“Thank you for your honesty,” Justin said. “And since we’re being honest, I knew you weren’t going to hurt me, I just wanted an answer.” He gave Xavier a small smirk and glanced back toward his room. “There’s still some time before the sun comes up if you’d like to...”

“Thank you for the offer, but no,” Xavier said, his voice tight as he took a deliberate step backward. He turned, and then he was gone. Justin got the impression of a shadow racing down the hall, but it was too fast for his mortal eyes to follow.

“Did that seem strange to anyone else?” Justin muttered, but of course, there was no one there to answer him. He returned to his room and closed the door. He went first to the money on the dresser and tucked it away in the deepest part of his backpack, then he turned out the lights and climbed into bed. The sheets were cool against his skin, but quickly warmed around him as he settled into the soft mattress. He tried to remember the last time he’d slept in a bed, or had clean clothes, or wasn’t trying to fall asleep hungry, but he drifted off before he could.

He woke with a start, for a moment not sure where he was. Sunlight streamed in the windows, pooling on the bedspread as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. A knock on the bedroom door made him jump.

“Yes? What is it?” he called. The door opened and Harold poked his graying head into the room.

“Sorry to wake you, sir, but the tailor needs to see you now or your clothes might not be ready for tonight.”

“Oh. Oh, right, of course,” Justin said, scrambling out of bed. “Let me get dressed—”

“No need, sir, this should only take a few minutes.” Harold opened the door and stepped aside, allowing a short little man with wispy white hair to limp into the room. There seemed to be something wrong with the man’s leg, but it didn’t slow him down any. He hobbled over to Justin and walked a circle around him, looking him over with a critical eye.

“Tall and skinny, always tall and skinny,” the tailor muttered, his reedy voice thick with some kind of an accent Justin couldn’t quite place. Pulling a cloth tape measure out of his pocket, …