Camila woke in darkness, the kind where the world looked the same with her eyes open and shut. She ran her fingers along the ground, catching the tip of her nail on a protruding stone. Her hand found something soft, fabric-like, and she pulled it close. 

She zipped open her backpack, pulled out the phone, and got the flashlight working. Camila winced, looking at the battery. Only a third of its charge remained.

"Hello?" Camila called out. Her voice echoed back to her, reverberating throughout the cave. "Ghost girl? I'm ready to make a deal."

She glanced down at the phone. Twenty-nine percent. She wanted to call Alex, but she couldn't—not without wasting even more battery.

"Hi Camila." Camila recognized the voice, soft and gentle, and her heart paused for a moment, as if it too had held out hope for her friend and lady's maid.

Serena looked as beautiful as ever, waves of brown hair cascading down her back like a model in a shampoo commercial. Her amber skin glowed faintly and her eyes—Camila squinted to see—were a shade darker. She held two steaming mugs of tea.

"Walk with me?" Serena asked, offering Camila a mug.

Camila took it. When her fingers touched the cup's handle, the glow around the mug faded. It appeared normal, as tangible as her own hand.

Camila tried to speak and settled for a stiff nod.

Her throat was dry. Her limbs wouldn't cooperate and her hand trembled when she raised the mug to her lips. She'd been holding onto hope that Serena had gotten out of the palace, that she was somehow safe like her parents and Alex had turned out to be. Knowing that Serena was dead felt like her heart cracking into two pieces.

"I've been watching you, you know."

Camila choked out a laugh. "That's not creepy at all."

"Well, I look away when it's appropriate. I mean I'm keeping an eye on you. Making sure you're doing okay." Serena wore a simple blue dress and low heels. Her footsteps were soundless, like she was walking on air.

"Thanks." Camila took another sip of her tea. It was herbal, rich and smooth, with a faint hint of honey. Just like it always was. "Are you..."

"Dead? Yep. I was mad about it at first, but I'm over it now. Hey!" Serena's eyes widened and she tapped Camila on the shoulder. Her hand passed clean through Camila's skin, as tangible as water vapor. "You and Alex! That's a thing now, right?"

Camila shook her head. "No! I mean- Not really." She sighed, scrubbing a hand across her face. She didn't want to cry—this could be the last time she saw Serena and it had to be perfect—but her voice felt fragile. Like a cracked vase, a breath away from shattering. "I don't- I don't want to talk about my love life. I want to talk about you and how you're doing and...if I can help with anything."

"Well, if you want me to talk about myself, I'm happy to oblige." Serena laughed. Seeing Camila's serious expression, she sighed. "Camila. I'm okay. Really."

Camila swallowed. She tried to return Serena's smile.

"Is it...cold over there?" she asked.

"A bit, yeah. I've got my own kitchen though and I never gain weight, which has been really nice. I'm basically living off chocolate. I've gotten really into basket weaving. It could be worse."

"And you're not going to run out of food or anything?"

"Well I don't need to eat, so..."

"Still. I've got, let's see," Camila pulled her backpack off, rummaging around inside. "Oh! I've got some M&Ms! Here, have these." She pulled out the crumpled plastic bag Zora had given her.

"As long as this is a gift and not part of a deal." Serena took a step back. "I've got this weird craving for bone marrow now."

Camila frowned. "Um. A gift."

"Great." Serena took the bag from her fingers and popped an M&M into her mouth. "Yum! This is delicious. Hey, you need to make a deal, right?"

Camila nodded, digging into the backpack again. She found it at the very bottom, below a leaking water bottle and a thin sleeping bag.

Serena raised an eyebrow. "A soggy jacket? What a thoughtful offering."

"It belongs to a centuries-old witch who's spent the last couple days threatening me and murdered one of my former teammates. I was wondering if you could neutralize her powers or something?"

Serena tapped her finger against her chin, brow furrowed. "If I can get a couple of other ghosts on my side, I think I could. Can we eat her bone marrow?"

Camila winced. "Um..."

"Sorry," Serena shrugged. "Don't knock it until you've tried it though. One of these days, you're going to be craving bone marrow like chocolate."

Camila tried not to imagine it.

"Can you get enough ghosts if there's no bone marrow involved?"

"Nah. The second a ghost touches something that belongs to a living humanoid and a deal is struck, we can eat their bone marrow. I usually just take a little, to stay functional, but most ghosts drain the whole body, blood, fluids, and all. If you make this deal, your witch enemy is dead."

Camila's heart plummeted to her stomach. 

Rosa was cruel, selfish, and quick to kill. But Camila found herself picturing Rosa's puffy red eyes when they'd first met. Ruthless murderer or not, she cried like the rest of them. Maybe she'd been kind once. Killing her would keep her from hurting anyone, but it would also keep her from growing into a better person.

Did she have a choice?

Serena sighed. "You're not going to get Rosa on your side. She's dead set on killing Dragomir and without Dragomir, you can't get to your parents. It's okay, Camila. Sometimes we do bad things for the right reasons."

"That seems like an excuse murderers use to sleep at night." Camila ran her fingers along a massive stalagmite the size of a tree trunk. The stone was rough and wet with rainwater.

"Maybe."

Camila swallowed. The word built up in her throat, but when she spoke, it came out slow and quiet.

"Deal."

As always, thank you for reading! You've stuck with this book through thick and thin and I'm grateful you're still here. 

Question (we're getting a bit philosophical here): Is murder ever justifiable?

Wishing you a happy Monday, if such a thing exists!

-Harley