Haven woke with a gasp. Someone was sitting on the end of her bed.

“Iain?” Haven’s voice was thick with sleep.

“Yes.”

She dove across the bed and threw her arms around him. She hadn’t realized how much worry had been weighing her down. Now that she knew for a fact that Iain was safe, Haven felt lighter than she had in days. “Oh my God, Iain! I’m so glad you’re here! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

But something was wrong. He wasn’t responding to her kisses.

“I saw you, Haven.”

Haven lurched backward as the guilt skewered her. She’d convinced herself that the whistle outside had been a mixture of the wind and her imagination.

“Tonight?” she asked, hoping he’d witnessed some other—any other—scene.

“I came to tell you I finally found Padma. I saw Adam bring you here. I saw you kiss him in the lobby. What happened to the week you were supposed to give me, Haven? Why didn’t you stay away from him like you promised?”

“What are you talking about? I would have waited if Phoebe had let me!”

“Phoebe?” Iain repeated, his brow furrowed with confusion. Then his eyes rose to the ceiling, and he nodded as if an answer had been sent from above. “I get it now. Phoebe wanted to get me out of her hair, so she agreed to let me look for Padma. She swore she’d put her own plan on hold. But she didn’t, did she?”

“No,” said Haven. “She told me that we had to go ahead with both plans.” Iain was right—they’d been double-crossed. And Haven had allowed it to happen when she’d shown up late for the meeting with the Horae. She had given Phoebe the perfect opportunity to drive them apart and get Iain out of the way.

“Well,” Iain sighed. “That explains why you were with Adam tonight. But why did you have to kiss him, Haven? And how many times have you had to?”

He had every right to ask, but the question still felt like a slap to the face. “That was the first and the last time, Iain! So don’t treat me like I’m some kind of traitor. I’ve been honest with you. Which is more than you can say. Why didn’t you tell me that Mia Michalski is your ex-girlfriend?”

“What? Who told you that?”

“Does it matter?” Haven shot back. It was much easier to live with what she’d done when she imagined that Iain might not be innocent, either.

“Whoever it was needs to have his head checked. But in case you’re concerned, Haven, I haven’t seen Mia in days. She’s been busy searching for Beau, and I’ve been looking for Padma. We’ve both been doing what we can to help you.”

Haven saw the pain written on Iain’s face, and she was shocked to think that she was responsible. That horrible girl must still be lurking somewhere inside her. Beatrice was doing her best to push Iain away, but Haven couldn’t let her succeed. She had sworn she wouldn’t let anything come between her and the person she’d fought so hard to find.

“I’m sorry,” Haven said, pressing her forehead against Iain’s slumped shoulder. Her tears were a skin-searing mixture of guilt, shame, and misery. “For everything. I shouldn’t have kissed Adam. And I should never have questioned your loyalty. I know how hard you’ve been working to help me. If I went too far with Adam, it was because I just want this all to be over. I want to save Beau and grab the first flight to Rome. I’d give anything to be sitting on our balcony right now, listening to a story about one of our lives.”

“Me too,” Iain said. “That’s why I came here. I thought you’d be happy to hear that we might be a little bit closer to getting back home.”

“Because you found Padma?” Haven wiped her tears on the bedsheet. Forty-eight hours earlier, she would have been thrilled by the news.

“Yeah. I spent the last few days staking out some of the locations she used for interrogations back when she was president. Yesterday afternoon, I caught her coming out of a horrible rat hole on the Lower East Side.”

“And? Did she agree to help you destroy the Society?” Haven asked.

“No, but she’s open to talking, as long as there’s something in it for her.”

“So you guys haven’t actually made any moves yet?” Haven probed.

“What are you getting at, Haven?” Iain asked, suddenly suspicious.

“I’ve been thinking, Iain. What if the Society shouldn’t be destroyed?”

Iain watched Haven as if he expected her to start speaking in tongues. “You can’t be serious. The Ouroboros Society is rotten to the core.”

“That’s what I thought too, but I’m not so convinced anymore.” Haven edged closer to him, hoping her enthusiasm might be contagious. “I’ve met some people who could turn the OS into the organization Dr. Strickland meant it to be. There’s this one guy, Owen Bell—”

“What about Adam?” Iain asked bluntly. “Have you changed your mind about him as well?”

