The first of September had arrived at last. For the first time in all her years at school, Artemis did not go to Kings Cross station in the morning to catch the Hogwarts Express; instead, she walked down to Hogsmeade station in the evening to meet her friends as they arrived, ready to be taken up to the castle in the Thestral-drawn carriages.

By the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade station, where the clock on the platform said that it was ten past ten but the watch on Artemis' ankle made it closer to seven, it had grown dark. Even so, she was able to pick out a head of bubblegum-coloured hair in the throng of disembarking students that could only belong to Tonks.

As she approached her, Artemis saw that Tonks wasn't the only one of her friends waiting to board one of the carriages: her other two dorm mates, Penny Haywood and Chiara Lobosca were right beside her.

"Artemis! Oh, it's just lovely to see you!" exclaimed Penny, throwing her arms around Artemis. "We missed you on the train, you know. Have you had a good summer?"

"Not too bad," Artemis shrugged. "How was France?"

"Oh, it was wonderful. I saw the Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower - I've got a key ring for you, actually - and working with Monsieur Flamel was just fascinating. I'm considering applying for a job as his assistant for next year."

"What about you, Chiara? Did you like working in St Mungos?"

"I did, yes," said Chiara, in her softly lilting voice. "It was very interesting seeing what it's really like to be a Healer."

"Did you get to see anything really cool and gross?"

"Not really. Healer Buckthorn doesn't let students get involved with anything too serious or life-threatening, so I was mainly on the long-term residents' ward. Lots of people with irreversible spell damage, mainly memory loss and misfigurations. There was one lady who attempted human-animal self-transfiguration and got her Animagus spell all wrong. She's permanently turned into a dog-human hybrid, can only talk in barks now."

Tonks tilted her head. "Could you understand her?"

"Not really," Chiara gave a small smile and lowered her voice. "But then again, I wasn't there at the full moon."

The other girls giggled quietly; Chiara's lycanthropy was not common knowledge. In fact, they were the only ones who knew that Chiara was a werewolf, and had only found out the year previously, having until that point believed her to be suffering from a the effects of a blood curse. Now that they knew, however, Chiara had accepted their offer to join them in their dormitory, and would be taking the bed that had been left vacant following Rowan's death.

Artemis felt a small pang of sadness as the Thestrals began to pull the carriage away from the station and up the path to the castle. She had slowly become somewhat used to Rowan's absence in her life, but she still found herself having moments in which she became acutely aware that Rowan was missing, rather than the less poignant sense of loss that she felt day-to-day.

It was going to be strange, she realised as the lights of the castle grew closer. She had always known that her time at Hogwarts would come to an end eventually, but the idea of entering her final year had always seemed so distant before. She had never thought to imagine what it would be like, arriving at Hogwarts knowing that it would be the last time she would do so. Even if she had imagined it, she she would never have thought that Rowan might not be at her side for it.

She took a deep breath and waited for the swell of grief to subside, as it always did. There was no point in being sad, and besides, Rowan would have wanted her to enjoy the Sorting Ceremony and Welcome Feast.

The Great Hall was decked out, as usual, with banners displaying the mascots and colours of the four school houses, and the girls soon found seats at their house table, beneath the stars of the enchanted ceiling. Tonks' stomach grumbled loudly.

"I've never understood why we can't eat and then sort the first years," she muttered. "Honestly, I'm starving. Wish McGonagall would just hurry up and fetch the little-"

"Forgive me for interrupting," a voice interrupted Tonks, and Artemis turned in her seat to see a boy from her year standing behind her.

He was broad and plump-framed, with a mop of curly brown hair and a shiny badge pinned to his Gryffindor robes. Artemis recognised him immediately; this was Corey Hayden, who had once been Rowan's date for a school dance and had been turned into stone the previous year as the result of the statue curse that had been released from the final Cursed Vault. Presumably, he wished to talk about Rowan or the Vaults.

"Is everything okay?" Artemis asked, and Corey shook his head, standing up straight with his chest puffing out slightly.

"No, actually," he said, a note of accusation in his voice. "Hexley, you were missing at the prefects' meeting on the train today."

Artemis frowned. "I wasn't on the train today."

"Patrolling the train is part of your prefect duties, you know. You should have been there. Why did you not attend?"

