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I keep smothering her in kisses and hugging her tightly.

“Sum, come on. I only died a little.”

The headmaster clears his throat pointedly. “Miss Tuatha De Daanan. Miss Legosi. Can we focus on the matter at hand?” We both look up at him, responding to the command infusing his voice. “The murderer will not know about this… side effect of Miss Legosi’s lineage.”

I struggle to my feet and help Alice up. We are both as wobbly as newborn deer. Alice looks down at her shirt in dismay. It is covered in blood and has a huge hole in the back. “This was my favorite shirt.”

The headmaster pins us in place with his silver gaze. “The killer must not know about her survival. They must believe they succeeded.”

I look down at my bloody hands. “We can use this to our advantage,” I say, understanding. Up until now, the killer has been a step ahead, but this may even the odds.

The headmaster looks at me, his gray eyes molten. “You must act as if she is dead. They will be watching you closely.”

I nod once. “I can do that.”

“We have to make it look like they succeeded in their assassination attempt,” he says, looking at Alice.

Alice shrugs. “My comeback will be divine.”

“You’ll need to hide somewhere.”

“She can go to the Morningstar House,” I offer.

“They will need to be discreet,” the headmaster says.

“They will be,” I assure him.

The headmaster waves his hand, opening a portal. “Stay out of sight until I say otherwise, Miss Legosi.”

Alice squeezes my hand before walking through the portal. The headmaster waits for it to snap shut behind her and then waves his hand again. Alice’s body reforms on the ground. My stomach drops at how realistic it is, but I steel myself.

Alice is safe. Alice is with Connor. Alice is safe.

“I will need to play a role as well,” the headmaster says, and I force my gaze away from the illusion. “I cannot be here as your headmaster.” He closes his eyes, and his body starts to change. When he opens his eyes again, they are blue instead of his gray, and his dark hair has been replaced with blond. I blink as I look up at Connor instead of the headmaster.

“I understand that this will be strange. But it is necessary,” he says, and I wrinkle my nose, deeply disturbed when the headmaster’s voice emerges from Connor’s lips. I’m very aware it’s not Connor standing in the room with me. There is none of the comfort or warmth that Connor elicits in me.

The headmaster turns toward the mirror, trying to mimic Connor’s playful smirk. He tries on a few of his other expressions and softens his face a little. “I do not enjoy falling one step behind the killer. I need a reason to stay close to you. Mister Morningstar will have to remain in hiding with Miss Legosi.”

“Oh, right. Well, I’m going to go shower, and then?—”

“You cannot wash off the blood, Miss Tuatha De Daanan. Every minute counts at the moment.”

“Okay, tell me what to do,” I say with a weary sigh.

He nods at Alice’s corpse. “As you were a moment ago.”

I swallow down the bile as I look back at Alice’s body, chanting in my head,Alice is safe, Alice is with Connor, Alice is safe.I kneel beside her.

The headmaster picks my phone up off the floor. It is covered in blood, and it coats his hand as he dials. He holds it to his ear, and this time, when he talks, it’s almost a perfect imitation of Connor.

“Hi, I uh… need to report a murder. It’s my fiancée’s roommate. Her name is Alice. She’s been staked.”

I force myself to cry so that I can be heard in the background, and I know when they come, I’m going to have to actually cry. I’m going to have to unlock that unbearable pain I felt when I first saw her.

“Please, hurry,” the headmaster says as Connor before ending the call.

He paces around the room until he hears the authorities arrive, and then he kneels beside me and wraps an arm around me. “It’s time, Miss Tuatha De Daanan,” he whispers as they come through the front door.