Keisha followed her back into the villa. Verona led her upstairs to where two straw beds sat in one room. There were dozens of books and papers scattered around the cramped room.

“You can take that bed, and I’ll get you some clothes to wear.”

Keisha plopped on the straw bed. She craned her neck to observe the room. Even in the darkness, she could see the outline of large shelves that held tomes in them, making the room appear tiny. Keisha hoped it wouldn’t topple on her.

“Thanks,” Keisha said, rubbing her arms. It was unsettling to be in a mysterious place by herself. She never went anywhere without her mamma. She even cried the entire time at camp.

“What’s the matter?” Verona’s tone softened. She stood across from Keisha, riffling through something she couldn’t see.

“It’s uh…dark. I mean, I’m not that ‘fraid, but I…don’t know this place, and dangerous creatures are roaming around, that’s all. Maybe I can use that light trick?”

Verona shook her head. “Not without a Stanza, you can’t” She turned away after that and left out of the small room.

Keisha’s heart leaped from her chest, having been left alone in the darkness. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, trying not to focus on the darkness that coiled around her body.

An illuminating glow shone before Verona stepped back into the room.

“What’s that?” Keisha peered at the glass canister in Verona’s hand as she walked to Keisha’s bedside.

It looked to be a couple of glowing circular lights floating in the container.

“Nightflyers,” Verona told her. “More effective than draining your energy, especially when you don’t have anything to generate power from.”

Keisha leaned forward and touched the glass. Their glow illuminated the room to see the Latin inscription written on the side of the tomes.

“They’re like fireflies back home.”

Verona continued to ruffle through a chest and grabbed articles of clothing. “I suppose. The Inferno is an altered version of earth; animals you see on Earth are made different—from their body structure to their instincts—and therefore dangerous here. For instance, Nightflyers can do more than brighten the darkness. They can burn flesh if threatened. The casing is there to contain them.”

Keisha yelped. She sat the glass on the table, not wanting to start a fire. Verona tossed a white nightgown in her direction.

“I’ll give you a moment to change.”

But before Verona left the room, Keisha called her back. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Verona cleared her throat and swept her hair to the side to peer at Keisha’s doe-eyes.

“We need to keep your identity of being Dante’s daughter a secret.”

“Why?”

But she didn’t get an answer. All Keisha could do was get ready for bed, their next destination was to find someone to forge her Stanza.