"Because," said Artemis, already so annoyed that she was having to try not to raise her voice at Corey, "I've been living in Hogsmeade all summer. It seemed bloody stupid to go all the way down to London just to get the train all the way back again."

"Yes, well..." Corey paused and made a sanctimonious huffing noise that set Artemis' teeth on edge. "You ought to have sent an owl to let everyone know that you weren't going to be there rather than just not show up."

"Why do you even care? You're not even a prefect!"

"No, but I am the Head Boy."

Corey tapped his pudgy forefinger to the badge pinned to his robes. Surely enough, the words "Head Boy" were blazoned across it in capital letters. Artemis raised her eyebrows and slowly looked up from the badge to Corey's face, her arms folded across her chest.

"You know, it's hard enough being Head Boy without a Head Girl to help me," Corey continued, ignoring Artemis' look of disdain. "It's even harder when three prefects haven't turned up to do their share of the work. Next time, can you either show up when you're supposed to or let me know in advance? Thanks." He tugged on the lapels of his cloak and scanned the room, asking, "Now, do any of you lot know where I might find Merula Snyde and Victor Ketsueki? Both of them missed the patrol as well."

"No, but Tulip or Andre might," Penny nodded. "They were in the same carriage as Victor on the way back from the station."

"So, he was on the train, then?"

"Oh, yes. I'm surprised you didn't see him, everyone kept going into his carriage to talk to him."

As Corey walked off, his chest still puffed out, Artemis turned back to her friends.

"What is up with him?" she asked them, scowling.

"I suppose you wouldn't have heard," Penny whispered, and her eyes lit up. "He's a vampire now."

"What? Corey Hayden?"

"No, not Corey. Victor." Artemis thought that this sounded unlikely, but Penny seemed certain in her knowledge. "Apparently he spent the summer backpacking around Europe, and he got into some trouble with a vampire in a bar in Transylvania. He wouldn't tell everyone the whole story-"

"Probably because it isn't true," muttered Artemis.

"No, but it is true, it's just that it was quite a traumatic experience for him," Penny sighed. "Naturally, he wouldn't want to just share that story with just anyone. But everyone wants to hear it, of course. It's made him into something of a celebrity, I suppose. That's why everyone wanted to talk to him on the train."

"That and the fact that his new haircut and leather jacket make him look great." Tonks wiggled her pink eyebrows, and Penny giggled.

"Well, yes. His new look does rather suit him, doesn't it? I'd never noticed that he was good-looking before."

"Talking of good-looking," Tonks nodded her head in the direction of the top table, "who is the new Professor? He's cute."

Artemis followed Tonks' gaze to the final seat at the far end of the teachers' table, where a dark-haired wizard with an olive complexion and long, straight nose was sitting and watching the students chatter with an amused look on his face. It was a nice looking face, Artemis had to admit.

"But, Tonks, he's so old! He has to be at least thirty."

"Thirty isn't that old," said Tonks, with a shrug. "Anyway, there's no harm in looking, is there?"

Penny opened her mouth as if to say something, but she fell quiet as the doors of the Great Hall swung open.

"Finally! Now we can sort the first years, find out who Professor Handsome is, and eat!"

But it wasn't the first years that walked through the doors at all; it was Merula Snyde. Merula had wrapped her school cloak around herself, but Artemis could see that underneath, she was wearing ripped jeans rather than her uniform, and her boots were dirtied with what looked like soil.

"What has she been up to?" Artemis murmured, as Tonks groaned loudly and slammed her hands to her forehead. "Was she on the train as well?"

"I'm not sure," said Penny. "I definitely didn't see her."

Chiara shook her head. "I assumed that she was with the rest of the prefects."

Artemis frowned deeply and watched Merula take a seat at the Slytherin table. Her face was lowered, as if she were trying to draw less attention to herself, and there was soil on the sleeve of her cloak, too. Why had she been outside?

"I expect that she Apparated to the station to save her having to get the train," said Chiara gently. "She must have missed the carriages and had to walk up."

"Or maybe she went in the boats with Hagrid and the first years," suggested Penny, as McGonagall entered the Great Hall, a hoarde of children following behind her.

An image of Merula sitting sour-faced in a wooden boat with three eleven-year-olds popped into Artemis' head, and she had to stifle her giggles. Clearly, the same thought had struck Tonks and Chiara, as they began laughing, too.

