“Two minutes,” the Archbishop said sharply.

Madame Labelle’s face twisted. “I am not leaving.”

The Archbishop jerked his head toward my brethren, and they inched closer. Brows furrowed. Torn between following orders and removing a woman from the premises. I suffered no such qualms. I too stepped forward, shielding Lou from view. “Yes, you are.”

Something flickered in Madame Labelle’s eyes as she looked at me. Her sneer faltered. Before I could throw her from the Tower, Lou touched my arm and murmured, “Let’s go.”

Then several things happened at once.

A crazed gleam entered Madame Labelle’s eyes at Lou’s words, and she lunged forward. Quicker than a snake’s strike, she crushed Lou into her arms. Her lips moved rapidly at Lou’s ear.

Furious, I wrenched Lou away at the same moment Ansel leapt to subdue Madame Labelle. My brethren joined him. They pinned her arms behind her back as she fought to return to Lou.

“Wait!” Lou thrashed in my arms, twisting toward her. Eyes wild. Face pale. “She was saying something—wait!”

But the room had descended into chaos. Madame Labelle shrieked as the Chasseurs attempted to drag her out of the building. The Archbishop motioned toward Lou before rushing forward. “Get her out of here.”

I complied, tightening my grip around Lou’s waist and hauling her backward. Away from the madwoman. Away from the panic and confusion of the room—of my thoughts.

“Stop!” Lou kicked and pounded against my arms, but I only tightened my grip. “I changed my mind! Let me speak to her! Let me go!”

But she’d made an oath.

And she wasn’t going anywhere.

Chill in My Bones

Lou

My throat is weeping.

Not tears. Something thicker, darker. Something that bathes my skin in scarlet, streams down my chest and soaks my hair, my dress, my hands. My hands. They scrabble at the source, fingers probing, searching, choking—desperate to stem the flow, desperate to make it stop, stop, stop—

Shouts are echoing around me through the pines. They disorient me. I can’t think. But I need to think, to flee. And she’s behind me, somewhere, stalking me. I can hear her voice, her laughter. She calls to me, and my name on her lips rings loudest of all.

Louise . . . I’m coming for you, darling.

Coming for you, darling

Coming for you, darling . . . darling . . . darling . . .

Blind terror. She can’t find me here. I can’t go back, or—or something terrible will happen. Gold still flickers. It lingers on the trees, the ground, the sky, scattering my thoughts like the blood on the pines. Warning me. Leave, leave, leave. You can’t come back here. Never again.

I’m lunging into the river now, scrubbing my skin, washing away the trail of blood that follows me. Frantic. Feverish. The slash at my throat closes, the sharp pain receding the farther I run from home. The farther I run from my friends. My family. Her.

Never again never again never again

I can’t see any of them ever again.

A life for a life.

Or I’ll die.

I woke with a start, my eyes darting to the window. Flushed and agitated, I’d left it open last night. Snow coated the ledge in fine powder, and occasional gusts of wind blew snowflakes into our room. I watched them swirl through the air, trying to ignore the icy fear that had settled in the pit of my stomach. Blankets weren’t enough to warm the chill in my bones. My teeth chattered.

Though I hadn’t heard all of Madame Labelle’s frantic words, her warning had been clear.

She is coming.

I sat up, rubbing my arms against the chill. Who was Madame Labelle, really? And how had she known about me? I’d been naive to think I could truly disappear. I’d lied to myself when I’d worn my disguises—when I married a Chasseur.

I’d never be safe.

My mother would find me.

Though I’d practiced again this morning, it wasn’t enough. I needed to train harder. Every day. Twice a day. I needed to be stronger when she arrived—to be able to fight. A weapon wouldn’t hurt either. In the morning, I would search for one. A knife, a sword. Anything.

Unable to stand my thoughts any longer, I swung from the bed and dropped to the floor beside my husband. He breathed, slow and rhythmic. Peaceful. Nightmares didn’t plague his sleep. Slipping beneath the blankets, I pressed close to him. Rested my cheek against his back and savored his warmth as it seeped into my skin. My eyes fluttered shut, and my breathing slowed to match his.

In the morning. I would deal with everything in the morning.

His breathing faltered slightly as I drifted to sleep.

A Clever Little Witch

Lou

The small mirror above the basin was unkind the next morning. I scowled at my reflection. Pale cheeks, swollen eyes. Dry lips. I looked like death. I felt like death.

The bedroom door opened, but I continued staring at myself, lost in thought. Nightmares had always plagued my sleep, but last night—last night had been worse. I stroked the scar at the base of my throat softly, remembering.

It had been my sixteenth birthday. A witch entered womanhood at sixteen. My fellow witchlings had been excited for theirs, anxious to receive their rites as Dames Blanches.

I’d been different. I’d always known my sixteenth birthday would be the day I died. I’d accepted it—welcomed it, even, when my sisters had showered me with love and praise. My purpose since birth had been to die. Only my death could save my people.

But as I’d laid on that altar, the blade pressing into my throat, something had changed.

I had changed.

“Lou?” My husband’s voice echoed through the door. “Are you decent?”

I didn’t answer him. Humiliation burned in my gut at last night’s weakness. I clenched the basin, glaring at myself. I’d actually slept on the floor to be close to him. Weak.

“Lou?” When I still didn’t respond, he cracked the door open. “I’m coming in.”

Ansel hovered behind him, face drawn and concerned. I rolled my eyes at my reflection.

“What’s wrong?” My husband’s eyes searched my face. “Has something happened?”

I forced a smile. “I’m fine, thanks.”

They exchanged glances, and my husband jerked his head to the door. I pretended not to notice as Ansel left, as an awkward silence descended.