Page 19 of The Arrow and the Alder

And for perhaps the second time in Seph’s life, she felt truly afraid.

The first was when she’d said goodbye to her papa and brothers.

Without turning his gaze from Seph, the high lord handed the coat to the masked woman, who folded it neatly and tucked it away, out of sight.

“You have a quarrel with me, mortal?” Lord Massie asked in that burning port voice.

From the bedchamber, Nora coughed, sobering Seph at once. Her gaze fell, and she dropped to one knee, head bowed so low her white hair brushed the floor. She hated every second of it.

Hated her own helplessness.

She forced the apology from her lips. “Forgive me, my lord. I have spoken out of turn. That coat is very special to me; it’s the only token of a grandfather who isn’t long for this world. It was grief that gripped my heart and persuaded me to speak thus, though I swear it will not happen again.”

She didn’t lift her head, but she could feel their stares. Not even her massive mane of hair could shield her from them.

Finally, footsteps approached, step after slow and agonizing step, until Lord Massie’s shining black boots were immediately before her.

Seph’s heart pounded hard and fast, and she prayed that Ava might have mercy upon her, for Nora’s sake. She waited for the kith high lord to speak or for his sword to fall, but something trailed Seph’s jaw instead. An arrowhead, she realized, still attached to its shaft.

Herarrowhead.

Seph’s blood ran cold. He’d known it was her all along! Seph had misjudged him. Hewasthe sort to play with his food before ripping it apart.

Never trust a kith.

Lord Massie stopped the arrowhead beneath Seph’s chin and lifted, forcing her to look up, right into his glacial blue eyes. “And what, pray, has persuaded you tothis?” He removed the arrowhead and turned it over before Seph. “Grief?”

Seph swallowed, knees trembling. “Hunger, my lord.”

“See! What did I tell you?” the baron interjected, waggling a finger. He looked eagerly at Seph now, like a weasel scampering off with a carcass. “You thought I wouldn’t discover your little secret, ah, but thankfully your sister has better sense.”

Seph looked to Linnea, but her sister’s gaze dropped to the floor and her cheeks turned the color of spilt wine. Not that it mattered. The kith high lord had discovered Seph in the woods, and that part was Seph’s fault, at least.

“Here is what we are going to do,” Massie said in that still-smooth voice, while his icy gaze nearly froze Seph’s heart. “You are going to gift me the coat, and I am going to let you live.”

Seph clenched fury between her teeth. She knew from her grandfather’s stories that a gift freely given was far more powerful than one stolen, but she had no idea what consequences awaited her should she gift this coat to the kith high lord. Would it help Milly’s vision come to fruition, or was it possible that handing Lord Massie the coat could prevent it?

“Perhaps I’m not being clear…” Massie’s words trailed off as the woman veiled in black moved forward. Small, pale feet peeked out from beneath a hem embroidered in silvery enchantments, and all watched in silence as she stopped behind Massie and touched his arm.

Massie’s spine straightened. The woman whispered into his ear as she curled long fingers possessively over his shoulder, revealing the enchantments inked all over her skin. A chill ran over Seph, head to toe.

Who was this woman that commanded the attention of a kith high lord?

The woman slid her hand from Massie, faced Seph, and exhaled, as though she were snuffing out a candle. Ice cold air breathed over Seph’s skin, and a thin tendril of mist streamed from the woman’s lips, slithering through the air like a serpent.

What in the world?—

It slid right past Seph to Linnea, where it coiled around Linnea’s neck and squeezed.

Linnea choked, clawing desperately at the mist, but her hands only passed through.

“No…” Seph said as fear for her sister obliterated every other thought. “Stop it! Leave her alone!”

“Linnie!” Mama screamed, reaching for Linnea, but one of the larger kith grabbed hold of Mama’s arm and yanked her back.

Linnea collapsed to her knees, convulsing and gagging for breath, and now her lips were turning blue.

“Stop…please!” Seph begged the woman. “Take the coat! Do whatever you want with it, just please let her go!”

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