Professor McGonagall gave the Hufflepuff girls a tight-lipped stare as she walked past them on her way up to the daïs, where a shabby looking hat perched on a wooden stool. The Great Hall fell silent, and the hat began to sing through a rip in its fabric:

"I am a rather shabby hat,
You would not wear me to court.
But that is not my purpose:
My job here is to Sort!
It was I who Sorted Merlin,
Morrigan, and le Fay,
And it is I who shall be Sorting
Each one of you here today.
Into Hufflepuff if you are loyal,
Hard-working, just, and kind,
Into Ravenclaw if you are witty,
And of a ready mind.
But perhaps you would rather Slytherin?
The house of the ambitious,
Or Gryffindor, if noble heroism
Lies in your hopes and wishes.
These four houses have, like pillars,
Held our school up from the start,
And for centuries, I, the Sorting Hat,
Have perfected my Sorting art.
But remember, though you shall be divvied
And Sorted into one of four,
It is when we are united
That we can achieve so much more.
Let me tell you a secret,
For when you face your darkest hour:
It is when you stand with others,
That you will truly find your power.
I digress, I am distracted,
I just had to get that thought in.
And now I have, we can begin.
Let us now commence the Sorting."

The applause that usually followed the Sorting Hat's annual song was punctured with whispers.

"What was that about?" Artemis asked, her nose wrinkling. "Usually it just tells everyone about the houses. It's never given advice before!"

"It's like it wants me to starve to death," moaned Tonks. "Come on, McGonagall, I want my food..."

"Maybe it feels like we need advice," Chiara whispered. "The Hat sits in Dumbledore's office all year long. It must know what goes on in the school, perhaps it thinks that we need to band together more, in light of what happened last year, and because of the Vaults."

"But we did band together last year," said Penny, somewhat tersely. "And we broke the statue curse. So now we have finished with all of that."

"Well..."

"No, we have, Artemis. The Vault in the lake was the last one, and we broke that curse."

"Technically, yes," Artemis shrugged. "But the Vaults themselves haven't been properly broken, so they are still there. They just aren't doing anything, that's all."

"Precisely," Penny smiled, but her smile and the breezy tone to her voice looked and sounded forced. "They aren't hurting anyone anymore, and Rakepick is in prison, so we can leave it all alone. The Cursed Vaults, the Cabal, all of it. It doesn't matter anymore." Her smile grew wider, and Tonks and Artemis shared nervous looks. "Now we can all just be normal students and enjoy our last year at Hogwarts like everybody else. Isn't that wonderful?"

There was no point in arguing with Penny, so Artemis nodded her head, and watched the rest of Sorting Ceremony, just like everybody else.

***

Penny's idea that the girls should enjoy the time they had left at Hogwarts had not been a bad suggestion in theory, however, in reality, enjoying their final year was easier said than done. In the summer, the seventh year students would be taking the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, a series of exams that would mark the culmination of their formal education. Although the exams were over eight months away, the teachers were already piling on the work in preparation for them, and stressing their importance.

"The results of your N.E.W.T.s will be taken as evidence of your aptitude in your chosen subjects, and great value will be placed on them by your potential employers," Professor McGonagall told them at the start of their first Transfiguration class of the year. "I am aware that many of you wish to embark on prestigious career paths; Aurors, Healers, Curse-Breakers, Unspeakables, so on and so forth. All of you will need to work exceptionally hard this year. After all, your future does depend on your doing so."

McGonagall was known for her strictness, but she was not the only teacher to give their students such a lecture. By Friday afternoon, Artemis had heard similar words from her instructors in both Defence Against the Dark Arts and Ancient Runes, and even good-natured Professor Flitwick's lessons had been less fun than usual. It turned out that Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, was the only one who didn't care about the exams at all.

"I got an Exceeds Expectations in my Care of Magical Creatures N.E.W.T." he told them cheerfully. "Didn't stop that Manticore ripping off my arm in '72. So, protective gloves on, everyone! Today we're going to be working with Griffins!"

Artemis shared a look with Charlie Weasley, both of them having to look away before they made the other laugh out loud. Charlie, along with Tonks and several other classmates, had his first exam of the year that weekend: his Apparition test.

