“Oh, my god,” I said, staring at the bow in horror. I recognized the arrow in the bow; it was grotesquely familiar, the arrow that had been haunting my life and my nightmares. He knelt down to examine the corpse of his victim. I dared to look too despite the ugly wound, grimacing. Even as a healer, I did not grow accustomed to the sight of blood. I stared at the man’s face in confusion, puzzled as to why I recognized his weapons but not his face. “I don’t know him,” I said in anger, “do you?” Aldrich shook his head. “I don’t, either.” “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I snapped, storming up to the body. I hated the man. I hated his unfamiliar unseeing eyes and his weathered, old face and his unrecognizable hair. How could I not recognize someone that was trying to kill me and everyone I loved the past few months? “This is fucking propoersterous,” I said as I grabbed the arrow from the bow and violently impaled him with it in the chest, crying out

We woke up the next morning at the brink of dawn. I could no longer await to see what the salve had done to the wound. When I rubbed it on last night, it applied very thinly despite the thick look of the ointment. Clement did not leave instructions on how often to apply, but I assumed once would be enough. I had a servant go down to the library and await Clement’s arrival so that I could confirm instructions, but the servant did not return until hours later in the early afternoon. Aldrich and I were still in bed when the servant announced that Clement never came back to the library. That was odd; however, I supposed he assumed his duties with me were over after he concocted the antidote on his own. The wound did not appear any better; in fact, it looked the same. I frowned, looking to him for any signs of pain or disappointment, but he grinned at me instead. “I feel a lot better than I have in awhile,” he said, then sat up abruptly. “I feel so g

There was something drifting outside the window. But it was not a stalker lurking in the dark, for instead, it was snow. I hurried over to the window to look outside. The billowing white flakes were coming down like powdered sugar, thick and in heaping clouds. They slowly grazed the window and trickled down to the ground that was already concealed in at least a foot of the cotton melancholy blanket. Slowly, I turned from the window with a grin. His expression mirrored mine. We hurried over to the chambers we now shared and dressed in winter gear. My attire consisted of layered petticoats underneath a gray, bulbous sleeved cloak and faux fur lined gloves that matched a warm, rose pink hat. Aldrich wore a long overcoat that matched the gray in mine. With Theo in bed and Aldrich holding off his duties for the day, we hurried downstairs to the back entrance like children.In the moonlight, it looked like stardust sprinkling down from the Milky Way, kissing our

Aldrich soon bounded into the room a couple moments after I did. I did not turn to look at him, too busy staring at the doctors with my arms crossed tightly. I was not afraid of the answers they had evident all over their faces, and I was even slightly agitated at the concern in their eyes. I wore the same nightgown for seven nights in a row, only leaving my bed to occasionally bathe, and had not eaten or drank much. I probably looked more like the corpses they have been examining rather than their hostess. “My lady,” our main doctor, Dr. Laurence, regarded me. His lips were set very tightly; he was not thrilled about the news either. “Have you come to a conclusion?” Aldrich inquired from behind me, the worry in his voice further irritating me. “I’m afraid we have,” Dr. Laurence answered, nodding curtly. He looked at us warily over his thick glasses. “We have deemed the victims’ causes of death as all poison.” “Poison?” We both echoed in unison. I glanced

“The last time I was honest with you, you stormed out of here saying you didn’t love me,” I declared acidicly through gritted teeth. “I did not say that,” he snapped back, matching my energy. “I said you were not acting like the woman I love.” I laughed humorlessly at that. “Well, maybe she does act like that. Do you not love me now?” There was a challenge in my voice, and I almost wanted to push him to the point of saying no. Aldrich looked at me with incredulous belief, his lips parting like he was offended by my words. “Of course I love you, you fool. How do you think I felt when the guards alerted me that you were unconscious?” I hesitated before simply shrugging. “Cathy,” he said, his nostrils flaring. He stormed up to the bed in a small fit of rage. “I thought they finally got to you,” his voice became gruff, like it was weakening, “I thought you were dead.” I stared at him wordlessly, not knowing what to say. “So many people ha