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I folded up the piece of paper I had in my hand and gave it to him. “Can you slip into Opie’s room and give her this?”

“Yeah, but is there food involved if I do?”

I managed a tired smile. “I am asking her to meet me in the kitchens, so yes to the food. I’ll be there waiting.”

He leapt up and grabbed the note out of my hand and waddled his little butt down the hall before I could so much as blink.

I made my way to the kitchen, thinking Wickersham might already be there getting an early start on breakfast. Luck was on my side, and I found it empty.

I made a beeline for the pantry, digging around for the ingredients to Opie’s favorite breakfast treat.

It was one of the only things I learned to bake from my mom before . ..

Bandit shot into the room, skidding to a halt. “Mission accomplished. Don’t eat without me!”

I snorted. “I haven’t even started making anything yet.”

“Wait, you can cook? You’ve been holding out on me.”

“No,” I pulled the pan I was looking for out of a pile of them. “I can bake. I just don’t have a large repertoire – I have like three things I can make. And really, am I going to bake something in my room?”

Bandit climbed up to sit on the counter. “Is it going to be any good?”

“Unlike my rune work, this is pretty steady, but really, I should have thought to start it last night. This particular recipe is better if it’s left to sit.

And yes, it’s going to make your stomach sing with how good it is.

” I paused and looked over at him. “Did it seem like she was going to come down?”

He shrugged. “She was still half asleep, but she didn’t say no.”

It was a start.

Nerves jiggled in my belly as I tried to focus on the task at hand. I mixed the flour and other dry ingredients first, then added the warm water. Kneading the dough on the floured surface of the counter, Bandit kept my mind occupied with chatter as I worked.

The dough was ready. I focused on my baking, rolling the dough into small round buns before I dropped them into a bundt pan. Melted butter, a package of dry vanilla pudding mix, copious amounts of brown sugar, and a hefty dose of cinnamon all went on top of the pile of buns.

Bandit watched me, his eyes widening. “That’s a damn sugar bomb.”

“Yes.”

“I love it.” He made grabby hands at the bundt pan.

I tucked the pan into the oven, then sat and waited.

A scuffle of footsteps on the stairs leading down into the kitchen snapped my head up. A second later, Opie poked her head into the kitchen, her eyes wary, her face still full of sleep.

“I got your note.”

I smiled. “I’m making sleepy buns.”

“They are not sleepy buns,” Bandit laughed. “That’s not what you call something with that much sugar in them.”

Opie gave him a half smile. “It’s because you make them at night and cook them in the morning.”

I drew a breath. “I’m sorry, Opie. I’m sorry that I hurt your trust in me. I’m sorry –”

“You almost died.” Her soft voice cut through me. “What would I do if you died, Harlow? You’re the only family I have left.”

I closed my eyes and gripped the counter. I wanted so badly to blame Nikita for all this. And while a part of me knew that yes, she had been a part of the disaster, ultimately it had been my decision to go to the well. My decision and no one else’s.

I also knew that if I went up against Nocta and his army there was a chance I would die there on the front lines.

I opened my eyes and looked at her, still seeing the little girl I’d scooped off the streets, the one crying for her mama and papa.

Did I tell her that I was on a collision course with death no matter which way things went?

No, I couldn’t bring myself to shatter what was left of her childlike faith.

I cleared my throat. “I didn’t know, Opie.

If I had, I would never have tried to use the well. ”

“I don’t want to leave. I love it here. I have friends.

” Opie frowned as I winced, thinking of how they’d spoken about her in the bathroom.

“They are good friends, Harlow. And I’m learning to do runes.

And I’m actually pretty good at some of them.

They’re not quite working yet, but all my teachers think it’s only a matter of time. ”

I turned my face away from her as the oven pinged softly. I couldn’t look her in the face when I knew what she was saying was not true.

“My parents were wrong. I have magic, I’m just a late bloomer. That’s what Doyen Parunah said.”

I pulled the pan of sleepy buns out of the oven and slid them across to her, unable to counter her even though I knew the truth.

Opie didn’t have a lick of magic. I knew it, Typhon knew it, Tarquinius knew it. The only person who mattered – Opie – was also the only one still trying to believe.

Emotion clogged my throat, and I cleared it softly. “They’re hot.”

Smiling, she and Bandit dug into the buns. I went to her side and pulled her into a hug. She stiffened at first, then slowly relaxed into my hold. “You aren’t fully forgiven.”

“That’s fair.” I pressed my cheek to the top of her head, breathing her in. “Everything I do, I do to protect you, Opie. Just know that, okay?”

Her arms hung at her sides for a long moment before she wrapped them around me with a sigh. “I love you, Lo-lo, but sometimes I wonder if it isn’t you who needs protecting.”