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“Of course I can.” Smiling, Ava caressed her bracelet with the eight charms, like she was petting a cat.

* * *

The final memory faded out,leaving Nero and me back in our room on board the airship.

“The eight charms Ava wears on her bracelet are immortal artifacts,” Nero said.

I’d noticed that too. “They’re the ones linked to the octuplets. Like Bella is linked to the wand.”

“Ava is using those artifacts to control the eight sisters,” said Nero. “That’s why they’re doing whatever she wants.”

“And that’s why River kept answering my questions with ‘I can’t say’,” I realized. “Ava won’t let them tell me anything she doesn’t want me to know. These memories we’re seeing now didn’t come out of the Vault; the sisters didn’t send them to me. These are memories Ava doesn’t want me to see.”

Nero looked like he did whenever he was trying to come up with a strategic solution to a seemingly impossible problem.

“What are you thinking?” I asked him.

“The eight sisters are very powerful,” he said slowly. “And Ava controls them. It’s clear Ava also wants to steal our daughter.”

“Even if she has to betray her own sister Grace.”

“As long as Ava controls the eight sisters, she is too powerful.” Nero shook his head. “We might not be able to keep our daughter from her.”

“But if we freed the eight sisters, Ava would lose her greatest weapon,” I said.

“Not only that. The eight sisters can’t be very happy with Ava—and with what the demon has forced them to do,” Nero replied. “Once freed, they would likely turn against her. If she’s too busy fighting them, she can’t make a move to capture our daughter.”

“And then we’d only have to worry about Faris, Grace, the Guardians, and whoever else has an interest in her.” I expelled a sigh of frustration.

“It’s a start, Leda. Soon, we will have the Guardians on the run.”

I liked his confidence that our mission would succeed.

He pounded his fist into his open palm. “And then we’ll deal with Faris and Grace as well.”

I only hoped he was right.