Karter leaned over my shoulder. “What the hell? Have you tried watering it? Tried to get it to come back like the stuff up top?”

“No. But I don’t think water would make a difference. I don’t think that’s what it needs.”

“What does it need?” Karter asked.

“If it were a real heart, what would it need?” I asked.

Karter’s eyes grew wide in the moonlight. “Are you saying it needs blood?”

Marie put her hand on my shoulder, concern in her eyes. “Do you know what will happen if you do this?”

“Do you?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

“Do you know if Circe kept it alive? Or did she let it die?”

Marie avoided my stare. “She kept it alive. So did Astraea. She said she had to.”

This was the work Circe had mentioned. Not the shop or even the Poison Garden, but this—the care of this very special plant.

“I’ve seen you do all kinds of impossible things,” Karter said suddenly. He walked over and stood next to Marie. “So I’m not really surprised that we’re out doing some kind of blood ritual in the dark, in a stank-ass underground vault. But for real—this feels dangerous. Especially for me, because clearly your homegirl is not concerned.” He gave Marie the once-over, but didn’t push further.

“Oh, I’m concerned,” said Marie. “Just not in the way you think.” She looked at me. “I’m worried that if you don’t keep track of the Heart and look after it the way Circe and Selene did, that it’ll be lost—or stolen. If you really think you’re related to Medea, your family tree branches back hundreds of generations.” She sighed. “I always wondered why they’d risk it, why this family felt like they had to do all this after the toll it seemed to have taken on them.”

I gestured at the plant. “They kept it because it’s him—it’s Absyrtus. The Hearts are his mortal remains.”

“Hearts?” Karter asked. “There’s more than one?”

“There was,” I said. “Originally there were six.”

Marie moved closer to me. “What could be lost if you don’t do this?”

“Briseis,” Karter said softly, his voice trembling. “What are you gonna do?”

I removed one of my earrings and held it against my index finger until the skin broke. I held my hand over the Absyrtus Heart and squeezed my finger. A single drop of blood fell onto it.

The veiny surface of the plant expanded slightly, like it was being pushed out from the inside. I jumped back, my heart racing. Karter gasped. Marie’s mouth fell open as she backed away.

“It moved,” I said.

“No shit,” said Karter.

The plant shifted again. Karter hit the stairs, taking them two at a time.

“Karter! Wait!” I screamed.

I scrambled up the stairs behind him. He was heading out the door as the crimson brush turned to face him, its blooms opening and taking aim, preparing to shower him with its deadly powder. I threw myself between him and the plant and caught a plume of rust-colored poison right in the face.

Ice-cold numbness stole my breath. Something brushed past me as my vision blurred. I staggered back, my ankle twisting painfully as I slipped on the slick green moss. A thick tendril of Devil’s Pet wrapped itself around my arms and legs, keeping me from tumbling down the steps. It righted me and I raced out into the Poison Garden.

Karter stood, eyes wide, chest heaving on the other side of the moon gate. Marie stood next to him, shaking her head. She’d pulled him to safety, probably with enough strength and speed to make him think he was losing it.

“Great,” I said to myself. Now I was going to have to tell him secrets that weren’t mine to share, and I didn’t know where to start. I closed the hidden door, locking it. A dull ache throbbed in my right ankle. I hobbled over to Karter.

“Are you hurt?” I asked. I didn’t see any cuts or scrapes, but I couldn’t tell if the shock on his face was from almost being poisoned to death or if he was trying to process all the highly weird shit he’d just seen.

“What—what was that?” Karter asked. “Did you see that?”

My sock suddenly felt too tight. My ankle was swelling. “I gotta get home. I think my ankle is broken.”

Marie was immediately at my side, taking my entire weight as she slipped her hand around my waist.

“I—I think I need to lie down,” said Karter. “Something’s not right.”

My heart cartwheeled in my chest. “Did you touch something? Were you holding your breath?”

“He’s not poisoned,” Marie said. “I made sure he didn’t touch anything. Me, on the other hand . . .” A ragged cut lay open on her upper forearm. A lacework of veins, black as the night sky, traced a path up her arm.

I grabbed her hand. “Oh no.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’ll be okay.”

Karter glanced at me, sweat beading on his forehead, his mouth stuck in a hard line. He shook himself from his panic-induced stupor. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”

With Marie practically carrying me, we left the garden and I locked the outer gate. The darkness was complete and stifling as Karter led the way home, lighting the path ahead of us with his phone. I kept putting my foot down to at least keep up the illusion that Marie was only assisting me, not effortlessly taking my entire weight, but each attempt sent a bolt of pain straight through the side of my leg. I winced.

“If you keep trying to ‘help’ me, I’m gonna lift you up so high you can’t touch the ground at all,” Marie said.

“Like you did me?” Karter asked, glancing over his shoulder. “We not gon’ talk about that? You think I didn’t notice that you scooped me up like it was nothin’? Like I don’t see Bri’s feet dangling off the ground this whole time we’ve been walkin’? I’m a grown—almost grown—man—”

“I could’ve left your ass there,” Marie snapped. “And if I had, your skin would be peeling away from your bones and your throat would be closed up.”

Karter’s entire demeanor changed. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. “I—I’m sorry. I just—How did you do that? Who are you?”