Just as Moth began to wonder if he was going to answer, he met her eyes. “I don’t want anyone to know you’re back. Not yet.”

She frowned. What the hell was he cooking up now? Wasn’t it enough that he’d dragged her into the city for a meeting, just because he knew she’d be back for her mother’s service? “You promised me a year of freedom, Theo. My time’s not even up, yet. This isn’t fair.”

“Life isn’t fair, my lovely.” His eyes were like stone, his mouth unsmiling.

“But you promised,” she said, hating herself for showing weakness. She wrapped her arms around her body, as though she could hold back the pain that began to gnaw at her belly. Being around Theo always made her feel hungry—that was one of the reasons she’d wanted to get away from Ironbridge in the first place.

“I have a job for you,” Theo said, breaking into her thoughts. “It’s something very special. Only my little Moth would do for this one.”

Ten months into her … vacation, and he wanted her for this? To steal something? That’s all he ever wanted her for. “This is such crap. You don’t need me—it’s just an excuse.”

His eyes grew wide and mock-innocent. “An excuse? For what?”

“To get me back. You’re not happy unless you’re controlling everyone around you.”

Theo’s face hardened and Moth felt the familiar tug of power in her chest. He owned her, body and soul—if she still even had a soul—and she hated him almost as much as she loved him. Right now, maybe she hated him more.

“Be grateful that you had as long as you did, child. It’s hardly my fault you came back to cry over your mother’s grave. Now, listen to me. Here’s what I want you to do …”

All this trouble for a stupid funeral urn? And why was death such a feature on this trip? Moth shook her head as she stomped through Ironbridge Common and avoided a group of kids who were taking turns swigging out of a bottle. She pushed down the sharp stab of envy somewhere in the region of her heart; she would never do those human things again. She sighed, and tried to remember what it had been like to be a “normal” teenager. If she was being honest with herself, it wasn’t like she’d been all that happy back then, anyway.