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He took me by the hand and walked out of the lost world with me. “It’s the church. And a free agent, it would seem. I didn’t want to leave you here to worry any longer, so I haven’t started the questioning yet.”

I nodded. I was all nerves, and I couldn’t keep my teeth from chattering. The memories flooded back, of the bathroom, moldy grout, nicotine breath, hands pushing me under.

I leaned against Auris. “Sorry.”

Auris stayed calm. “It’s fine. You’re safe. There is nothing to run from, nothing to fight. Your body doesn’t quite know that yet, but you can trust me.”

I focused on the melody of his voice, on his hand around mine. I nodded. All the rest of me—my racing heart, my forehead beading with perspiration—took longer to get on board with that.

“Way to ruin date night,” I mumbled in an attempt to be funny.

“We’ll make up for that.” We headed down the stairs, those wide, imposing stairs that made me feel like a servant who’d been asked to the ball by the faerie prince.

I nodded. I hated this. All I’d wanted was a fun night with him, not this.

There was, however, no way out of this but through, and I forced myself to think, to acknowledge that Auris was next to me, that he was unhurt, that I was unhurt, and that it was nighttime, when he was strongest. Instead of fighting against what my body was doing, I told myself, over and over, he’s safe and so am I. I concentrated on taking deep breaths instead of shallow ones, and I held tight. It meant so much that Auris was there, not fussing, but silently allowing me to squeeze his hand as much as I needed.

“Are there…any more of them?” I asked when we got to the ground floor where the entrance was.

The luxurious museum felt too big all of a sudden, and the dimmed lights turned simple shadows into pits of darkness from which armed priest might spill at any second.

Auris turned me around to face him and cradled my cheeks in his hands. “Ethan.” He narrowed his eyes. Tears welled up in mine. “Shh, it’s fine. It’s a small group of them. Five, plus…that independent agent. They had one person wait outside to report back if the others failed or rush in to support them. There is no one else except the museum staff I didn’t send home, and I have them enjoying a relaxing cup of tea in the breakroom. You know my sense of hearing is much better than yours, and I would be able to hear heartbeats that do not belong, do you understand?”

I nodded. My skin still itched, and I still wanted to run. I didn’t. I just breathed. Auris squeezed my hand, and we walked into the café.

The once welcoming, bright space with the dinosaur skeleton had taken on an air of foreboding. A group of black-clad people sat around a table, and when one of them, sour-faced, looked up at me, I gasped.

There, sitting with a group of faithful mercenaries from the crucifix club, was none other than our most unpopular houseguest.

“Charlie? What the fuck?”

Auris hummed. “I had much the same reaction.”

Charlie was wearing all black as well, but where the priests looked like hunters, at least to me, Charlie appeared more polished, as if he worked for a government. He was still extremely thin, but what he was wearing, the layers—armor?—hid that pretty well.

As I locked eyes with him, he bared his teeth and jerked forward in his chair. I jumped back. His arms were behind his back, tied to the chair.

Auris sighed. “I had to use tape on him. He’s unusual, or he’s learned how to avoid entrancement. I find both options very curious and worth my special interest.”

Charlie growled, and he was, quite literally, foaming at the mouth.

I cocked my head. “Wait. But you did entrance him?”

Auris shrugged. “Yes, some. Not completely. I’m not sure it’s worth the effort to force his will into total submission.”

I shook my head while Auris led me to another table, pulled out a chair, and gently pushed me into it.

I scratched my head. “Auris, didn’t you say Charlie was under entrancement not two weeks ago?”

Charlie growled, then spoke, which seemingly cost him every shred of willpower he had. His jaw muscles trembled, and his face shone with sweat. “Can’t…com…pelllll…me.”

Auris gave a wry laugh. “But I did.” To me, he said, “Yes, he was under an entrancement. We’re going to have to find out how that was done and who did it.”

I ran my hands over my thighs as if to warm the palms. “What if he was entranced by someone else and not Jonathan? Auris, can you tell if there’s another like you here?”

“I would know if they were near, but it’s only these very human men. We’ll attempt to find out how all this happened.”

I nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that.”