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There was a prolonged silence. “The church was a pet project of ours,” Clement admitted at last. “We housed those accused of witchcraft so that they would be safe from persecution.” Blair turned to him, noting the regret in his amber eyes. “The witch threatened to reveal our safehouse to the village, thereby putting the innocents under our protection in mortal danger. That was the only reason she was allowed to stay.”

“So you both just let her hurt us. You let her kill Lucy.” The fire that had blazed within him in his memory had burnt out. He felt as though his heart had disintegrated into dusty ash.

Clement heaved a heavy sigh. “When we saw what she was doing to you, we made plans to get you both to safety in a way that wouldn’t compromise our operation. Regrettably, we were too late to save your sister.”

An ache rose up Blair’s chest as though someone were pumping it full of water, making it difficult to breathe. The water doused the ash beneath his ribs, leaving him in a confused slurry of pain.

“At least you pulled me away afterwards. Gabriel would probably have been all too happy to let her kill me, too.”

“Gabriel has never forgiven himself for what happened that day. It’s why I couldn't bring myself to reveal your shared past, though I discovered it not long after you moved to Vitford and I originally planned on telling him. I didn’t know if he was aware of who you were. If he wasn’t, I feared the guilt would destroy him.”

Blair crossed his arms over his chest, his sleeves caked in grime from the basement. Wind blew softly around them, sending a chill down his spine where the fabric had been ripped away, leaving the back of his shirt in tatters.

His attention suddenly caught on a small, rectangular window poking out just above the soil, far below the stained-glass windows. Until that morning, Blair had never realized that he’d been held captive beneath a church, somewhere that should have been a sanctuary, a place of peace.

“Did you always know that Lucy’s spirit was inside the ring?” Blair had to ask.

Clement leaned back on the bench, his legs stretched out in front of him. “I…suspected,” he said, his eyes faraway as though he too was replaying the scene in his mind.

“Why couldn’t you sense it when you were extracting our energies last night?”

“Energy is held close to an object’s surface; a hidden soul is buried deep within.” Clement hesitated, as if unwilling to voice an embarrassing truth. “I was never taught how to recognize that brand of magic. It is, you’ll find, remarkably rare.”

Movement registered in his peripheral vision, and Blair watched as Iris sprinted around the corner of the church in their direction. His heart leapt with relief at the sight of her, but then his stomach lurched. “Did Iris know about all of this?” he asked before she had time to reach them.

“That I cannot say.” Clement stood and stepped away to give them privacy.

Iris’ eyes were wide and fearful as she threw herself into Blair’s arms. “Blair,” she gasped, sitting beside him on the bench. Her hands—which Blair realized with guilt were covered in small cuts—shook as she ran them over his raw cheeks. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened to Lucy?”

Blair winced in pain, leaning away from her touch. “Lucy’s gone,” he said. “Where’s Gabriel?” His friend’s name tasted sour on his tongue.

“He went to get the car.”

“Iris, I need to know something.” Blair’s pulse thrummed in his throat as he tried to formulate the words, terrified of the answer. “Did you know about Gabriel’s connection to this place? Did you know that he sat by while that witch…did what she did to us?”

He could see the truth in her expressive eyes. He could sense it in the way her grip on his hand weakened as the color drained from her cheeks.

It was as though the ground had been ripped out from under him, like he was falling again.

“Gabriel told me,” Iris whispered. “He thought you might have been one of the witch’s captives, but he wasn’t sure. He was so haunted when he said it. I’d never seen him like that.” She gathered both of Blair’s hands in her own. “I’m so, so sorry, Blair.” Her eyes brimmed over with tears. “When you told me what had happened to you and Lucy, I knew that you must have been the one from Gabriel’s memory. I begged him to tell you, please believe me.”

“Iris,” Blair choked, finding himself unable to look at her. “He sat by while my sister and I were tortured. He let her kill Lucy. And you knew.” He forced himself to meet her eyes, hurt spreading like thorns across his chest. “All this time, I thought I was the monster. But Gabriel…”

“Clement was there too,” Iris reminded him.

“Clement never pretended to be my friend. And Clement was the one who got me away from her. I remember it clearly now.” He slid his hands out of Iris’ grasp, the ache of betrayal more painful than he’d have believed possible. “How can you defend him? And how could you not tell me you knew?”

“I’m so sorry. I wanted Gabriel to be the one to tell you. I know he will never forgive himself for what happened. And I didn’t realize that Anna was actually the witch who’d kidnapped you, Blair, I swear. I thought she was just someone from Gabriel’s past. I didn’t know she was trying to lure you back to the place where she hurt you…” Iris faltered, covering her mouth with a trembling hand.

“But Gabriel knew, don’t you see that? He knew who Anna really was, he knew the kind of danger he was bringing me, bringing you, into. We all could have died today.”

“He said he thought it was the only way⁠—”

“And you’re still defending him!” Blair shot to his feet. His head felt fuzzy, his vision dotted with stars.

“I’m sorry.” Iris curled in on herself, her hands tucked beneath her, face blotchy with tears.

Blair stared at her until she met his gaze. “How can I ever trust you again?”