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Henri, true to his word, had coht with a chest of jewels and presented the where the hell he got theuys cas they’d found to replace the items Violet had lost in the fire

I’d lost s she left for ht possible Along with Sebastian,of New 2 and the for of a new council He had a new purpose, and a say that others respected, and I was thrilled for hi Crank’s rooet ho cooped up in the hospital After we finished putting clean sheets on the new bed and adding covers and pillows, our job was done Then it was off to help Violet hang more masks on her wall

"Do I have a mother and father?" she asked me as I hammered a small nail into the wall I stopped to face her She stared at , dark eyes, a red mask pushed on top of her head I went to the bed and sat on the edge "Real ones?" she ais and the bayou "I think you , she said, re was you You had a mother and father I don’t think she created you out of thin air, you know?"

"You really think so?"

I nodded

She thought about it for ato find them Will you help me?"

"Of course I will"

"Maybe there is so at Dora’s house, a clue"

"We’ll learn everything we can Go through it top to botto the Keeper As soon as the library is back and Presby restored, we’ll find out everything we can on the Titans, too Things the rest of the world doesn’t know I’ll read whatever you want me to And soon you’ll learn to read, once school is back in session"

Violet picked up a mask from the pile on the bed and fiddled with the feathers attached to one side "I thought she was ht"

ItDora had said The witch had grown and used Violet for her own protection But I sensed that Violet loved Dora anyway It hy she had shielded her and protected her even as we begged her not to

"I’m sorry," I said "About what happened"

She tilted her head "You think I’ht her hand and pulled her to the bed so that she was standing in front of me "More than ever"

A smile finally came "I will always protect you, Ari I will look after you"

Tears pricked ht have created Violet for a terrible purpose, but Violet had a beautiful soul She was an honest one-of-a-kind A Titan--though it was still hard to wrap htly "Thank you Saht have to burn so"

Dub lurked in the doorith Crank, as on crutches Henri and Sebastian looround

"Crank!"

Violet and I hurried over the gowns and masks to welcome her home

TWENTY-SIX

HE WAITED UNTIL THE HOUSE was quiet, until the kids were in bed and there’d be no interruptions He had to talk to her now, to try and resolve things before he went to Olympus tomorrow to see Archer He knocked, and her muted voice answered from the other side of the bedroom door Slowly he pushed it open She turned away from the dresser The strain and worry that had lurked in her eyes since the day they one In their place shone a clear turquoise blue

But as he entered the room, some of the strain came back into her eyes Because of him, the lies he’d told, the way he’d pushed her away

Her fingers fiddled with a new top hat in her hand She placed it on the charred skull of Eugene Hood, one of Dub’s decorating contributions froed the bed of Mardi Gras beads around the skull’s base

"He’s grown on you, huh?" he said

"Yeah Guess I got used to the creep factor at the other house My roo at me from the dresser" She leaned back, curious and hesitant