Artemis, who had neglected attending the Apparition classes the year before, wouldn't be taking it until April, which was just as well. For this term at least, she had more pressing concerns than her N.E.W.T. and Apparition exams: Quidditch. The first match of the season would take place in November, but first, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team had to find replacements for the three players who had left school at the end of the previous year. Luckily, their new Captain, Murphy McNully, already had a strategy in mind.

"Statistically speaking, a team dynamic is better if you keep as many players the same as possible," he said, wheeling his chair across the changing tent and conjuring a blackboard. "Now, Hopper did a spectacular job as a reserve Chaser last year."

"He does realise that I'm right here, doesn't he?" Ellie Hopper whispered, raising a single blonde eyebrow at Murphy, who continued on as if he hadn't heard her.

"That means that with Costa still here, we can retain sixty-six-point-seven percent of our existing Chasing team. Obviously Willows, Hexley, and Booth all have their positions, but we still need a third Chaser and a new Beater, and ideally a new reserve player. So, I'll be holding tryouts to find one. Until then, we are working with fifty percent of our Beaters, so we will be practising with fifty percent of our Bludgers," he paused and looked directly at Artemis. "That means one Bludger."

"I know what fifty percent means," Artemis said, half-truthfully. "When are the tryouts?"

"In a fortnight. I've looked at the numbers, and that gives enough notice to make sure as many people can try out as possible without compromising on training time. We want to enough time to train as a team as possible; our first game of the season is against Slytherin, and from what I've heard about their new captain, they won't be an easy opponent."

Their first training session ended just in time for Artemis to meet Charlie and Tonks as they returned to the castle after their Apparition exam. Judging by the looks on their faces, they had both done well.

"Aced it," said Tonks, grinning from ear to ear. "Can't wait to write home and tell my parents. 'Just because you're a Metamorphmagus, that doesn't mean that you'll be able to pass your Apparition test first time'. Well, they were wrong and I was right, wasn't I?"

"And you, Charlie?" Artemis asked, though she could tell that he had also passed from his relieved expression. "No grannies were harmed this time?"

"Very funny." Charlie pulled a face at her. "I'm just glad that I won't have to pay to take the test a third time. How was practice?"

"Fine. We're down a Chaser and Beater, though. Murphy wants to hold try-outs in a fortnight."

"A fortnight? We're holding ours this Thursday."

"Murphy wants to give it a bit more time for people to sign up first."

"That's not a bad shout," reasoned Charlie. "Maybe I should've done that, too. So far, the only people who have signed on to tryout as Beaters are my brothers."

"Which brothers?"

"The twins."

"Oh," Artemis frowned. "I thought that they were quite good at Quidditch."

"They are. I just don't really want them wielding heavy wooden bats around me."

Artemis laughed, but Tonks stayed quiet.

"What's the matter?" she asked her.

"Well," Tonks said, looking as thoughtful as Tonks ever looked, "I've always liked flying. I played Beater before, when we did that friendly match for your sixteenth birthday. Maybe I should try out for the Quidditch team, too."

"That's... Yeah, you should definitely try out," said Artemis. She looked away quickly, hoping that Tonks wouldn't see the doubt on her face. She wasn't entirely sure that she wanted Tonks wielding a heavy bat around her, either.

It turned out that Tonks wasn't the only familiar face at the Hufflepuff Quidditch tryouts two weeks later; Penny Haywood's younger sister Beatrice had also decided to attend, as had Penny herself, though only to watch and support vocally, cheering and clapping every time her sister took possession of the Quaffle.

By the end of the tryouts, Artemis was surprised that Penny still had her voice, but when Murphy announced that Tonks would be the team's new Beater and Beatrice their new Chaser, Penny squealed louder than ever.

Murphy McNully, on the other hand, despite having found decent players to replace their two missing teammates, looked more concerned than he did excited.

"What's wrong, Murphy?" Artemis asked him, as they all set off across the grounds towards the castle.

"I couldn't find my pin badge this morning," he replied, frowning deeply and wheeling his chair off the path to avoid a stubborn swan who was too busy enjoying the rare sunny morning to move out of his and Artemis' way. "I usually keep it on my nightstand, but it wasn't there when I woke up."

"You mean the one you always wear? The one that looks like a Golden Snitch?"

"Why, have you seen it?"

