m was fi

hadows writhing in corners. Screams echoed from upstairs - not fresh screams, but

toward her thr

a

owed gold, like molten metal. And in his hands was a b

aise

eat cold on her brow des

of the den, looked up with a

e. "Not a dream.

imes, even familiars k

forest had grown restless. Leaves whispered rumors through the canopy, and

seen the meeting.

rb that allowed witches to walk the Veil, the space between memory and vision. She hesitated.

ere wa

el stood befo

nexpectedly, their faces veiled in shadow, their

," one of them sa

odded.

Nightblo

es

u didn't el

n't re

s a th

t attacki

om wen

eaned forward. "Do you do

the need to kill a woman who

ilence f

ws whispered, "Perhaps you are

his jaw. "I

voice replied. "Jus

thorns and silverleaf. Her magic pulsed at her fingertips, brushing over

her. But it was

ow defiled by ash and decay. She knelt at the base of a crumbling statu

s lit up

rose from

re no

carries mor

d. "What d

older than the Guard. So

e rem

ickened. "Re

s died befor

ck through the fore

hi

it

on unreadable. Her cloak fluttered in the breeze, a deep violet

bold," K

e conf

his head

u had a chance to kill m

idn't see

ew who

sn't

are

dn't

rom him. "What do you re

linc

. "I remember my mother's scream. I re

led into fists.

et me

s a mi

n't sou

ce stretched

amed of you. For years.

d n

sure wh

way. "I shou

dn't bl

yet

breath.

eyes sharp as the

ces. Not trusting. Not yet forgiving. But peeling b

hiding - the covens that turned on her

initiation rites, about the friends he'

eve witches were b

"And you be

d

d n

w what I bel

at's the first hones

different quiet

e moved

hed for h

ai

fr

l her closer.

redness in her eyes, the quiet strength in the w

e your enem

idn't

pped c

el less like a hunter and more

oice low. "And I sho

you d

between them hummed - not with mag

rushing a strand of h

r you," he

orgot," sh

had been waiting ten years

ge

so

and rage and pain poured into a kiss

t a tree. He tangled h

hem, neither protesting nor

neath the tree, br

on his chest, listening

rong," Kae

's ever mattered

't go

n do

he canopy. "They'

come afte

ould

itterly. "Th

we s

her head.

aze. "If you

High Guard fortress, a raven

tter. Sealed

unrolled it, e

lives. The Hu

the paper i

he Wrat