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Aaand there it is, Veronica thought, her eyes flashing in angry realization. “That fuckity fucking fuck!”

“What? Who?” Maeve asked.

“‘Unmaking!’ That’s what the Patriarch said and I wondered at the time, what the fuck is that?” Veronica explained in a rush. “That’s not a thing. A gargoyle can’t kill me.”

“But it was always gonna be this guy who did it,” she continued. “They’re working together! And he called ME the corruption—I’m not the corruption! It’s them!”

“Veronica, talk slower!” Maeve pleaded. “What are you saying?”

Veronica sank to her knees, her anger—and self-loathing—leaving her. “Look, I think the Patriarch and this mage, maybe other mages, are in it together somehow. We haven’t been hiding from the mages. We’ve been working FOR the mages. Everything the family believes is a lie.”

“I’m sorry. This must all be a shock,” she sighed. “C’mon, no more hiding. We’re gonna go on the offensive. But stay low, and quiet, so kinda do keep hiding, though.”