Chasity Lahey glared at her cousin from the end of the table. Curly blond hair stuck out around her face. Purple seer eyes nestled deep underneath dark brows. She had a blanket around her shoulders, hands wrapped around a mug of brewing herbs, and was surrounded by lit candles. And she was staring at Nyx.

Behind her, in the kitchen, Nyx's mother and her sisters were crowded around the sink. They wore their long, winter pajamas; curls all out and filling the space between each other. To the left of them, the sun had just begun to rise over the treetops, streaming through the kitchen window. Normally, the entire house would still be sound asleep—her mother's sisters and their seven daughters, Nyx's cousins.

But today was not a normal day.

At 3:37 that morning, Chasity had woken the entire household screaming bloody murder.

Nyx wasn't even fully awake when she swung out of bed and sprinted down the hall, Bjørn hot on her heels. Standing in the open doorway was Eris, the eldest cousin. She looked over her shoulder at Nyx, tired eyes so wide they were frightening.

Inside, Chasity continued to scream, while the voices of Nyx's mother, father, and aunts all spoke over her, trying to calm her down.

Nyx's father and Chasity's mother, Maura, held Chasity by her hands and feet as she lashed about on the bed, eyes glazed.

"Holy shit," Eris yelled, stepping away from the door. "Do we need to call, like, an exorcist or something?"

Maura looked up, panting from the struggle. "This is no time for jokes, Eris Lahey!"

"Please, Eris." Nyx's father looked up from his task. "Can you go and get some hot water and a towel? She's all clammy."

Eris nodded and, with one last look at Chasity writhing on the bed, bolted down the staircase. At age three, Chasity had been confirmed as having the seer strain, which her mother had also inherited. For the next fifteen years, Chasity could be found bent over a potions book, wiping a blown concoction from her clothes, or accidentally setting the drapes on fire as she trained.

But what no one had mentioned in the job description were the night terrors.

They'd started after her twelfth birthday, happening every six months or so. They shook Chasity to her very core. She wouldn't speak, wouldn't eat, wouldn't venture from her bed for days.

But they'd never been this bad.

Chasity's screaming was torturous, desperate. Around her, the bedroom was in complete disarray: pillows and quilts thrown to the floor, a lamp smashed, fingernail scratches in the bedside table.

Chasity's younger sister, Hunting, with whom she shared a room, clung to Nyx's mother.

Eris rushed back in with a bucket of steaming water and a terry-cloth towel. Christophe took the damp towel and put it to Chasity's face. "Chazz," he said, trying to get her attention. "Chazz, can you hear me?"

Chasity continued to scream so loudly Nyx felt the pressure between her ears begin to build.

"Chazz! Come on, darl, just listen to me—"

Chasity stopped almost instantly, staring at Nyx's father with wide eyes. Without so much as a blink, she snapped her head in Nyx's direction and, in two unnaturally quick movements, shoved Chris aside and was on her knees, perched at the end of the mattress, inches from Nyx's face.

"I know you have it, Nyx. Where is it?" she demanded.

In her peripheral vision, Nyx saw her mother looking at her.

"Chazz," Maura said, slowly approaching her daughter, "what are you talking about? Where's what?"

Chasity didn't even flinch at the sound of her mother's voice. "I know you know, Nyx." She was almost growling.

"What are you talking about?" Maura repeated.

"A silver went missing." She spoke as if to no one in particular.

A silver went missing.

"A silver went missing, and Nyx knows where it is."

Nyx's mother cast a look in her direction. Chasity was still watching her, waiting for her to say something. Chasity grabbed Nyx's forearms, yanking her closer.

"No, Nyx, no!" she screamed.

Eris tried to lift Chasity's fingers away even as her nails broke Nyx's skin. Nyx didn't know what to do. She couldn't move.

"No! No-no-no-no, Eris, no!"

"Chasity, let her go!" Maura yelled.

"No!" Chasity's eyes glazed over as the others finally managed to pry her away. She slashed at Eris's face before she was pushed back onto the bed.

"Chazz, you need to calm down! Let the terror pass!" Maura screamed.

"He already knows where we are! The ravens will come looking for the silver! He's going to follow them, Nyx!" Her eyes were glowing.

A silver has gone missing.

"You need to leave the room, Nyx." Her father spoke in a low voice.

Nyx stared at Chasity.

"He's going to get you!" she yelled.

"Get out, Nyx!" Eris roared, snatching her bleeding arms and dragging her from the room. She shoved Nyx into the hallway and pulled the door shut behind them.

"What is she talking about?" Eris hissed.

Nyx wiped at the blood on her arms with the end of her shirt. "I don't know—"

"Did you steal something?"

"What?"

"Like, I don't know—a silver cup, or a fork, or a fucking earring? I don't know, what the fuck is 'a silver'?" Eris hissed.

"How am I supposed to—" And then it clicked. The silver locket from four nights ago.

