Chapter 55

After Valec reveals that Bree has fractured her soul and then disappears, Hazel persuades Mariah, Zoe, Lark, and William to rest in the Lounge’s back rooms. Zoe keeps Valec’s phone in hopes of hearing from Elijah. Nick resists leaving Bree, but Bree convinces Nick to rest by promising that Bree will do the same after seeing the rescued girls safely reunited with their families.

Bree spends the day with Lucille, Emil, and Hazel, taking comfort in ordinary talk while the group waits. In the late afternoon, the rescued girls’ families arrive one by one through a gap in Valec’s ward after Emil confirms the area is clear. Bree watches Joy, Melanie, Amber, and Nora reunite with parents, siblings, and grandparents, feeling relief for them while grieving what Bree can no longer have with Bree’s mother and fearing the loss and guilt surrounding Bree’s father.

Nora is the last girl to leave. Nora thanks Bree, hugs Bree, and tells Bree to take care of herself and her crew. Bree suspects Emil and Valec arranged dinner at Emil’s restaurant to move the families away from the Lounge quickly in case Erebus or the Order return, and Bree feels relieved that Emil will be farther from danger.

Though Bree promised to find Nick, Bree avoids seeking comfort in him because Bree feels undeserving and unready to have misery eased. Bree takes a winter coat, passes Valec’s locked office, notices light beneath the door, and continues to the roof. There, exhausted and alone beneath Valec’s ward, Bree falls into a deep, dreamless sleep.

At dawn, Nick finds Bree on the roof and brings chamomile tea from William. Bree asks whether Nick knew what Erebus had taken, and Nick explains that Nick knew something was missing but cannot see souls. Nick tells Bree that the Order is not merely broken but functioning as a system of hate and control, and he insists that Bree owes the Regents nothing and does not deserve suffering.

Nick reassures Bree that a fractured soul does not make Bree’s life lesser, that Bree’s choices save lives, and that Nick would let Bree leave the Scion’s burden behind or go with Bree if Bree asked. Their conversation becomes intimate as Bree admits wanting Nick, and Nick confirms their feelings were never pretend. As sunrise breaks, they claim each other emotionally and physically, and when Bree asks what if Bree wants to burn everything down, Nick answers that Nick’s blade is Bree’s.