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Maria slung back a beer as the four of us returned to the room.

“Oh good,” she said, barely glancing at my and Damen’s conjoined hands. She turned to the coffee table, set down the brown bottle, and picked up a wet paper towel. She turned back toward us and held a half-melted ice cube and a needle. “I’ve been waiting. I’ve had plenty of time to prepare.”

“I’m not doing shit!” Miles whined as he held his earlobe. “You either let it go, or I’m done.”

“Where did you even find that needle?” Damen asked.

He didn’t seem overly concerned about Miles’s plight but more worried about Maria rooting through his house.

He led me back to my pillow, and I sat down, tucking my legs under me, before he kissed the top of my head and returned to his previous seat on the couch.

“Do you carry a sewing kit around with you?”

“I found it in the hallway.” She shrugged, not resisting as Miles snatched the needle from her hand. “It was in the sewing machine. ”

Damen frowned and looked to the doorway. “You mean from the vintage Singer set that I haven’t cleaned yet?”

“It’s covered in rust!” Miles was holding up the needle to the light. “You’re going to give me tetanus!”

I glanced back at Julian, our future doctor. Surely, he would have something to say. He’d taken a seat on one of the high-backed chairs behind me and was in the process of opening a thick book.

However, he must have felt my eyes on him.

“Oh, you’ll be fine.” Julian yawned as he crossed his legs. “I’ll give you a shot.”

“That’s not helping,” Miles snapped at him.

This was getting ridiculous. Besides, if I remembered correctly, after Miles, it was me. Maybe if I quickly took my turn, this whole thing could be forgotten.

I leaned over the board and spun the arrow—it landed on two, which led me to one of the last two pieces that I needed: the ring.

“Fine.” Maria sat next to me as I began rooting through the jewelry box. “But only for Bianca.”

“I don’t see a green ring,” I said, my mood dampening. I was so close to victory, yet it was falling further out of reach.

“What?” Maria sat on her knees. “There has to be one!” She began to pull out the remaining pieces, and she frowned. “I must have forgotten it.”

“Just use this one.” Damen handed me the black titanium band he’d been wearing on his right pinky finger, and I frowned at it.

“No thanks,” I muttered. It was not the same.

But then I remembered.

“Hold on!” I jumped to my feet. The others stared at me. This would be a perfect use for the ring I found in Professor Hamway’s basement. I’d completely forgotten about it until this moment .

“Just wait,” I told them, and I rushed up the stairs to Damen’s room and into my dirty clothes pile. Thankfully, it was still in my pocket, so I grabbed it and ran back downstairs.

“I have this,” I said, slightly out of breath as I sat back next to Maria.

I slipped the ring on the pointer finger of my left hand.

The others were watching me—Miles stood out as having the most peculiar expression etched into his features—as I held out my hand.

“I should probably return it, but I did find it fair and square.”

After all, it wasn’t even stealing. The ring didn’t belong to her—it was Rosalie’s. I could claim it as payment for setting her spirit free.

“Return it where?” Julian asked. He lowered his book to his lap and looked at my hand. “Whose ring is it?”

“It was at Professor Hamway’s house,” I said, holding my hand to the light. To think, it was so shiny and sparkly now—it would be breathtaking when polished and made like new.

“You stole a ring from Aine?” Damen’s voice tightened, every word laced with disapproval.

“I did not steal anything!” I gasped and held my hand against my chest, covering my treasure. “I found it in the basement. I bet she doesn’t even know it exists. It’s mine .”

“That’s still stealing.” Damen narrowed his eyes and held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

“You should give it to Damen,” Miles added, frowning at me.

“No!” I leaned back. They were so wrong. “You can’t make me!” I didn’t understand why I cared so much, but it was the principle of the matter. I’d found it first.

“Here, darling,” Julian interrupted. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold pocket watch. “I’ll trade you.”

I looked down at my hand and back to the lustrous watch in Julian’s hand. This was such a difficult decision, but ultimately, the promise of something new won. “Okay,” I said.

I dropped the ring in his hand and took the watch, and I was pleased. My blood thrummed excitedly as I held up the chain and let the face of the watch catch the firelight. Julian was foolish. This was much better.

The others were scowling at him, but it was Maria who finally commented. “Really?”

“This is just Fae Management one-oh-one.” Julian shrugged. “Do some reading. Maybe it’ll come in handy one day.”

Miles reached for the ring, and Julian gave it to him without a fight. I watched this transpire, but I no longer cared.

