Page 99 of To Vanquish Darkness

With those words, the pieces tumbled into place. His vigilance. The bite in her room. The distance, the cold glances, the refusal to answer her questions.

"You gave me your bedroom." Amalie strode toward the door, stopping in front of him.

"It was always meant for you." His thumb brushed over his signet. "And this mark, it was never mine, Amalie."

Images of that signet flashed through her mind. On the doors at the edge of the sand. The ring they all wore on their fingers, the carved wood in the castle. Her voice caught in her throat.It was always meant for you.

"Amalie!" Her uncle called up the stairs.

"Coming!" She called back, her voice strained.

"No, stay in your room. I need Theo. Now,” he growled.

Amalie turned, and Theo’s expression darkened. He was gone in an instant, followed by Bethany, Matilde, and Ghislaine stumbling back up the stairs.

Amalie flew to the window and opened the shutters. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she searched the gardens below until her eyes landed on a shadowed figure outside the gate.

Her breath hitched at the familiar features illuminated in the moonlight.

Ren.

46

1836 COUNTRYSIDE BEYOND MORDELLES, FRANCE

How was Ren outside her uncle's gate?

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She’d done everything she could to get here without him following, but she’d failed.But what had taken him so long?

Amalie turned to find the girls huddling together on her bed. She closed the shutters. "Wait here."

"Uncle Oren said—" Bethany started, but Amalie held up a hand.

"I'll be right back." She set her clothes on the writing desk and descended the stairs. Maurielle sat in the parlor, but she didn't give her aunt a chance to stop her. She rushed outside, stopping only when her uncle turned and flashed a look of pure murderous intent.

Theo blocked her view of Ren through the open gate, and she shifted to the side to get a clear view. "What are you doing here?"

Ren held out his hands. "There's no time to talk. The Pourfendeurs are coming. We need to get out now."

Amalie’s brow pinched. The Pourfendeurs? She’d left Marcel and Olivie in Servon only a day prior, and they hadn’t said a thing about coming to Mordelles.

She took a step closer, emboldened by Theo's presence even though her uncle hissed through his teeth. “The Pourfendeurs are my friends.” She wouldn't listen to any more of his lies. He'd insinuated it was her uncle who had been attacked, then insisted Theo had asked him to protect her. Neither of those had proven true.

Ren gave her an apologetic look, then turned his attention back to Theo. “I tried to keep her safe, but she refused to stay put."

"I didn't ask you to keep her safe," Theo snapped.

"Well, it's a good thing I took it upon myself. She could've been killed on her way to Servon. She had no money—I had to pay for her to spend the night at a reputable inn."

"I would've made do." Amalie took another step.

Ren ignored her. "I followed her here and heard the rumors in Mordelles. They know you’re here, Theo. They know what you are.” He looked innocently between the two of them. “Is this where the attack happened?”

Amalie watched him for any hint of betrayal, but couldn’t find it. Ren looked glad to see Theo and honest in his desperation for them to act. Theo's hands fisted at his sides.

Ren's eyes flickered. "I mean what I say. Whatever dealings you have here, they can wait. This family doesn’t need their house to be burned to the ground.”

“They wouldn’t do that without proof,” Amalie said. “I know them. They aren’t witch hunters, as much as people make them out to be.”

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