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"I think they were chosen."

The word makes the room feel colder.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

She reaches across the counter and takes my hand. A rare gesture from Everly. She is usually more comfortable offering tea than comfort.

"Be careful, Carys."

"That thing knows you're looking."

"I know."

"No."

Her voice lowers.

"It knows you specifically."

The statement follows me even after I leave.

By the time I return home, the sun is setting. Sleepy Hollow looks beautiful in the way dangerous things often do. The trees are gold and red. The streets glow with Halloween decorations. Fog begins creeping between houses as temperatures drop.

It looks exactly like the kind of place where people would tell ghost stories. Which is probably why nobody notices one happening in front of them.

Rhett is outside when I arrive. Checking the perimeter again. Of course.

"You went alone."

I stop.

"Hello to you too."

His expression doesn't change.

"You went alone."

"Yes."

"Without telling me."

"I was gone two hours."

"That's not the point."

I walk closer.

"The point is you think if you aren't watching me every second, something bad will happen."

His silence confirms it. I soften slightly.

"Rhett."

He looks away. That tells me more than words would.

"I saw what happened yesterday."