Artemis shook her head. The last time she had seen it was the previous day, when Murphy had been wearing it. "I'm sure you'll find it soon."

"I hope so. It's a family heirloom, over a century old."

"Don't worry, Murphy. It'll turn up eventually. Lost things usually do."

***

It was strange, but as September drew to a close, not only had Murphy's pin badge not been found, but several other students had reported items going missing as well.

It had started with small things: Murphy's pin, a pair of sapphire earrings, an ornate silver looking-glass. Then, Bea Haywood's friend Elora had the entire contents of her flying piggy bank emptied whilst she was at an Art Club meeting, and Talbott Winger reported that a beaded necklace had been taken from around his neck one night as he slept.

It wasn't just the students who were noticing that their belongings had disappeared; Professor Snape looked even angrier than usual after someone broke into his Potions storeroom, and at the very end of September, Professor Flitwick lost half the white feathers he had planned on teaching his first years to levitate. After Professor Sikander, the new Muggle Studies Professor (the one Tonks thought was good-looking), had every single one of his "compact discs" - whatever they were - lifted from his classroom, it was decided that something had to be done in order to catch the thief.

Corey Hayden approached Artemis at breakfast the following morning, his chest puffed out as always, and she had to stop herself from groaning.

"I'm sure you're aware of the situation," he said, without greeting her first. "All these items going missing. It's time to take action."

"Why are you coming to me?" Artemis asked him, swallowing her mouthful of toast. "It's not a curse, I don't see what I'm supposed to do about it."

"You're a prefect," replied Corey. "And this is a major issue affecting the student body and faculty alike. I'm holding a meeting at lunchtime so that all the prefects can get together and work out a way to get this sorted."

Artemis did not really want to attend Corey's meeting, but she shrugged and listened to him as he told her the time and place to go. As he strode away, she rolled her eyes and made a noise of contempt.

"He's such a jobsworth," she said, as much to herself as to her friends. "Honestly, you'd think he'd been made Headmaster, not just Head Boy, the way he goes on about everything. I feel sorry for Rowan, having to-"

"It would be good to catch the thief, though," said Penny, as Tonks began to crunch on her toast even louder than usual. "Poor Talbott was so upset about his mum's necklace going missing. It's one of the only things of hers he has left, it's just horrible to think that someone would steal it."

Penny's words made Artemis give up her fight, just a little. She still had the watch her brother had given her to look after for him before he first went missing and an old jumper and scarf that Rowan had bought herself on the first day they met. She didn't want to imagine how she would feel if anyone ever stole one of those things.

So, after her morning classes ended, Artemis did attend Corey's meeting, arriving a few minutes late after a brief trip back down to the dormitory to see Fergus and check that Rowan's old scarf was still hanging up where she left it. Her tardiness was not wasted on Corey Hayden.

"Nice of you to join us at last, Hexley," he said, with a tutting noise that made Artemis' blood boil.

"I had to feed my cat," she replied, taking a seat at the back of the room and glowering at him as he continued.

"Right, well, I was just filling everyone in on the items that have gone missing so far. Okay, so that brings us to the silver teaspoon from McGonagall's tea caddy, Professor Trelawney's favourite crystal ball, and the items from Professor Snape's storeroom: one crystal vial and a container of Hawkshead moth chrysalises," Corey stopped reading from the list. "As for clues as to who might be..." his voice tailed off and he looked at the door. "Ah. Victor, you made it. Take a seat."

A boy with almond-shaped eyes and straight black hair that almost reached his shoulders trudged over to sit next to Artemis, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed and legs outstretched. On his feet were a heavy pair of black boots, and instead of a cloak, he wore a black leather jacket over his school robes. It took Artemis a moment to recognise him as Victor Ketsueki, the Ravenclaw prefect. Though she had never spoken to Victor before, she knew him by face. He had never been the sort to customise his school uniform before.

"As I was saying," Corey carried on, "we don't have much to go on when it comes to the identity of the thief. Some of the missing items have gone missing from dormitories, and it's not just one house that's been affected. So, we have to assume that whoever it is, they've either been persuading others to help them, or they've been using a broomstick to get in through the windows. This evening, I'd like you all to talk to the students in your houses, see if anyone knows anything, and get all the dormitories searched to track down the items."

