Chapter 39

Bree wakes in the Penumbra mansion to Nick showering and realizes he slept uncomfortably on the chaise rather than risk sharing the bed. The closed curtains and quiet room briefly let Bree imagine safety and care, but a knock interrupts the illusion. Bree answers cautiously with her mask on and root magic ready, and a distracted staff member delivers Mikael’s supplied clothing for the weekend.

Nick notices Bree’s summoned root and warns that her reaction exposed their nervousness. Nick explains that the staff member was likely observing them and that, because Bree and Nick are supposed to be engaged, their inability to behave comfortably around each other could draw attention from Bianca, Mikael, or the Collectors. Remembering Eric’s death and the Collectors’ willingness to watch murder as entertainment, Bree accepts that they need to maintain the lie convincingly.

Nick proposes that Bree and Nick practice touching each other. They start slowly, with Nick holding Bree’s arm and elbow, then standing close enough for Bree to touch his chest. The exercise becomes emotionally charged when Bree senses Nick’s magical signature and Nick asks what was done to Bree, implying that he notices the changes or absences caused by her lost memories and altered power.

Bree asks what Bree and Nick were to each other before. Nick refuses to manipulate Bree with guilt, but he describes meeting Bree, wanting to know her, and the intensity of kissing her. Bree instinctively completes his metaphors, suggesting that some emotional memory remains. Nick then draws a boundary: in the present, he will touch or kiss Bree only to preserve their cover and only as practiced, asking Bree to focus on survival rather than on what they used to be.

Later, dressed in Mikael’s provided clothing, Nick coaches Bree on lying by keeping falsehoods close to the truth. They discuss Zoe, Bree’s remaining secrets, and Sel, whom Nick describes as difficult, powerful, and not necessarily gone. Nick also reveals that after Bree and Sel disappeared, he exploited an Order loophole to search for them and sought out Ava and the Morgaines, though Ava had no answers.

As Bree and Nick prepare to leave for breakfast, a note slides under the door asking for a meeting in the gardens in twenty minutes. Bree doubts it is from Zoe, and Nick identifies the likely sender as Ava. Nick chooses to meet Ava for possible information while Bree heads toward breakfast, but Bree is troubled by Nick’s partnership with Ava, a Morgaine who wants Bree dead.