The skull sat in my lap on the way back. It was, thankfully, wrapped in Polly's coat, but that did little to make me feel better. My thoughts spiralled. There is a human skull on my thighs. At one time, this skull held someone's brain, full of their thoughts, and hopes, and dreams. At one time, it was wrapped in their skin and muscle. At one time, this skull had a face.

I shuddered.

I wished I could hand it off to Polly, but she was focused on the drive back to Octavia's. And, even if she wasn't, I doubted Lillian would even let me. She had insisted on us holding it, even though she had since retreated to the back of my mind to rest, leaving me to watch over our grim souvenir.

Thanks a lot, I thought at her, but she didn't hear me. Or didn't care.

In an attempt to put myself at ease, I tried to focus on what it represented rather than what it was... or had been. Despite the grisly reality of the skull, this remnant of Polly's ancestry, it represented hope. Our plan was actually coming together now. The skull was only the first part, but the pieces were falling into place easier than I had expected. And Octavia had promised she could help us with it all.

Step by step, we were getting closer. We could do this. We could get in there, banish the Beast for good, save Luc...

But then what?

And just like that, that one unbidden thought dropped the bottom out of all my hope.

Once we had freed Luc and sealed the Malix away for good, then what? How were we going to escape The Gathered?

We hadn't gotten that far in our plans, yet. Maybe Octavia had an idea for that, too. After all, she wouldn't send us into that viper's nest without a hope to get out...

Right?

She must have something...

But there were larger shadows looming beyond that.

In some ways, the hypothetical peace beyond was scarier than the literal monsters looming directly ahead. Peace meant I would no longer be distracted by constantly dodging death. I would have to figure out how to pick up the pieces of myself and live a normal life.

Could I be put back together again?

I looked down at my lap. My arms were held stiff at my side, too scared to risk even brushing against the bundle of Polly's coat that held the skull. My gaze settled on the familiar woven scar that dominated my right arm. Thinking about my future made me think of something Sofia had said, something that was bothering me...

Curse or not, that wound you inflicted will never let her be safe!

Of course, she had been wrong about Lillian doing the inflicting, but that wasn't what bothered me. The part that was now worming beneath my own skull and rooting itself in the back of my mind was the part about never being safe.

I turned over my arm, studying the same mottled pattern that continued up the other side. This scar had been called a hole, a portal, a door... A gateway to let things pass through me. Take hold of me.

Lillian was proof of that; she was currently boarding up the gap with her own spirit, as well as she could. But, as Octavia had said, she couldn't stay forever. And once she had to leave...

Even if the Malix was sealed away, there were probably other things that wanted to slip through.

My scarred hand clenched into a fist. Maybe it had been naive of me to think that once this was over, I would finally free of psychics and the supernatural. Especially since I wasn't with Luc anymore.

A sharp jab in my chest followed. I felt Lillian stir, momentarily distracted by the discomfort, but she quickly settled back down. I was glad of it. She hadn't liked it much when I poked around her memories of Luc; I felt the same.

For the past few days, ever since I realized that it was Lillian tagging along inside me, I had been careful about just how much thought I gave to Luc. It was like I had taken all my feelings for him and locked them away; they weren't important right now. What's important is saving him... I could worry about the rest of it later.

But as I thought of what would become of me, he was there, too.

What would become of us? I would be lying to myself if I pretended that there was no place I'd rather rest my exhausted, broken body than in his arms...

Lillian stirred again, almost agitated this time.

My heart froze with panic. The last thing I wanted was for her to walk into these thoughts—

"What are we going to do after we kill the Malix?" The words burst out of me, coming out a little too loud.

Polly started from my sudden outburst and shot me a weird look. "Don't look at me. Does it look like I'm a psychic? I'm leaving it up to the weirdos to decide."

What are you talking about? Lillian asked, finally rising to the surface.

"I was just wondering how we're going to get away from The Gathered," I said, trying my best to seem nonchalant. Polly saw through it, but just shook her head and let it go.

Lillian seemed groggy enough that she didn't notice my awkwardness. "Once the 'threat' is neutralized, they should be willing enough to let us go."

Polly gave a snort of disbelief. "Really?"

Lillian shrugged my shoulders. "If we pose no harm, then they have no reason to do harm."

"You're kidding," Polly said, her tone still derisive. "I don't believe that for a second. The Whatevers are just going to let us mosey off into the sunset once we kill the Beast? They tried to kill Rachel twice. They're trying to kill Luc right now. Why the fuck would they just let it all go?"