Whatever Julian did with his possessions was no business of mine.

Maria sighed and touched her forehead as Damen and Miles crowded around the ring in the background.

“That seems like a huge liability,” Maria pointed out.

“There’s pros and cons,” Julian replied, leaning back into his seat. “You get used to it.”

The lioness raised her eyebrow in Damen and Miles’s direction. “What about them?” she asked. “Wouldn’t they know, considering?”

“Ah,” Julian mused, looking at the onmyoji and witch. “They know. Damen is just determined to do it his way on principle. Miles finds it morally reprehensible. I have no such misgivings—I’ll do whatever needs to be done.”

“Hey, Bianca,” Miles called out, and I looked back at him. He held up the ring between two fingers. “Did anything strange happen when you found this?”

“Oh.” I touched the side of my chin and looked at the ceiling. What was the exact order of things? “I saw some memories or something, then learned that the ghost’s name was Rosalie, set her spirit free, and then Finn and I were attacked by the other ghost and almost died.”

Julian, who’d been listening to me with his chin resting on his fist, straightened. “Memories?”

“I don’t know.” I rolled my shoulders and returned to my newest acquisition. “I touched the ring and then saw some scenes from her past that told me about her.” When nobody replied, I glanced up, only to see everyone looking at each other.

“What?” My stomach twisted.

“Bianca,” Maria was the first to speak. “Was Finn already with you when this happened?”

I bit my lip and slowly looked between everyone. “Yeah? He seemed surprised and then asked me what her name was. Then Rosalie came, they talked a bit, and then we were almost murdered,” I reiterated.

“But would it be murder if the one doing the killing is already dead?” Miles asked.

“That…” I began, ready to argue, but then paused. “That’s a good question.”

Did spirits get free reign with this sort of thing?

“See what I mean?” Miles crossed his arms and nodded. “It’s a lawless wasteland out there.”

“People, focus,” Damen interrupted. When we looked at him, he addressed Miles. “What were you saying before?”

Miles’s eyes widened, and he sat up. “Yeah, I have something to say.” His demeanor slipped from casual friend to professional witch in an instant. “That ring is cursed,” he declared, pointing at Damen.

Julian, Maria, and I looked at him, waiting, but he only pursed his lips and glared at Damen’s hand.

Finally, it was Julian who spoke first. “And?” he prompted. “Do you have anything else to add to that, or…? ”

“I have no idea,” Miles glowered, almost pouting. “The magic is at a level that I haven’t learned in my studies yet, so I will need to consult with the Officers and maybe even the Proxies. But, seeing as though we’re keeping Bianca’s role secret, I’m limited in who I can approach.”

“Jonathon is probably a safe bet,” Damen mused, and he began to bounce his knee. “He’s still your Paragon Er Bashou, even if he is retired. Plus, he knows Bianca.”

Jonathon—my adoptive father?

“Um…” I interrupted, holding my finger in the air. “Do you think they know we’re talking?”

“I’m not sure.” Damen frowned. “Finn might have told him since they had been communicating before.”

My earlier talk with Finn replayed in my thoughts.

“M-maybe,” I said, allowing my shoulders to slump. I’d been avoiding this, but eventually, I would have to figure out what to do about my parents. “But maybe not? We probably would have heard something if that was the case.”

“I could talk to Jin,” Miles said, looking between us before his gaze lingered on Maria. “He’s the last one in your quintet that doesn’t know about Bianca yet.”

“You can trust him,” Maria told him. “And Hanah, too, if you want to include other Officers. She doesn’t talk to her parents.”

“Okay.” Miles nodded once more, seemingly having made up his mind.

“Should—” I began, hesitant. Everyone looked so serious, the light atmosphere of the evening extinguished. I glanced between them, willing my nerves to calm and my heartbeat to slow, as I asked, “Should I be worried? Those are all witches, right?”

It was Miles who rushed to reassure me first.

“Yes,” he said. He sat beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“They are all witches—Hanah and Jin are two of my Officers from this generation. Jonathon and Abigail are Proxies from the Paragon generation, but because we’re not sure what exactly happened with your adoption and Finn, it’s probably best not to rely on them until we know more.

We’re trying to keep the circle that knows who you are small.

But don’t worry, Jin and Hanah are far more advanced than me; they’ll know how to help. ”

Yet another thing I didn’t understand was why Miles’s underlings were stronger than him. He was the Earth Xing—the master witch—which was supposed to make him the most powerful.

Did this mean that, theoretically, the Xing wasn’t automatically the greatest?