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"Renée, let o first," Noah said from behind me And before I could stop him, he threw off his coat and blazer and strode pastto stop hilancing at me over his shoulder, he juasp, and, his arainst the ice, he sank into the water below

"Noah?" I said, searching for any sign of hiain, and leaned over the hole and reached ers, asped and pulled it back

It had been almost a full h the dark surface of the water He grasped at the edge of the ice, but it crumbled under his hands Relieved that I hadn’t followed hirabbed his arrown stiff His shirt was hardening around him "Please, Noah Help me"

From somewhere beneath his clothes, I felt the s kick in the water, pushing against the ice Using allhim out of the lake and onto the snow

I rolled hi his face to war a small iron box to his chest, its sides held shut with clasps, its lid engraved with the worn crest of a canary

"You found it," I said, wrapping his blazer and coat around him His hair was hard with ice "You actually found it"

Noah gave me a weak s its color, and his lips were turning blue Without thinking, I leaned over and kissed hirin "I like this"

I laughed and rolledhis hand "Do you think you can walk?"

He gave ht was a nod and put his ar?" he said, as I crouched low Once I was sure the path was ereen

"Inside, so you can war was Horace Hall, which would be e a chance, I walked toward it, Noah leaning on my side We were al opened andhis shovel beside him like a cane His white hair was thin andquickly, I pulled Noah to the ground behind a pile of snow We waited, and when the doors to Horace Hall swung closed behind randfather, I helped Noah up and walked him inside

The foyer was dark, the s shaded by thick blue curtains Beneath them, the radiators crackled with heat, the red carpet plush beneath ainst the small of my back to make it thaw Noah closed his eyes as his muscles relaxed From the upstairs balcony, a penduluic sound rerandfather’s house in Massachusetts

With a groan, Noah hoisted himself up

"No," I said "Rest"

But he shook his head and held up the box from the lake floor "Open it"

I hesitated

"Go on," he said, thrusting it into ly heavy, its dark raved on the top was the crest of a canary I traced the wings of the bird, which were still lined withthe clasps loose of the dirt and rust, I slid them down and opened it

The inside of the chest was perfectly dry Pinned to the inside of the lid was a preserved canary, its pale yelloings spread open as if it were in flight Only then did I realize what the riddle had been referring to The best of our kind Only the best Monitor could sense a canary, especially one subed in water

Beneath the canary was a se shape that als spread Drawn across it were dozens of lines and dots and triangles, swirling together to for phrase: Pour l’amour vrai

"For true love," I whispered, finally understanding why Ophelia had decided to defy the pact her Sisters had made to let the secret die with them She had been in love, just likeup the small box, I tried to lift its lid, but couldn’t