He pulls back and nudges my shoulder. “You got it from Mom. I got out of the whole descendant-of-Persephone thing.”
“Then why did they tell you and not me?”
He scratches the back of his head. “They told me before they left. Mom realized what you were after you brought Crowlene back from the dead. She’d never had magic like that, but Grans did. She was hoping it would skip you too, but, you know, oh well. She made me promise not to tell you until absolutely necessary.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I guess she thought knowing your identity would be a burden.” He rolls his eyes. “So, you know, some demons show up looking for the lost scion of Persephone. Mom and Dad knew they couldn’t hide you forever, so they took off to draw attention away from you and told me to guard you with my life. Which I guess, technically, I did. You’re welcome, by the way.”
I frown. “So Mom told you to protect me at the expense of your own life?”
Dante grimaces but nods.
“I don’t like that,” I say. “That makes me feel like, ugh…like she wasn’t a good person.”
Dante takes me by both shoulders so he can look me in the eye. “Our parents were con artists who took advantage of the Dead and grieving. It’s possible they weren’t perfect people.”
Before I can respond, Poppy appears on the subway steps behind Dante. She’s dragging a beleaguered Vinny with her.
“Found him!” she says cheerfully.
“Hey, Vinny!” I wave.
“Hey,” he says morosely. “I heard you’re going back on our deal.”
“Yeah, sorry. I’m gonna need my tooth back.”
I give Poppy a quick hug. I don’t think she’s fully forgiven me yet, but I’m going to do whatever I can to earn back her trust.
I turn to Vinny and hold my hand out. He reaches deep into his pocket and takes out one of my baby molars. “I had so many plans for this,” he says wistfully.
As soon as the tooth hits my palm, I feel a pull. It’s like what I felt at Credence’s grave, but stronger, more volatile. I’ve been reunited with one of my bones, the first part of the ritual.
Dante frowns at the tooth in my palm. “Wait, what’s happening?”
“You have to hurry,” Poppy says, looking at her watch. “Time’s almost up.”
I grin smugly at Dante. “I’m resurrecting myself. And then I’ll resurrect you. Easy-peasy.” I pause, considering. “I mean, first I have to go banish Hades to hell real quick, but that shouldn’t take long.”
“Whoa,” Vinny says, pushing his way into our circle. “You’re resurrecting yourself?”
“Yeah, and I need to concentrate, so shoo.”
I try to wave him back, but he stands his ground, which, honestly, is kind of odd for Vinny.
“You can’t just resurrect people,” he insists.
I palm the tooth and crack my knuckles, then my neck. “Yeah. I can. I’ve already done it. And I’m about to do it again. So stand back and watch how wrong you are.”
He grabs my wrist. “No, I mean, it’s against the laws of nature.”
I shake him off. “My whole life is against the laws of nature. And now there are literally no consequences for my actions, because anytime one of us dies, I can just”—I snap my fingers—“bring them back.”
Vinny gives me a look I’ve never seen from him before. It’s…pity. I didn’t think he could feel that.
“It doesn’t work like that. There’s a cost. There’s always a cost, and you know what the cost of resurrection is, right?”
The tooth tugs at me.