Eris stared, expectantly. "What?" she said.

"I've no idea," Nyx said, shaking her head.

"So, you don't know what she's talking about?"

Don't you lie.

"No."

***

"Nyx, are you ready for school?" Mae leaned away from her sisters to look at her daughter.

Nyx tore her eyes from Chasity. "Yeah, I just need to go get my bag," she replied, standing. Approaching the staircase, she felt her mother at her back.

"Hey," she said quietly, touching Nyx's shoulder. Mae stared at her bandaged forearms. "You okay?"

Nyx took a deep breath. Over her mother's shoulder, Chasity was still staring. "Yeah. I'm fine. How's Chazz doing?"

Mae sighed and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. It bounced right back out. "She's going to stay home today. She won't even talk to Maura about what she saw. It must have been pretty bad."

"So she's not saying anything?"

Mae shook her head. "Nothing—she's pretty shaken up about it. Do you know what she was talking about?"

Nyx glanced at Chasity and shook her head. "Uh, no, I'm not sure."

Mae nodded softly. "Okay, honey."

"Where's Dad gone?"

She yawned. "He's in Chasity and Hunting's room, trying to put Hunting's bed back together."

"Back together?" A voice from behind. Alice. She sauntered downstairs, red curls pulled back in braids.

"Chasity kicked it into the wall and popped out some of the bolts," Mae said.

Alice made a face. "Geez, okay."

"You're going to keep that on today, aren't you?" She pointed to Alice's black, hooded coat.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Yes, Aunty Mae."

"Good. We don't need any more calls from the academy about fires or scorched backpacks."

Alice had inherited the Ignis strain, meaning she had the power to control and create fire. Her mother, Harring, had discovered Alice at three days old, lying in a smoldering crib surrounded by burning curtains, having triggered the smoke alarms.

Alice had been completely unscathed.

And so, Maura crafted a fireproof hood that contained Alice's powers, and which she wore every day.

"I know," Alice replied. "It's not going to happen again."

"It better not, kiddo."

Behind Alice, Eris slowly trudged down the stairs wearing her trusty leather jacket. "Everybody ready?" she asked. Alice nodded while Nyx ran upstairs to get her bags.

"Chasity's staying home today, but the others are already out front. Hurry, don't miss the bus," Mae said, kissing each of their heads as they walked past.

Alice looked down at the black marble tiles and whispered, "What do you reckon she saw?"

They passed by the kitchen. Nyx could feel Chasity's eyes boring into her back.

Eris gave her a sideways glance. "I'm not sure."

Outside, Hunting and Alice's twin little sisters, Bethany and Persephone, were already waiting. Hair back in buns and braids, backpacks strapped on tight. All of them looked tired.

"Where's Lilith?" Alice asked, looking around as the sound of pounding boots on gravel came from behind them. They turned to see Lilith running toward them.

"What were you doing?" Eris asked.

"Peter wants to get Chazz some flowers but he couldn't find the key for the greenhouse. I went to unlock it for him."

"Oh, that's sweet of him." Alice smiled.

Lilith Lahey had inherited one of the rarest strains known to their kind. Being an Artifex meant that she was able to create life and objects from anything. She could create weaponry or food or absolutely whatever she wished for with a mere thought. Their house had been filled with invisible people—characters from books, people from portraits—ever since Lilith mastered her gift. While the rest of the family couldn't see them, they were definitely there—accidentally bumping into them in the halls, fighting over the showers, trudging mud upstairs.

Lilith's best friend was Peter, whom she'd taken from

J. M. Barrie's book. Considering how many years he'd been with them, he was family, even if only Lilith could see him.

"Anyone know what the deal with Chasity is?" Lilith asked, her wide, pale eyes contrasting with her dark skin.

Eris didn't answer. Storm clouds brewed overhead.

Alice, being her cheery self, said, "No, but I'm sure she'll be better by this afternoon. Poor thing, I think this one really shook her up."

"Yeah," Lilith agreed, glancing at the cobblestone below. "I hope she'll be okay."

"Me too," Nyx said, watching the three younger girls play tag in front of them. Their town, Misten, was generally as quiet as the road ahead. The Laheys lived in an old Victorian estate called Ebony Manor because of the black wood that made up its exterior. It was set away from the center of town, where the academy stood.

Alice pulled her hood over her head as rain began to drizzle. They stopped at the corner. It wasn't long before the headlights of the Reaper Academy bus came into view.

The normal pit of dread settled in Nyx's stomach at the sight of it. The bus slowed and one of the girls in the back flipped them off through the window. Typical Reaper-Necromancer interaction.

Alice whispered, "I was hoping the bus had crashed into a tree somewhere and everyone had been burned alive."

"Same," they answered in unison.

Alice's fingers twitched toward her hood. "That can still be arranged," she said, hopefully.

Eris gave her a sharp look. "Not today, Alice."