Dania stood midway between the garage and the raging bonfire that used to be the cabin.

"Yeah," Jake said, regret and fatigue soaking his tone. "Dani, I don't think we're gonna save this."

Dania pressed her lips together, then let her shoulders slump. "I think you're right, kid. But…I don't think we have to just let it burn. I have an idea."

She touched her chest with the splay-fingered gesture and pulled her deck out for the second time that night. This time, the card she most wanted came up in the first draw. She rolled her shoulders back and touched Polar Sanctuary.

A breeze tossed the tops of the pine trees that ringed the yard. The breeze strengthened, whipping past the roaring fire and slapping the exposed skin of Dania's face.

"Go take shelter in the garage!" Dania shouted over the wind to Jake, cursing herself for not thinking of that sooner.

"I'm fine!" he shouted back, flipping up the hood of the ski jacket he wore. She shook her head, but returned her focus to the cabin just in time to see the first fat flakes drift down from the cloud-filled sky.

In less than a minute, the snowfall accelerated until Dania could no longer make out the trees on either side of her, nor the garage at her back. She reached out and grabbed Jake's hand for fear of losing him in the complete whiteout.

Slowly, the blaze slackened under the onslaught, dimming and hissing as it died. Dania let the card play for the full five minutes while Jake stood next to her, shivering in the wind that didn't seem to touch her at all.

Eventually, the snow stopped. The howling wind quieted, and the clouds parted for the first time that night to reveal a star-studded sky.

"That was…intense…" Jake said.

"Yeah." Dania nodded. "I should have waited."

"No," Jake said. "It was perfect. And I think it worked!"

"For whatever that's worth," Dania said, looking at the skeletal remains of the cabin that had sheltered them. Pain twisted in her chest, and grief threatened to close her throat. She swallowed and blinked, but the overwhelming sense of loss refused to loosen its grip.

"This place was a link to him," she found herself saying. "To Berto. He left it to us because he wanted us to be safe. It was supposed to be our haven. And now it's gone. Those assholes took it, just like they took him."

Jake's arms came hard around her waist. "The cabin is gone," he said, hugging her tightly. "But the safety, the sanctuary… that can still be a thing."

Dania closed her eyes and leaned her head against Jake's. "What do you mean?"

Jake let go. Dania opened her eyes to see him pulling his deck. She dismissed the notification and waited as he looked around with a critical eye. "The garage has its own generator, right?"

"Yeah," Dania said, frowning. "Why?"

"Come on," he said with a smile. "You gave me an idea. I'm going to build us a new home."

Dania followed Jake back to the garage, where they found the generator and cranked it up before going inside and flipping on the single overhead bulb. Jake paced around the interior of the garage while Dania watched uncomprehendingly until he stopped.

"Right here," Jake said. "See how my elongated shadow hits the wall right here? Think you could fit through there?"

"Through where?"

"Through my shadow! Like if it was a doorway, could you fit?"

"I guess… but a doorway to where? Jake, what are you talking about?"

"My building, Dani. It's time I played it. Stay here, I'll be right back."

Whether it was the fatigue, the aftermath of the fight, or the remaining grief, Dania didn't know. But for some reason, she complied, watching through the open garage door as Jake walked out of the garage, threw down a single card, and then walked back into the garage.

"Did it work?" Dania asked.

"I guess so," Jake said with a half-embarrassed grin. "The card disappeared, anyway. I wasn't sure if there was going to be a physical building or not, so I went outside just in case… but there isn't. So, let's try it out and I'll go stand where I was. You stand in my shadow and concentrate for thirty seconds, and then step through."

"Concentrate on what?"

"On… I don't know. Stepping through?"

Dania let out a laugh despite herself. "Okay, why not? Let's give it a shot." She walked to the spot he indicated, feeling the aftermath of their fight in her suddenly leaden arms and legs.

Plus, she thought. It's like four in the morning. I suppose I'm allowed to be tired. Okay, focus, Dania. Concentrate on stepping through.

Though she was certain she looked ridiculous, Dania closed her eyes and visualized Jake's shadow deepening, becoming an opening through which she could move. For several long seconds, nothing happened. She heard Jake's quick intake of breath and opened her eyes.

The garage was gone. Instead, she stood in a massive open foyer constructed almost entirely of blue-and black-veined marble. In front of her, two staircases spiraled up to a colonnaded gallery that ringed the room. Overhead, soft light spilled in through a stained-glass skylight carrying the same symbol as the one she'd seen etched into Jake's skin on Drop Night.

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"Jake?" she called out, her voice echoing back at her. "Jake! Are you here? How do I get out?"

"I don't know," Jake said, appearing behind her. "We'll have to figure that out. Is this it? The Night Haven?"

"I…I guess so," Dania said. "Did you leave Machairi behind?"

"No." Jake touched his chest and pulled his deck. Interestingly, Dania didn't get a notification when he did so. Is that because this is his building?

Jake touched his companion card and Machairi appeared next to him. The card looked around, and then gave Jake his creepy smile.

"This is nice," he said. "Mother created this for you? It fits her taste."

"Nyx has taste in decor?" Dania asked, incredulity leaking into her tone.

"Of course she does, she's just like everyone else. Let's go explore."

Machairi grabbed Jake's arm and the two of them took off across the marble floor toward the staircases, leaving Dania to follow.

"'Of course she does'," Dania mimicked, scrunching up her face. "'She's just like everyone else.' I call serious bullshit there, Creepy." But she followed the two teenagers up the stairs to the second floor and let herself sink into the feeling of safety and curiosity that permeated the space.

The Night Haven, as it turned out, was huge.

Upstairs, the galleries led to hallways that branched off into several other wings. Eventually, Dania realized that the entire building formed a quadrangle, complete with a garden full of night-blooming flowers in the courtyard.

