Elle's Pov
Mom is still clutching me, her hands trembling. The room is swallowed in pitch darkness until Nana clicks her fingers.
A single wall-lantern flares to life, pushing the shadows back just enough to reveal the sweat on our faces.
Mom leans in. "Elle… did you see her? Did you find Leora?"
I can see the panic rising in her. She's looking for a miracle, but I only found a murder. "I only saw Damian," I rasp.
"You should have tried harder," Mom presses, her fingers digging into my arm. "You have to..."
"That's enough, Dorothy." Nana's voice isn't loud but it shuts her mouth immediately.
The temperature in the room drops. Nana's gaze drifts over the melted wax patterns on the floor before finally settling on me.
"If the Second Eye revealed only the Blackwells," she says, her voice heavy with an old, ancient certainty, "there are two possibilities."
A pause.
"Either you have unfinished business with that family…"
I open my mouth to argue, but she lifts a hand.