Haven bit her lip, trying to decide whether he could handle the truth.

“I think Adam is different now,” she admitted, “and I don’t want to help the Horae lock him away. I’ll betray him if it means keeping you and Beau safe. But I’m going to try to find another solution.”

“See?! This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen,” Iain interrupted her. “This is why I asked for a week.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You’re in too deep, Haven. It’s only been a few days, and Adam’s got you just where he wants you.”

Haven bristled. She was tired of being treated like a naive little girl. “Because I think the Society can be salvaged? Is that really so stupid? You’re starting to sound like Phoebe. If you’d just let me introduce you to Owen—”

“I don’t have time to meet anyone. We need to leave New York before you can get yourself into any more trouble. Mia can keep looking for Beau. She told me she’s hacked into all his accounts. It won’t be long before—”

Haven didn’t hesitate. “No.”

“No?”

“I mean it, Iain. I know you think I’m crazy, but sometimes you’re wrong. Remember what happened in Spain when I was the Emir of Cordoba’s daughter? Phoebe told me you wouldn’t listen to anyone else, and you ended up getting us both killed! Maybe you should try being a little less pigheaded.”

Haven could see from his stunned reaction that Phoebe had been telling the truth. “How did Phoebe hear about Cordoba?” he asked.

“She was there,” Haven sighed, sorry she’d used the knowledge against him. “If you’d just let me explain why I think the OS—”

“Don’t waste your time, Haven,” Iain cut her off. “Look, I’ll be the first to admit I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but this is not one of them. If you had any idea what kind of trouble you’re in, you’d run to the airport. All those people you’ve met at the Society—they may not be monsters but they’re all Adam’s pawns. I saw the paparazzi pictures of you with Alex Harbridge and Calum Daniels. You think those two are your friends? Their loyalties lie with the Society, Haven. And how do you know the OS should be saved, anyway? You’ve only been allowed to see a small part of Adam’s operations. Have you been invited to any of the secret meetings he holds at that mansion near the Society’s headquarters? Have you taken the train up to Halcyon Hall? Have you figured out what’s happening to the children Adam’s recruited?”

“Actually, I do know a few things about Halcyon Hall,” Haven interjected. “I don’t think anyone’s harming those kids. I’ve met a few of them, and they seem perfectly happy to me. Adam is wonderful with them.”

Iain laughed as though the idea were too foolish to merit any other response. “He’s wonderful, is he? It’s taken less than a week for Adam to transform from the devil himself to a friend of all the little children. No wonder you two go around holding hands and kissing. You sound like you’re in love with him.”

“That’s not fair!” Haven exclaimed, her face burning.

“You’re sure? Not even a little?” Iain asked.

“I chose you over him! I’ve always chosen you over him!”

“But you feel something for Adam now, don’t you?”

“Yes. I feel sorry for him.” The statement was only half true. Haven remembered the kiss. She had felt far more than pity. Now she felt only guilt. She took Iain’s hand, hoping to console him. He lifted her fingers into the light.

“Where’s the ring I gave you?” he asked.

The ring. She hadn’t thought about it in days. “I had to take it off. Adam noticed it. That ring could have gotten us both in big trouble.”

“That wasn’t my question. Where’s your ring, Haven?”

“It’s in my purse.” She jumped off the bed and returned to Iain with one hand rummaging around at the bottom of her handbag.

“Never mind,” Iain muttered.

Haven knew what he was thinking, and she silently cursed herself. “Please don’t be mad! I haven’t lost it. It’s still in there.” She set the bag aside and sat down on his lap. When she pressed her lips to his, Iain turned his head away.

“Will you leave here with me tonight?” he demanded.

“No.”

“Fine.” Iain rose from the bed with Haven in his arms. She thought he might carry her through the door and out of the hotel. Instead he set her right back on the bed and marched across the room.

“Where are you going?” she called.

“To find a way to save you.”

“Iain!”

The door slammed behind him.

When it became clear that Iain wasn’t coming back, Haven hurried to the window, hoping for one last glimpse of him. The streets below were deserted, but the park was not. A solitary figure walked the winding paths. The last thing Haven saw before she was blinded by tears was the figure passing from one shadow to the next.