Page 3 of The Threads Between

“Lily?” Adeline’s voice floated down. “Is it from Mira and Garrick?”

I looked up to find her at the landing, already leaning forward over the banister—she'd read my posture, or maybe she just knew me well enough now to read the difference between another bad day and something else entirely.

“They found someone,” I said, and my voice cracked on the words. “Someone who might be able to help.”

Adeline's face transformed—hope and relief breaking through like light. For one suspended moment, the world was possible again.

Then the front door slammed open behind me.

Marigold and Syra tumbled in from the wet street, breathless, a newspaper clutched between them. Water dripped from their cloaks onto the floorboards.

“Lily.” Marigold’s voice was tight. “You need to see this.”

Syra held out the paper, her hands shaking.

My stomach dropped before I even looked at the headline.

THE UNRAVELER ELIAS HAWTHORNE TO PRESENT REVOLUTIONARY DEMONSTRATION AT ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

Renowned Hunter Promises “Definitive Solution” to Magical Threats

Saturday, Feb 5th — By Invitation Only

Saturday. Three weeks from now.

My fingers found the edge of the paper, and I read:

Elias Hawthorne, esteemed leader of the Witch Hunters, will present a groundbreaking demonstration of new security measures designed to eliminate magical threats. The event, to be held at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, will showcase unprecedented advances in the containment and control of dangerous Weavers.

“The safety of England depends on our ability to neutralize those who would use magic against us,” Hawthorne stated. “This demonstration will prove, once and for all, that no magical threat—no matter how powerful—can escape the reach of justice.”

Attendance is by invitation only. Hawthorne assures the public that all necessary precautions have been taken to ensure the safety of attendees.

He will parade August in front of London's elite like a trained animal. A curiosity. Proof that magic could be made to kneel while they sipped champagne and applauded the death of our kind.

“He’s bringing August.” Adeline’s voice came from behind me, hollow. “He’s going to show him off to all of London like he’s some kind of⁠—”

“Weapon,” I finished.

And they would cheer for it.

The ghost-thread in my chest flared, sharp and undeniable.

CHAPTER 2

LILY

HAWTHORNE DEMONSTRATION—ROYAL OPERA HOUSE—THREE WEEKS. Adeline reached for the paper. If Elias put August on that stage, he would break him in front of London's elite—and the last thread connecting August to who he'd been might not survive it.

“Three weeks.” Syra’s voice was flat, stripped of emotion. She stood the way she always did when the news was bad—weight shifted back on one heel, already half-angled toward the door, a Seer's instinct to keep an exit line clear. She pulled her cloak tighter, though the cold in the room had nothing to do with the weather. “Plenty of time for things to go wrong.”

“Or plenty of time to get it right.” Adeline didn't look up from the paper. Her fingers traced the column edge. “If we’re smart about it.”

Marigold had lowered herself to the floor with her back against the wall, arms wrapped around her knees. She tipped her chin up at me, pale beneath the freckles scattered across her nose.

“Are we really going?” she asked. “To the opera house?”

“We have to see him,” I said gently. “We need to know what we’re facing.”