Polly lay in bed, besides Sergei, both of them naked, beneath the sheets. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, and looked up at him, studying his face. He lay there, eyes open, staring at the ceiling, expressionless.His features were so perfect, so chiseled. She wondered how she had gotten so lucky.She thought back to what a wonderful experience it had been, sleeping with him. Now, more than ever, she knew that they were meant to be together forever. She would do anything for him at this moment.She reached up, and ran her hand along his chest. Finally, he turned to her.“Tell me about your friend,” he finally said.Polly was confused.“The one that stormed out after my concert.”Caitlin. Polly was annoyed. Why did he have to bring her up now? Why did she have to ruin a moment like this?“That was nobody,” Polly said. “I’m sorry she ran out.”“What’s her name?” he pressed.“Caitlin,” Polly said.Polly saw what looked like recognition in Sergei’s eyes. It made her think, m

As Caitlin flew across the French countryside, far away from Versailles, the silver cross and her dad’s scroll in her pocket, clutching Ruth in her arms, she finally, for the first time in this place, felt as if she were on the right track. She felt deep in her bones that she was finally doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing. Searching for her father. Searching for the Shield. Following the clues, doing what she was destined to do.As she flew and flew, her head cleared even more as she got further away Versailles. She was mad at herself for not doing this sooner. She knew all along what her mission was: why couldn’t she just embark from the beginning?She thought of Caleb. Her heart pulled as she remembered how much she loved him, at how bad she’d felt when he’d left. At the same time, now that she was on her mission, she realized that if he hadn’t left, maybe she would have just settled down, and never sought out her father. She realized once again that, no matter how pai

Caitlin unrolled the new scroll with shaking hands. Her heart pounded as she realized that it was the second half of her Dad’s letter.She quickly took out the first half of the letter, unrolled it, and held it up to this one. As she put them together, she saw that the ridges fit perfectly, and that now, finally, it was one complete letter.She read the entire letter again, from the beginning:My dearest Caitlin:If you are reading this, you have already surpassed many obstacles. It means that you have already chosen to travel the road less traveled, to take the difficult path. For that, I commend you. You are truly your father’s daughter.You must forgive all the riddles, codes, letters, and keys, but the secret that I guard is most powerful, and must be broken into fragments, to prevent others from decoding it. Only the truly worthy—only yourself—are meant to decode the secret that you ultimately will.If you are reading this, you already have one key in your possession. You

Caitlin flew the short distance from Saint Germain Des Pres over the Seine river, and then over the Ile de la Cite. She circled the small, narrow island slowly, trying to take it all in. There, of course, was the Notre Dame, huge, enormous, towering over everything, the largest building on the island. It was an overwhelming structure. The thought of finding whatever it was she needed inside it seemed daunting.She circled the island again, trying to take it all in context, and noticed that the Notre Dame wasn’t the only building on it. There were rows of medieval houses, crooked alleyways, cobblestone streets, and other buildings spread throughout. She looked down to see if the mobs were here, too, as they seemed to be everywhere else in Paris. Strangely enough, they were not. In fact, the square in front of the Notre Dame was completely empty. She found that to be odd. Why would the masses revolt everywhere else in the city, but not in its most famous place? Who was controlling them,