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I walked up to it, getting closer for inspection. Even from the faint light of the moon, I recognized it. Blood. Not only that, but a few boards tilted toward the street. This could have been made years ago, or it came from Mr. Gallagher being dragged away in the night.

Faint voices from down the alley echoed, and I listened until I determined they were approaching. After taking a beating and confirming for myself that Mr. Gallagher was indeed most likely the newest abduction in the seaside town, I decided taking my leave was best.

Planning to exit the way I came, I turned on my heel and made my steps light as they carried me back through the yard, but I paused. Jutting out of the fence was a dagger. The one she threw at me that could have killed me. A piece of her left behind as she fled in a hurry. Something about leaving it didn’t sit right. If I did, Mrs. Gallagher could report it.

If this mystery fighter in the night had anything to do with Mr. Gallagher’s disappearance, she’d deserve to get found out, tracked down by my guardsmen. But the thought of that put an odd strain on my heart. Deep down in my gut, I didn’t believe that was the case.

So I ripped out the evidence of her, splintering the wood as I did, and took it with me as I headed back to the castle.

5

Nora

The waking afternoon sun streamed through my window. I yawned with a stretch, sliding my legs along my sheets before a tightness in my belly made me recoil.

Ooph.

I rested my palm over my upper stomach, remembering the blunt impact of that man’s foot as he fucking kicked me. A smile shouldn’t have graced my lips, but I couldn’t help it. I’d never run into someone like that, actually able to use the training I’d practiced. If someone had kept a tally, I’d definitely scored more points than him. Internally, I beamed brighter than the sun blasting through the windows.

When I lifted my head off the pillow, pressure built at the back of my skull. I brought my fingers to it, skimming along the area, remembering the act that’d caused it. Sure, at the time it hadn’t felt great, but my main concern had been escaping his grip. Now that the fighting-for-survival rush had worn off, my body chastised me for being so aggressive.

“Nora!” The muted beckoning between floors hit my ears, but it didn’t defeat me as much as normal. Like even Eucinda couldn’t taint how skilled I’d been last night.

Still, I didn’t desire to poke the beast, and got myself ready as quickly as my moaning body would allow.

Only my room existed on this level, a retreat away from the rest of the house. After my father passed, I’d moved up here, unable to carry the same routine as if nothing had happened. Moving out of the shared room with my step-sisters allowed me to grieve in peace. They hadn't seen me cry since my father's funeral, no one had. I’d donned emotional armor since that day and learned I could only depend on myself.

Sunshine glistened off the glass heart on my dresser. In my whirlwind of getting ready, it stopped me in my tracks. The last gift my mother ever gave to me before she passed. A reminder of how important it was to take care of my heart, and not let it fall into the wrong hands. “Miss you, Mom,” I said before continuing out of the room.

Each stair creaked beneath my feet as I barreled down without a care for being quiet, going down two flights until I entered the foyer.

Melody turned the corner. “Hey, we’re going to the markets.” Her smile brightened the dreary, dusty space.

“We are?”

“Mhm! Mama is probably wanting to give you a list of things to pick up. I told her I wanted to go and that I’d take you.” Often, I’d become Melody’s chauffeur. Too precious for Eucinda to let out unaccompanied. Me, on the other hand…

“I’m ready when you are.” Any chance to get out of this house where a shrill dictator couldn’t reach me was more than welcomed.

With a pep in her step, Melody ran upstairs. I walked myself to the dragon’s den, stopping before I entered her sacred space, clasping my hands behind my back. “Yes, Ma'am?”

“Melody wants to go to the markets. Don’t you dare let anything happen to her.”

It was a miracle I was unscathed by frostbite, given the ice cold warning in her blue eyes.

“Never,” I replied, genuinely meaning it.

“Good.” She returned to her stitching, apparently not wanting to look at me longer than necessary to deliver her threat. “Take Kenzie.”

What would have been a sunshine filled outing suddenly turned gray and gloomy. “What? No, I—”

“You’ll take her, and watch her, too. You’re to pick me up more thread. Money is on the counter, along with the list of colors. The exact colors.”

A twinge tugged under my eye. Were we missing money for a loaf so she could waste more thread on her stitching monstrosities? “Yes, Ma'am.” I took my leave before letting anything slip out that would just get me lashed.

In my thinly veiled anger, I snatched the coin pouch and list from the counter. It crinkled in my grip.

With the weather starting to warm, the softening ground kicked up mud beneath the traffic on the streets. More carriages out than usual. Horses’ hooves clipped and clopped around us, giving us less room to walk around freely, with the delightful odor of horse manure wafting through the air.