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“What’s Eurovision?” said Ty.

“No,” Kit said quickly. “No explaining Eurovision. It’s not important. And didn’t Ragnor say to stay away from Institutes?”

“The rules for ghosts are different,” Livvy said brightly.

“Do you think the residents of the Amsterdam Institute all…disappeared?” Kit said. Like Jem and Tessa and Mina. Vanishing while I reached for them.

Ty shook his head. “It sounds like they left. If it’s locked up, that means there was someone there to shut things down. Maybe they’re going to some kind of central location, or going into hiding in hopes of avoiding whatever is making people disappear?”

“You know who would know?” Livvy said. “The Consul. I could see if I can get back to New York—”

“No.” Ty’s voice was sharp. “Livvy, last time you went that far away from me—”

He broke off, turning quickly to look out the window. Livvy, her expression wistful, reached out a hand and ran it comfortingly along his arm. Or at least, she tried to; her hand seemed to graze him, but didn’t even disturb the material of his shirt. It was clear to Kit that even if Ty could hear and see Livvy, he couldn’t feel her touch.

“What happened?” Kit’s voice sounded loud in his own ears, and maybe a little rude, but he couldn’t just let Ty sit there with that look on his face. “Was that when Livvy went to Pandemonium?”

With an effort, as if he were pulling himself out of a dream, Ty turned away from the glass. “Yes. It was…”

As he hesitated, Livvy said, “Go ahead, Ty. Tell him.”

“You know Magnus gave us your old necklace.” Ty reached down into his shirt and drew out the familiar pendant, silver with the shape of a heron etched into it. “He enchanted it to protect me and to protect Livvy. To preserve the bond between us and lighten the weight of it.”

I know, Kit thought. It was strange to hear Ty speak as if Kit hadn’t been aware that Magnus planned to use it to protect Ty and Livvy. Even when Kit had been his angriest, the thought of anything happening to Ty had been too much to bear.

But maybe Ty was just doing what they’d agreed on: not really talking about their past.

“The night Livvy went to Pandemonium,” Ty went on, “it cracked.”

He held it out on the end of its chain, and Kit rose to his feet, bending over Ty so he could see it better. He hadn’t realized quite how awkward the position would be; he was looking down at Ty, whose head was bent over the necklace. He could see the graceful curve of Ty’s neck, the tip of one ear, the way the ends of his hair curled from the dampness they’d left behind in Amsterdam.

Livvy cleared her throat. Kit jerked his gaze away from Ty and focused on the pendant: It was indeed cracked across the front with a single black line, as if it had been subjected to extreme heat or cold.

He sat back in his seat, feeling as if his breath was caught in his throat. He coughed and said, “That does seem like a bad sign.”

“It might not have been the distance,” Livvy said. “At Pandemonium I touched Dru. She was about to speak and give herself away and I put my hand over her mouth. I didn’t even think about doing it, I just had this instinct to protect her—but doing it almost hurt. Like something tearing.”

“Either way, I don’t want to risk putting more stress on it.” Ty tucked the necklace back under the collar of his shirt. The sun had come out, and the countryside flew past the window in shades of green, gold, and red. “Or put either of us in danger. So…”

“I get to sit around on my spectral hands,” Livvy said, with a sigh, “while you have all the fun.”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘all the fun,’ necessarily,” said Kit. “I’d guess there’s a substantial amount of fun left over.”

Livvy sank down in her seat. “Solving puzzles, killing demons, you know I love that stuff,” she said. “The only thing I can kill now is the vibe.” She winked at Kit.

“Don’t listen to her,” said Ty, opening a second package of stroopwafels. “She enjoys complaining.”

Kit was still trying to digest what Livvy had just said. What did she mean about killing the vibe? What vibe? Was there a vibe between Ty and him? He’d been trying so hard not to have a vibe—

He shook his head. Stop. “Livvy, why don’t you be our lookout?” he said. “Scout ahead, make sure there’s nothing lying in wait. And that no one is following us. Come back if you see anything.”

Kit thought briefly of the man he’d seen two nights before from the hotel window, standing under the streetlight. The image had stayed with him; he wished it hadn’t. He was already on edge.

Livvy looked pleased; so did Ty, for that matter, as if he was glad to have Kit pulling Livvy into their teamwork. “I’m always watching out for you anyway. But we’re heading to a park in Bruges, right? Faeries love parks. They like to get drunk on mortal wine and hit on the plants.”

“Some plants are attractive,” said Kit, without changing expression. “Gardenias, for instance.”

Livvy grinned. “I’ll scope for Downworlders, try to find out what they’re whispering about. Maybe something about Faerie being sealed off. Or Dru.”