Page 29 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

That seems to get his attention.

His head jerks in my direction, and he fixes his sharp gaze on me. “What do you mean?”

“It looks similar to yours. It could be different, but… when I say it’s similar, I mean it’s identical.”

“Describe it.”

“It’s the same gold, with his initials carved on the back. The numbers look the same and… like the font, or whatever. I don’t know. All watches look alike to me, but I have this one seared in my brain.”

“I know very little about the watch. The magic is undetectable, but I know it belonged to my mother. She charmed it, I think.”

“Does that mean my father has a watch she made?”

“Maybe.” He exhales smoke. “Probably not. He may own a watch similar to the one she charmed, sure. Or he could have stolen it from her. It’s hard to say.”

“Yeah…” I frown, staring up at the waxing moon. “I guess it is.”

“We’ll figure it out together.” He takes a drag of his cigarette. “But if your father has a watch like mine, he may be wrapped up in this after all. The question remains: how?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out.”

“You’re not alone.” His cool gaze catches mine. “Don’t act like you are, and don’t go off without us.”

Caldwell doesn’t know that this plan requires me to run off by myself.

I smile slowly, deciding to keep the information close to my chest—for now. “I’ll try.”

I can’t sleep.Tobey and Caldwell are crammed into Tobey’s little twin-sized bed a few feet from me, and they snooze without worry. Not me. I’m alone, my feet are colder than usual, and my mind is still swimming. It doesn’t help that I’ve been staring at my phone. What else is there to do?

As I’m about to set my phone aside, a message comes through.

Jun-seong

You still alive?

I swear, my undead heart ticks to life. We exchanged numbers in our freshman year, but this is the first time he’s messaged me for something not school-related. For a second, his text sounds like a threat.

Margaux

Yes. Are you disappointed?

Jun-seong

Relieved, actually. I would rather do this shit with you than alone.

And you’re the only one stupid enough to do what we’re about to do.

Margaux

You’re insulting yourself as much as you are me, you know.

Jun-seong

I know.

Margaux

And it’s not true.