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"Ilias was older than an "Almost ten years Our parents weren’t very fertile, and it took theether with the age difference, but he always looked out for ood-looking Everyone loved him" Darius’s face fell for a uy kept showing up to see Ilias and our parents I don’t knoho he was or what he said, but everyone had a different reaction Ilias always treated hi was funny He talked about the guy like he was crazy But our parents…they were different They were upset every time he visited Not upset--scared After a while, they were just always on edge You could see it all over them And one day…my mom just cracked She committed suicide Cut her wrist in the bathtub"

Tessa flinched "Oh, my God I’m so sorry" Conversation faded after that

The facility that Darius’s father lived at tried very hard to pretend to be sorand as the Koskinen house, though better maintained, and even its name sounded more like what you’d find with a country manor: Rose Grove A clock in the lobby said it was nearly eleven,Tessa worry about whether his father was still up

"He doesn’t sleep much," Darius explained He led her upstairs to a roon outside read OLAF SANDBERG

Olaf had the look of soed before his ti to himself as he slid around puzzle pieces on a screen "Red line matches red…start with the corner, then find the others…can’t match blue with yellow…"

Darius took a chair on the opposite side of the table "Dad," he said gently "I have someone ants to talk to you"

"That’s nice Very nice" Olaf’s eyes never left the screen

"She wants to talk about Mom and Ilias"

Olaf’s hands faltered on the screen, and pain crossed his face "Over and done, over and done"

On impulse, Tessa set up her caht thisfor Justin She then sat in an empty chair between the two men, more than a little unnerved by Olaf’s disposition She was no interrogator, nor did she even really knohy she was here She let Darius take the lead and witnessed a reone, replaced by a cal affection for his father

"Dad, she wants to know about the goddess you’re always telling me about The one you made the deal with"

"Over and done," repeated Olaf, his voice shaking

"Did she kill Molares to each of theave herself up Do you understand? No one took her She was strong"

Tessa wasn’t sure about that if she’d killed herself Darius’s resigned expression said he’d heard all of thisto draw out his dad’s story for Tessa’s benefit

"She gave herself up for Ilias," said Darius, seeking confirh"

Tessa hadn’t wanted to get involved, but again, herto understand "Your anted a life?"

"No! Of course not" Olaf paused to slide some oddess?" asked Tessa

"She wanted a life That man said it had to be Ilias’s, that that was her payain, desperation in his eyes "Why should it h? We repaid her"

Tessa felt as though she too were sliding pieces of a puzzle around, trying to make sense of this scattered information "What did you repay her for?"

"For Ilias"

"Because she gave hi him

Olaf dropped his hand and spread it flat on the screen "But he was never ours They got a fortune They got that poor plebeian boy’s life to h They wanted Ilias to serve, but he wouldn’t, so they took him back" He took a deep breath "I should’ve joined Siiri Maybe ed another life One for the plebeian boy, one for Ilias If we’d both given ourselves to her, she o free"

There was more here than Tessa could understand Suddenly, awith her in his study A bunch of plebeians die the same year some perfect patricians are conceived Is that a coincidence?

"What was Ilias’s score?" she asked

"He was a nine," said Darius