Some of the rooms they found had obviously been designed for specific purposes. There was a massive dining hall with scores of round tables set in orderly rows that reminded Dania of the hospital cafeteria back in Noimoire. It even had the infrastructure for a buffet line that ringed three sides of the room. Unlike the hospital cafeteria, however, this room also featured a huge fireplace with a cheerful fire, soft light courtesy of the branching candelabra centerpieces that adorned each oak table, and gentle music drifting in from… somewhere.

"Are we supposed to eat in here?" Jake breathed as he looked around the room.

"Looks like it," Dania said.

"This is like some Hogwarts stuff," Jake muttered. "Look at the windows, Dani, do you see?"

Dania looked up at the five windows that adorned the outer wall over top of where the buffet line would be. Each of them carried that same design in stained glass: the two overlapping circles.

"Nyx's calling card, I guess," she said. "Is that right, Machairi? Is that your mother's symbol?"

"My mother has many symbols," Machairi said. "As many as she has children. We should move on, this room will not feed you right now."

"What do you mean?"

"It is not mealtime, and neither of you is hungry enough for it to create food off hours."

"I'm pretty hungry—" Jake started, but Machairi shook his head.

"You've been snacking on the dried meat sticks you enjoy that you shoved in your pocket before we jumped from your window. You are fine."

Jake rolled his eyes and shoved Machairi, who danced out of the way with his usual preternatural agility.

"Okay, so, dining room," Dania said to forestall a bout of teenage bickering. "Good to know. What else do we have in here? A library? A ballroom? A conservatory?"

"All of those," Machairi said.

"How about bedrooms?"

"Most definitely. Mother created the Night Haven to be a place of refuge and rest. You need only choose a room for yourself, Guardian, and so long as my deckbearer agrees, it is yours."

"Dani can have any room she wants," Jake said. "Whatever she wants." He turned to Dania and gave her a shy smile. "She's always made sure I had the best she could provide. Now it's my turn."

Dania felt like her heart might just explode with love. She walked over to her nephew and wrapped her arms hard around his whipcord-thin frame. "I love you, kid," she whispered, blinking back the moisture that threatened to roll down her cheeks.

"I love you too," Jake said, burying his face into her shoulder.

"I, also, cherish our friendship," Machairi added, and a laugh bubbled up inside Dania and spilled out.

"Same goes, Creepy." She squeezed Jake one more time and then let go, quickly swiping her fingertips under her eyelashes. "All right, then. Let's go find the bedrooms so I can pick out the best one."

The "best one" turned out to be on the top floor of one of the rear wings of the building. It was actually a full suite, with windows on one side overlooking the quad garden, and stained glass facing out onto a shadowed landscape on the other. The bedroom held a huge four-poster bed that was easily king-sized, if not larger, with a fireplace that produced light and heat but no smoke, an en-suite bathroom with the biggest single shower Dania had ever seen, and a separate sitting room with large, comfy-looking furniture and floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with books.

"Jake, this is gorgeous," Dania said.

"It is," he agreed with a grin. "And it's very you. Machairi and I are right next door, okay? You're sure you don't want our room?"

"Nah, I appreciate the offer, but the video game setup and tiny gym has you written all over it. I'll work out in the other gym I'm sure this building has stashed away somewhere."

"Downstairs, past the third hallway on the right!" Machairi's voice floated to them through the open door connecting the sitting rooms of their suites.

"Thanks!" Dania called back, sharing a grin with Jake. "Hey, one more thing, before you go. I was thinking, you should play your orphan card. Bring her out and let her live here. Weren't you talking about that?"

"I was," Jake said. "The Night Haven card said that my cards don't have a limit on time in play here, and people… and entities… can only get here if I want them to be here, so she should be safe. You think I should play her now? We're just going to go to sleep."

"Why not? Let her get the lay of the land and start her clock," Dania said, smothering a yawn. "Oh, and I was going to ask, can you allow Hush to come here too? He's been really helpful… basically a member of the team."

"If you want," Jake said. "Machairi said something similar, but I wanted to check with you before I invited him.”

"Yeah," Dania said. "It looked like he took damage against those Hellcats. I think we owe him a check-in, at least."

"IIII aaamm heerrrreee, Deckbearrerr."

The whispered voice coming from behind Dania should have made her shudder in horror. Instead, she waved a goodnight to Jake as he left and smiled as she turned to see Hush pull himself out from under the huge bed.

"You made it," Dania said, her smile growing. "I was worried we'd lost you to those Hellcats."

"I haaavee not surrrvivved thiiis long wiiithout learrrning the vallllue of a taaactical rrrretreat." He emerged and unfolded himself to his full height. "Youu waaant meee heeerrre?"

"Well… yeah," she said. "At this point, you're part of the team, right? Jake made us this kickass new hideout, so…yeah. I want you here. But it's not my permission you need. It's Jake's."

"Nyx's Chosssen waants what youuu wannnt. Heee lllovesss you. You arrrre motherrr and prrrotectorrr both."

"Always," Dania confirmed. "I'll always take care of him. But he takes care of me, too. So, anyway, welcome to The Night Haven. I was going to ask you a favor."

"Iiif it isss wiiithiin myyy powerrr."

"Jake's going to bring his orphan girl out. While we get some rest, can you and Machairi show her around, help her get comfortable?"

"Sheee isss a caard."

"Yeah, but she's an orphan, and she always looks so scared. Just, help her out, will you? Jake and I are going to sleep, and then tomorrow, we'll make our plan."

"Forrr?"

"For going to Noimoire and finding the assholes who started this," Dania said, her soft mood slipping away. She felt her gaze narrow, and her smile grow savage and feral. "Finding… and ending them."