Page 99 of It All Started with a Bite

Helen made a disgusted sound and went over to a sink. I waited until she’d washed her hands and left before using the facilities.

“Did you poop okay?” Bo asked when I came out of the stall.

I swallowed a sigh and hoped Pearl’s etiquette lessons cured my dog of his sassiness.

We’d just stepped out of the restroom when a scent danced under my nostrils. I stiffened, instantly recognizing it.

“Bo, can you smell that?” I said tensely.

My dog was staring at a door opposite where we stood. “It’s coming from over there!”

We bolted through the door and found ourselves on the castle grounds.

The scent grew stronger. With it came a tang of magic that raised goosebumps on my skin. We moved swiftly along a stone path, our breaths misting in the cold air as we followed Wheeler’s trail. It wound through manicured gardens dotted with stone benches and ornate fountains and led us toward the forest backing the castle grounds.

We lost Wheeler’s scent at the tree line.

“He was definitely here,” Bo said, nose to the ground. He looked up and whined in frustration.

I stroked his head, equally annoyed. My skin prickled uncomfortably.

That strange magic I’d felt earlier was stronger out here.

“Let’s head back,” I said reluctantly.

We took a different route and emerged in a rose garden. We’d just come in view of a door when movement caught my eye. Bo stiffened beside me, ears pricking.

A figure was rushing around the side of the castle, her back to us.

It was a woman wearing a dark dress. My pulse quickened as I tracked the direction she was running from.

She’d come from the forest.

The woman disappeared before we could go after her.

“Wasn’t that—” Bo started.

“Come on!”

We hurried back inside the castle and made for the salon. I scanned the room as we entered it, my pulse racing. Priscilla and Isobel sat at their table, deep in conversation with Danielle Lupton.

I headed over to where Samuel and Lauren were still trading barbs.

“Did Priscilla or Isobel leave the salon at all?”

They both looked up, startled by my urgent tone.

“No,” Lauren said. “They’ve been here the whole time, talking to Mother.” She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Samuel’s expression sharpened at my troubled look. “What’s wrong?”

I hesitated. “Nothing. I thought I saw one of them outside just now. I must have been mistaken.”

His frown told me he wasn’t buying my answer. I avoided his eyes and focused on my cooling tea.

There was no point raising alarm bells until I had proof.

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