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"You need to believe it’s for your own good," her ood, maybe, but not mine Never mine You’re a che--"

"You’re going"

"Then I’ to find er"

Eo with her," she said with despairing eyes It wasn’t a cohter

Everyone in this house seeer and love and loyalty and fear all layered over each other into an incomprehensible blur I opened my mouth to tell her no, that hter’s valet or bodyguard That out of everyone I knew, Charlotte Holmes could take care of herself, and if she couldn’t, I was the last person she’d let help her

Blindly, Holmes reached out to clasp my hand in hers

"I will," I heard myself say "Of course I will"

four

I DECIDED THAT I HAD PRETTY GOOD LEVERAGE TO USE TO strike a deal with my father Because if I didn’t,off to Europe without parental supervision

"Leander left," I toldthe phone into my other hand "Holht One of his contacts was getting antsy, I guess"

As I spoke, I kept an eye on Hol head-to-toe black: collared shirt, tritip boots that I sort of wanted for myself Between her knees, she balanced her sht hair was tucked behind her ears, and I watched her tapping furiously away at her phone, lips pursed She looked dangerous, delicate She looked like a whisper made real

She looked like she had a new case to solve I didn’t kno I felt about that

The phone line crackled "So you’re going to Berlin To look for him" There was a plea in my father’s voice I couldn’t think of the last time that so many adults had asked ained with and not just ordered around It had been, to put itto Berlin," I said, "because Emma Holmes has been poisoned by Lucien Moriarty Apparently"

Hol On her phone, I watched a text pop up fro you from a burner It makes sense, you know He was undercover

Find out where it ca to stretch h, she put the phone between us so I could read

You’re more interested in this than your parents’ situation? Poisoning? Honestly, why on earth have they told you about this and not me?

Because I’m the smart, well-adjusted child, she wrote back Less likely to seek revenge