"What if they're not stored in a dormitory?" asked Victor, leaning back further so that the front legs of his chair lifted from the ground. Everyone in the room turned around to look at him, and he shrugged nonchalantly, using the nail of his thumb to clean underneath his fingernails. "I'm just saying, if I were nicking stuff from all over the castle, I wouldn't be keeping it in my dormitory. Anyone with two braincells to rub together could tell you that."

Corey blinked, clearly annoyed at the insult to his intelligence, but Victor seemed not to notice. He was still paying more attention to his fingernails than to the Head Boy. Artemis couldn't tell whether she found his disinterest amusing or infuriating, but she knew which it was to Corey.

"Yes, well, I still think that it would be a good place to start," he bristled. "So if you could all do that and report back to me, that would be great. Thanks."

With that, the prefects were dismissed. Hungry, Artemis stood up, ready to leave with Charlie and Badeea, but found her path blocked by the outstretched legs of Victor Ketsueki. She looked from his legs to his face, and he tilted his head, as if he were confused by what she wanted, though his expression was still one of indifference. She looked to his feet and back again, but he still did not move, even when she raised her eyebrows expectantly at him.

"You're in my way," she told him, quickly losing patience.

"Most people would say 'excuse me'," replied Victor, resting his arm on the back of the chair in which Artemis had previously been sitting.

"Most people would have already moved."

"Of course, I forgot that you're a celebrity," Victor said, his voice laced with sarcasm, and Artemis glared at him. "Just because you've broken some curses, that doesn't mean you can't have manners, you know."

Artemis exhaled loudly and rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she half-growled. "Excuse me."

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Victor did not just move his legs out of Artemis' way, he stood up and walked out of the room. She scowled at the back of his head as she also left for the Great Hall, where she found Penny and Talbott eating lunch together at one end of the Hufflepuff table.

"How was the prefects' meeting?" Penny asked her, not even giving her a chance to answer before turning to Talbott and telling him, "You know, Artemis and the other prefects are going to help find your mother's necklace."

Talbott nodded silently. His face was passive, but there was a sad look in his eyes. His mother's necklace going missing was clearly bothering him more than he wanted to let on. Artemis smiled at him reassuringly.

"Corey says that there are things missing from students in all four Houses, as well as some of the teachers. He wants all the dormitories to be searched for the missing items."

Talbott frowned. "Surely someone clever enough to break into four different common rooms and teachers' offices would hide the stolen objects somewhere other than their own dormitory?"

"That's what Victor Ketsueki said," said Artemis, pulling a face.

"What?" Penny's eyes widened. "Did you not like Victor?"

"Not really."

"But he's-"

"Really arrogant and rude," Artemis shook her head. "You share a dormitory with him, don't you, Talbott? How can you stand him?"

"He's changed a lot over the summer," said Talbott. "I don't really see him very much these days. He's hardly ever in the dormitory. Even less than I am, I mean."

"Well, I'm sure he's got lots of things to do. He's become rather popular, you know. It's the vampirism, it's very cosmopolitan," Penny said as she poured herself another glass of pumpkin juice. "Did you find out what potion ingredients Professor Snape had stolen?"

"Yeah, Mandrake leaves and Hawkshead moths. And some equipment, too. A crystal vial, I think."

Penny and Talbott both shared looks of concern. Artemis frowned at them over the top of her sandwich.

"What?"

"Well, it sounds like whoever this thief is, they're hoping to become an Animagus," Penny's blonde eyebrows furrowed. "Those were the same things I had to get to make the Animagus potion when we made it for you in third year, Artemis. I'm surprised you forgot."

"You made the potion, Penny. I was too busy holding the bloody Mandrake leaf in my mouth for a month and reciting the incantation day in and day out," Artemis grinned at Talbott. "Worth it, though."

Talbott did not return Artemis' smile.

"I wonder why they're trying to become an Animagus," he murmured.

"Well, I suppose it would be to make it easier for them to steal stuff," said Penny. "After all, people are far less likely to notice an animal sneaking around somewhere than a person, aren't they?"

"Even so, it's a pretty extreme way to go about it, it's not like the Animagus ritual is easy or without risk," Talbott said, his eyebrows furrowing even deeper.

Artemis shrugged. "We managed it just fine."

"We did. Let's just hope that this thief knows what they're doing. There's a storm coming soon, I can tell."