Elle woke up to find the ground sliding by beneath her. Not the ground, exactly, but a carpet. The carpet in the entrance hall at home. Another moment passed before she realized she was hanging in the air. She gasped in fright and threw her hands out, expecting to fall, but the floor of her home remained the same distance away from her as it moved by. Or rather, as she moved over it.

“Wonderful,” came Salvia’s voice from behind her. “You’re awake. Now you can tell me why you dared to stay out beyond your curfew, and why you made me come all the way to the other side of the city to find you.”

The stairs to the attic came into view beneath Elle as she remembered exactly how the slave charm worked. If she wasn’t in her room at the required time and the mark of the charm began to burn her skin, Salvia would know. It wouldn’t hurt her, of course. Not the way it hurt Elle. But it would alert her to the fact that Elle wasn’t where she was supposed to be, and Salvia could then use the charm to locate Elle. Salvia must have found her passed out and brought her home, and was now using a levitating charm to get her upstairs.

“I was trying to get to the bottom of our vampire problem,” Elle explained, “just like we agreed. But I lost track of time.”

“Not acceptable. And you’re pretty useless at dealing with your vampire problem, since all the vampire activity was happening in a completely different part of the city tonight, near the beach in that crummy old area. Belgravia.”

“Yes, that’s where I was before I ended up—”

“Stop lying to me.” Magic sizzled around Elle, and she found herself tossed forward onto the wooden floorboards of her attic.

“I’m not lying,” she said as she scrambled up to her feet. Her body ached everywhere, from earlier when a vampire had crashed into her, and then from hitting the road as she’d passed out, and now from landing on the hard floor. But it was nothing compared to the pain Sienna would have to endure if Salvia decided Elle’s disobedience tonight was worth a punishment. “I promise I’m not lying. I lured a vampire onto the bridge there, and it turned out he—”

“Perhaps you should be asking her to explain this.”

The person who interrupted her was Meredith, and Elle looked around to see that she was sitting on the edge of the bed. And beside her—

No.

Nononono.

The bottom dropped out of everything and Elle sank to her knees. It was her box of Essence. Her future. Her hope.

“What is that?” Salvia demanded, stalking past Elle and taking the box from Meredith. She yanked the lid off, and Elle heard a quiet intake of breath. For a moment, no one moved. No one said a word. Then Salvia faced Elle. Elle expected to see anger or outrage in her stepmother’s eyes, but all she saw was shock. “Where did you get this?” Salvia whispered.

Elle didn’t answer. What would be the point? Nothing she said now would make a difference. Salvia would take the Essence from her, like she’d taken everything else, and that would be the end for Elle.

“Did you steal all these vials of Essence? Is that what you’ve been doing every time you sneak out of this house? What were you planning to do? Buy a wish? Blindside me by wishing for your freedom and simply disappearing?”

Again, Elle said nothing.

“I’ve tried to be lenient with you. I gave you freedom with barely any restrictions because you were once family to me. You’ve had more freedom than any other slave in this city. And this is how you thank me? You and Sienna will both be punished for this.”

“No, wait,” Elle said, pushing herself onto her feet. “Sienna doesn’t know anything about this.”

“Meredith, leave,” Salvia said, ignoring Elle’s protests. “And thank you, my love, for searching this attic and revealing the true extent of Elle’s betrayal.”

“Only a pleasure,” Meredith said with a gloating smile. She rose from the bed and sauntered past Elle. For one wild moment, Elle considered tackling her to the floor and striking that smile from her face. But then Meredith was at the door, and the moment had passed, and Elle was as weak as she’d always been in her stepmother’s presence.

Salvia strode past her with the box of Essence vials tucked beneath her arm. “Please don’t hurt Sienna,” Elle said as self-loathing almost choked her. She could barely stand to beg, but she was willing to do anything to keep Sienna from suffering.

“Sienna is not your problem,” Salvia snapped, turning in the doorway to face Elle.

“Please,” Elle said, rushing forward.

“Get back in there!” Salvia shouted, throwing her hand out. Gold dust flashed, and magic stung Elle’s cheek. She gasped in surprise and pain, raising her hand automatically to her cheek. “You will never be free!” Salvia hissed. “The confinement charm will be on here permanently. The only time you’ll leave this room is when I require your skill at memory removal. You won’t clean the house. You won’t go out on errands. We earned enough from the last con to hire a new maid. Congratulations, my dear Estelle. You’ve graduated from slave to prisoner.” She slammed the door and disappeared along with every last shred of Elle’s hope.