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“Let’s say all that’s true, they won’t find me here.”

“Oh, they will. You’re forgetting your box of nightmares is no more.” She slid another painting into the sun. “I destroyed it.”

Melodie stood and walked to the door.

She shooed Theo back, out of sight, and leaned out a little, so Marchant could see her.

“You miscalculated, old man. And the longer you pretend there isn’t a ticking clock above your head, the better for me, so get back to me when you have a plan to do things my way.” She stepped back, and Theo pulled her to the side, one of his big hands curled around her slim upper arm.

Vivi thought he was holding himself back, as if he wanted to pull her close in a hug.

“You aren’t giving yourself up to him,” he said.

“If it means getting the children free, I am,” she said. “It’s not as if I don’t have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

Theo closed his eyes, and Vivi thought he was going to say she wasn’t giving herself up, no matter what, but after a beat, he gave a nod of his head.

They were buying their safety for Melodie’s, and Vivi didn’t even know her.

“Who are you?” It was Ric who asked. “Are you from Kassia and Cervantes?”

Melodie turned to look at them. “I’m a person who doesn’t like people who steal children,” she said. She stepped toward the door of their cell and Theo came with her.

She studied the lock, grimaced. “It needs to be precise, and that’s just about impossible without the key, in which case I wouldn’t need to paint it, anyway.”

“At least paint some tongs to get them out of their shackles,” Caro said.

Ivan lifted a shoulder. “It was hard for me to do. I don’t think they’d have the strength to do it.”

“Let’s try another crowbar,” Melodie said, and went back to her paints and paper.

“I’m ready to talk.” Marchant’s voice sounded tight and unhappy.

“Just a moment,” Melodie called back, her brush giving a final flick before she shoved the page away and stepped back to the door. “Yes?”

“I let the children go, then you give yourself up, then I let the soldiers go.”

“You let everyone go, and then I give myself up. The only details we have to discuss are how we accomplish that.” She stepped away.

Ivan and Theo had wedged the crowbar between the door and the bars that made up the front wall, and with a surprisingly loud pop, the door snapped inward.

“What was that?” Marchant’s voice was steeped in suspicion.

“That was me freeing the children from their cage, old man.” Melodie stepped back to the door. “Tick, tock.”

CHAPTER 28

“Marchant doesn’t knowyou’re here.” Ivan glanced at Theo as he held one of the hand tongs Melodie had drawn. She was becoming extremely good at painting them.

Ivan snapped the shackles on Ric’s left hand and just like that, all the children were free.

Theo felt a surge of satisfaction, despite the fact that they were cornered. Having his students in sight was infinitely better than wondering what was happening to them.

“Agreed. He thinks it’s just Melodie in here with us. We need to work that to our advantage.” Jacinta looked toward the door, then over at Theo. She’d had her arms around the girls as they watched Gallain and Ivan work on the boys’ shackles.

Theo had been thinking about how to play their advantage. He looked over at Melodie. She was still on the floor, where she’d knelt to paint the tongs. Her heavy braid swung forward as she reached over to close the paint box. As she picked it up, Viviane suddenly threw herself off the bench onto the ground beside her.

“Wait.” She put a hand on Melodie’s arm, bent her head, and murmured something in Melodie’s ear.