Page 141 of The Girl Who Inherits the Dead

“No, just a bunch of jewelry in the safe,” Chloe replies, popping the plain, raw pine box open. “All normal looking, all charmed for simple protections. Nothing fancy, nothing intense, just give you a bit of an edge.”

Delina glances inside—all the necklaces are neatly coiled, the rings polished, and even a diamond tennis bracelet perfectly in place.

“I thought I should give you first dibs as, you know, it’s your mom’s jewelry,” Chloe says, voice hushing a bit. “It won’t do too much, but something.”

Delina tentatively touches the coils of the necklaces, letting her fingertips play over the rings.

“That one I know she wore a bunch,” Chloe says. “It’s in a lot of her press materials.”

“Why?” Delina asks, plucking a ring from its spot. It’s the most worn out of all of them, a few dings in the gold of the underside. There are a few stones, a bit small and too cloudy to be proper diamonds, but it fits neatly on Delina’s hand. “Why would she need protection during press conferences?”

“I’m gonna go with paranoia as an option,” Chloe remarks dryly. “And, you know, assassins.”

Delina glances at it, holding it up to the light of the lamp by the side of the bed. It’s a romantic idea that her mother may have left these to her that they fit so perfectly.

“Maison’s probably gonna like a few additional charms,” Delina remarks, and they’re not her normal style, but she picks up the tennis bracelet as well, clipping it on her wrist. Those diamonds are of much better quality, glittering even in the lamp light, and Delina likes it less than the ring.

“The way I see it, any little bit is good,” Chloe replies, her voice uncharacteristically grim. “It’s your inheritance, but I think each of us should have at least one of these on us.”

Delina nods, tossing her hair behind herself. “Obviously, I’m not gonna be stingy.”

Chloe glances, then pokes around in the box, uncovering a pair of simple gold studs. “Here, these ones are good, they’ll help bend any bullet slightly away.”

Delina raises an eyebrow.

“Not all the way away, just, you know, less likely to hit an important organ, that sort of thing.” Chloe nudges in the box, her eyes distant, like she can tell all the charms simply by the feel. “If I think I’m going to be trapped in there, I’m gonna run.”

Delina doesn’t need to be an expert to know what she’s talking about.

“Gurlien and I have been going over it, I think we’ll be okay, I know the way out, I should be okay, but…” she shrugs, one shoulder, poking at a simple necklace with a heart charm. “I'm not gonna be trapped.”

“I get it,” Delina says, and Chloe glances up at her, quick, then looks away. “Do what you need to do.”

“Well,” Chloe starts, then scowls, “there’s something I want there, it’s not just me helping you, and going in with a group gives me a better chance.”

“Got it,” Delina replies, and despite the serious conversation, a smile tugs at her lips.

“It should be on the way, it should be in the evidence lockers, they haven’t moved it from there. I have trackers on it,” Chloecontinues. “It’ll fit in my bag, it’s not going to weigh us down or slow us too much.”

Chloe pauses, like she’s expecting a blow back or something from Delina, who’s absolutely not going to give that to her.

“It’s my old research,” Chloe says, finally, after a too long of break. “I had some…string of spells, some information I was working on decoding, for something that…means a lot to me.”

Considering how Chloe’s not one for ascribing emotions too much besides cheerfulness, the statement is weighty.

“How can we help?” Delina asks, though curiosity burns her to ask more. “Anything in particular?”

“Oh thank god, Gurlien says I should give up on it, he’s gonna be so grumpy you agreed,” Chloe says, leaning back, relief slumping her shoulders. “Maison thinks it’ll be no big deal, but Gurlien’s convinced that it’s gonna be a disaster if we take the time.”

Delina plucks out the necklace, clips it on. “Honestly, you break into tombs, any research they have locked away from you is probably terrifying and really, really cool.”

It surprises a smile out of Chloe, before she pokes around more in the box. “Mind if I give the guys some of your mom’s old jewelry? Gurlien’s gonna hate it.”

Delina can recognize a conversation change when one’s given to her. “Go ahead, it’ll be funny.”

40

They sleep through the day, and by the time the night falls, Delina awakes to an empty bed.

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