's the best I've ever had."

She took a cup and blew on it before sipping. "Thanks. How'd you find me?"

"Oberon told me you were here on my way to my Guild this morning." Henry made a face. "I guess he doesn't know it was us who followed him the other day. And now I feel kinda bad about suspecting him. He was all worried about you. I think that blanket is his."

"Really?" she wrapped it around her shoulders against the chilly morning air.

"Cyrus told me about last night." Henry said, changing the subject. Valerie looked at him in shock, remembering the kiss. Henry almost spilled his drink as his mind touched hers and he saw what had happened. "He kissed you?"

"I thought you said—"

"He told me about Shade or Jack or whoever."

She rubbed her eyes and touched her hair, which was a tangled mess. "It was a long night."

"A long time coming, you mean," Henry said with a smile.

He wasn't just talking about her kiss with Cyrus. She hadn't seen her brother this happy before. "So are you and Kanti official now?"

He nodded. "She said she was going to wait as long as it took—forever, even."

"I guess you decided to shorten her sentence," Valerie said.

"I'm the luckiest guy in the world," Henry said, his expression reverent.

"The universe, even," she teased.

"Want me to visit your friend with you?" Henry asked.

Valerie shook her head. "He might want to see me alone. He's been through a lot."

"Okay. Let me know what happens, though."

Henry left, walking toward the Empathy Collective with energy in his stride. It was one less worry to carry on her crowded heart.

This time when Valerie tested the doors of the Healers' Guild, they opened easily. She made her way back to Shade's ward and knocked quietly on the door. Nightingale answered, his gaze wary.

"I'm sorry. I know you needed your space to work last night, and I should have given it to you," she said immediately, not wanting to be thrown back out again.

Nightingale nodded. "I am the authority in this Guild, and no one may undermine me."

That seemed a little extreme to her. Valerie was glad that the Knights were more democratic. But it wasn't the time to argue. "May I see Shade?"

"I assume you mean Jack. He's in the corner," Nightingale nodded toward a bed by a window. "His body will heal, but the wounds to his mind are beyond what I can repair. I will consult with Dasan later today on this matter."

Without another word, Nightingale turned to attend to a patient, and Valerie made her way to Shade—Jack, she corrected herself.

"Hi, Jack. Do you remember me?"

Jack's eyes were unfocused, but he nodded. "Valerie. I had to find you. But I can't remember why."

"It's okay," she said gently. "You found me because you knew I'd keep you safe. You're going to get better here."

"Am I sick?"

"Not for long, I promise. Do you remember what happened?"

His eyes went wild. "You can't let him find me; he'll kill me! My friends, they're gone, as good as dead!"

Nightingale was by his side in an instant, and he pressed his hand against Jack's pulse. There was a brief hum of magic, and Jack fell backward onto his pillows, unconscious.

"I don't want to scatter his mind further. We must keep him calm. Your presence here clearly agitates him. You need to leave."

She bit back her protests. "Can I come back to check on him?"

Nightingale considered her request. "Tomorrow, but no sooner. By then, Dasan will have seen the boy and there will be more news to tell you."

Valerie nodded and left. It was time to contact Gideon and Juniper to bring the Knights home, since the guide they were expecting was unconscious in a hospital. Her last hope that somehow they would find Jet before Reaper contacted her for the trade vanished. Saving Jet's life—and possibly Darling's—depended entirely on her now.

Valerie decided to return home for a shower, before contacting Juniper and Gideon with her news. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't sense Sanguina's presence until it was too late.

"Wait," Sanguina said, holding out her hand to stop her in her tracks.

Valerie recoiled from her touch. "Get away from me. I have nothing to say to you."

"You owe me nothing, I know. But I owe you a debt I can never repay. Do you understand that?"

"I don't want anything from you." Valerie tried to push past Sanguina, but the ex-vampyre held her ground.

"You can't listen to Zunya about meeting with Reaper alone. You're headed straight into a trap."

"What do you mean?" Valerie asked warily.

"Whatever Zunya's promised you, it isn't worth it. Reaper will take what he wants, and he's too powerful for any one person to stop him."

Valerie shook her head. "I don't expect you to understand, but I don't have a choice. I know that he could take my life, but if there's even a chance of saving Jet and Darling, I have to take it. Can you honestly tell me that he won't kill Jet if I refuse to meet him?"

Sanguina didn't need to answer. She lowered her eyes. "Why do you sacrifice your life so easily? It, too, has value. Do you think a warrior like Jet would thank you for ending it for his sake?"

"Stop trying to confuse me. I'm doing the right thing."

"Take someone with you."

"Reaper would kill us both on sight. I'll risk my own life, but not someone else's," Valerie said.

"Even me?"

"Even you."

"It's unlikely he'll kill me on sight, since he thinks I'm still loyal to him. And if he does, it's no big loss—to either of us," Sanguina reasoned.

Valerie searched Sanguina's face, perplexed. "What changed you? You hated me. Now you'd die for me?"

"You changed me. Back into a human. And there's something else. When I saw that you carried Pathos, I knew who you were. But that's not my story to tell you."

"Then whose is it?"

"Your father's."

Valerie's mind reeled. "You know him? You said you owed me—take me to him and we're even!"

Sanguina sighed. "He doesn't want you to know. He thinks you'll hate him."

Her eyes filled with tears. "I won't. I swear."

"I can't bring you to him—I made him a promise that I can't break. But I will tell him what you said. It may take me some time—he isn't easy to find when he doesn't want to be."

"Why doesn't he want to be found?"

"He says he's broken, and he wants to put the pieces back together before he meets you and Henry."

"I'll find him without you," Valerie said bitterly, pushing past Sanguina roughly.

"Promise me you won't go to Reaper alone!"Sanguina called after her. Valerie didn't reply.