"Because we're not a threat," Lillian said again, turning my head to face her sister. "It's the same reason they didn't come after me after they kicked me out. They had every reason to believe that I was practicing dark magic, but because they thought I was only harming myself," she took a sharp breath and I felt a flicker of anger at the back of my head, "they didn't give a fuck."

"They might have tried to kill you if they knew what you were actually doing," I reminded her.

"Oh, sure," Lillian agreed. "But you're not exactly going to be summoning dark things anytime soon, will you?"

I swallowed, pressing my arm to my side. "Fuck, no."

She shrugged my shoulders. "Exactly. So, they won't bother you."

"But didn't Sofia say they've been following her ever since she left the order?" Polly added on. "She doesn't seem like that much of a threat."

Lillian scoffed. "Sofia's probably being dramatic. They might check-in with her, sure, but I truly doubt they're following her."

"Yeah, I can't imagine where she'd get the idea that they were psychos or something," Polly replied, flicking an angry look at her sister.

I felt Lillian starting to get agitated. "Look, they may be psychos but they're psychos with rules. I'm not saying they're not not going to be assholes, but they're not like the cops. They don't arrest people or give jail time. They just neutralize psychic threats by whatever means necessary. If you're not a threat, they don't give a fuck about you. Okay?"

Silence followed Lillian's little eruption.

"Okay?" she repeated, louder this time.

"Okay!" Polly and I said in exasperated unison.

"Good," Lillian muttered. She crossed my arms across my chest. "You'd think I'd know something about them since I was once one of them..."

"Well, if they do start following us after this," Polly continued, looking at me this time, "Rachel and I can always leave town. Maybe go international. I've got the money, and it's not like we'd be leaving anything behind..."

Before I could stop it, Luc flashed through my mind. "Right," I agreed stiffly.

"Whatever," Lillian said like she hadn't noticed. "You can plan your around-the-world getaway, but I'm sure you'll be fine. This is going to work out." She patted the skull with my hand.

I yanked my hand back and shook it off, shivers crawling up the back of my neck. "Gross!"

Polly laughed at me.

The neighbourhood we drove through was beginning to look familiar again. We were approaching Octavia's house from a different angle, but I still recognized a few houses that we had passed on our way out.

Soon enough, Octavia's house itself came into view. Sofia was on the porch, waiting for us. She was leaning against one of the posts, her arms tightly wound around herself, protecting herself from the creeping evening cold.

Polly pulled into a nearby parking spot and killed the engine. She didn't hesitate to undo her seatbelt and slip out.

It took me a little longer. I had to pick up the skull and I couldn't do it. My hands hovered over it, trying to psyche myself up, but... I was unable to cross those last few inches to actually pick up the bundle of coat and bone.

"Oh come on," Lillian sighed. She forced my hands forwards, scooping up the skull and undoing my own seatbelt with one swift movement. Tucking the skull under my arm and next to my body, Lillian pulled us out of the car and onto the sidewalk.

Polly was already a few steps ahead of us, but Lillian didn't rush to catch up. We just followed her down the sidewalk.

"What do we have to do next?" I asked as we walked, trying not to think about the human head I had tucked into my armpit.

"We have to carve the symbol into the skull," Lillian explained. "It's going to be the vessel, so it will have to bear the seal."

A shudder shook through me as we turned off the sidewalk and took the path up to Octavia's door. "Can we use, like, gloves?"

"Get over it," Lillian said, rolling my eyes. "It needs to be done. We'll wash your hands after, I swear."

"That's not the issue," I grumbled, but let it go. She was right—it had to be done. I made a promise to myself to take a hundred showers after this was all done. "And after that? We head to the HQ?"

She nodded my head. "But, first, we should rest. I don't know about you, but I'm tired from all sharing control all day. I'm pretty much useless."

I nodded and rubbed at my neck. The buzzing was low but there, pricking at the base of my own skull. "That sounds like a good idea. Plus, I'm starving."

"Same," Polly called over her shoulder. She was already climbing the steps to Octavia's. She looked up at Sofia, who was still standing there. "Any plans for dinner? I'm happy to pay for takeout..."

But Sofia didn't answer or even look, at Polly. Her gaze was fixed on me and Lillian, her brow furrowed. Something about her look bothered me; I hoped they hadn't decided against helping us while we were gone...

"You didn't believe me," Sofia hissed at me. For some reason, she looked almost smug. She let out a weird, flat laugh. "Did you?'

Believe her? What?

Then I noticed it looked like there was a fresh splotch of bruise across her left cheekbone. I wanted to ask, but I didn't get the chance...

The air around us rippled like the surface of a pond and then suddenly everywhere we looked were blue cloaks.

...including the epilogue, which is up now!