PENNY POV
Marcellus took a thin black blade from a drawer.
Pops growled.
Marcellus froze with the blade held up between two fingers.
“Silverless,” he said. “Clean. Enchanted to open, not poison. Would you like to inspect it, or should we all stand here until your daughter becomes harder to find?”
Mom took the blade from him.
The shadows around Marcellus’ feet twitched.
He was amused.
He was pissed off.
He was smart enough not to say either.
Mom checked the blade.
Daddy checked it after her.
Pops checked it last, mostly by glaring at it like he could intimidate metal into confessing all its sins.
Then Mom turned to me.
“Just the palm,” she said.
I nodded.
My hand shook when I lifted it.
I hated that too.
Perse would have made a joke.
Something about how if I ruined my lif
