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Even from afar, Cassie could see that Suzan’s headstone hiter and cleaner than those surrounding it It was newer The dirt it stood upon was just sprouting with freshly planted grass It would take weeks for the tiny green pinpoints to grow as long and lush as the adjoining lawn As Cassie expected, Faye was there, standing over the stone She’d wrapped herself in a knit black shawl, even though the breeze tonight ar a while back Cassie had come upon Faye in just this spot by accident, but she left her undisturbed She’d understood at the tio through on her own But after that encounter, it didn’t take long for Cassie to notice that Faye visited there every week at the saht was no different Cassie approached her quietly and respectfully It took a few moments for Faye to turn around When she did, Cassie noticed her eyes were red ri-tailed tear fro here?" she asked, her voice sounding hoarse and raspy

The waran speaking before Faye had the chance to react , isn’t it?" she said

Faye stared out into the distance to the east, where the coastline was visible She didn’t reply, but she also"But eternal life isn’t the solution to what happened with Suzan Dark poon’t bring her back, Faye, you know that And losing Suzan only proves just howher head, so Cassie spoke louder and faster "The ancestors arethey really care about you, but they don’t All they care about is--"

"Enough already," Faye said, cutting Cassie off "Do you really think I don’t already know all that?"

Her tone was condescending but not outraged It sounded to Cassie, well, almost sensible

"That’s why I went over to the other side to begin with," Faye said "I was the only one who could do it without suspicion"

"I don’t understand," Cassie said

Faye’s expression, fraranite cliffs, coht her voice down to a whisper

"I went to their side to spy on theh information, and I didn’t want to blow my cover"

Cassie was taken aback "Do you mean--"

"I outsmarted all of you," Faye said "Aren’t you used to it by now?"

Cassie tried to look past Faye’s cocky surface, to decipher if she was telling the truth

"As I suspected, the ancestors are a bunch of backstabbers," Faye continued "I thought it all along, but now I have proof"

She glanced left and right "I found solass bottle that contains a lock of Scarlett’s hair and soernails, a drop of blood, and a piece of he stone It’s bespelled, Cassie And if the ancestors sround, Scarlett will be stripped of her powers"

Cassie was quiet for a few seconds, shocked that even the ancestors would stoop so low, but also feeling a little ashamed Cassie had been so quick to assume the worst about Faye

"I underestimated you," she said "I’m sorry"

"I knew you would" Faye let her eyes drop to Suzan’s grave "That’s hoas sure , but she knew better than to try "She’d be proud of you," she said instead, placing a hand on Suzan’s headstone

Faye looked away, but Cassie noticed a solitary tear fall frorass

"I’ll steal the bottle," she said, "and coht Tie of what used to be her bed in the secret roo in all the attention The Circle listened in awe as she described every detail of the previous few days--how she’d ed to fool everyone

"This calls for a celebration," Chris said "A party on the beach It’s been so long since ent night swiot swept into the idea This was cause for celebration, wasn’t it? She was about to run for her swietting Faye back feels like a big victory to the Circle," he said "And it is, but it doesn’t automatically solve any of our problems"

He passed his severe eyes over each of them "We’re not in the clear just yet We need to destroy these ancestors, and we need Scarlett to do it Ree of the floor "Nick is absolutely right," she said "And fortunately I’ve learned soent"

She held her head high as she waited for everyone to begin listening intently "Eternal life is what the ancestors have been after all along," she said "First they needed to be resurrected Scarlett did that for them, but she also tried to set herself up as their leader And that was her fatala Blak Cassie’s the one they wanted She’s the stronger sister"

Faye paused to let her words sink in "The ancestors are only using Scarlett to get eternal life, but as soon as they have it, they plan to betray her"

"Untrustworthy de the room like a panther "They don’t like the idea that Scarlett tried to situate herself as their boss They see her as a greedy young girl, a know-it-all"

Faye went for her bag and carefully pulled out the shtly with a rubber stopper "Once the ancestors perfor to s Scarlett of her powers forever"

She held the bottle up high for everyone to see

"I went along with their plan," she said "I didn’t say anything because then they’d turn on me, too But I can promise you that Scarlett has no idea how ," Deborah said

Chris agreed "We should let theht back to the scene of Scarlett and all the ancestors having dinner together at the warehouse Scarlett had been so content in that moment, foolishly so

"All Scarlett wants is to feel connected," Cassie shouted out "To have these ancestors be her family That’s why she’s so blind to their deception--she wants to believe in the best of the to wipe away tears

"Don’t you see?" Cassie said "That’s our in"