Bastien demanded respect and acceptance of all that came to Château Rose, and I was sure they had no problem with me being a Dark Witch. However, I didn’t look the same, and surely the sudden change in my appearance raised questions.
Lena, the kind older woman who handled all affairs relating to consorts, startled when Iapproached. “Miss Donadieu!” she exclaimed before taking a moment to school her features into a smile. “I hardly recognized you! Your hair!” Shame flushed in my cheeks. An old shame. Put there by Mama. “It’s?—”
“Beautiful.”
I turned and found Tansy standing in the doorway. Devlinn behind her. And the parts of me that felt confused and alone were soothed.
The two were a portrait in opposites. While she had deeply tanned skin and moon-white hair, he was pale, with freckles speckling his nose and copper-red hair.
Her arms were crossed, but she was wearing a cheeky grin. “I’m going to miss the lilac, but this suits you.”
It would suit me better once my magick was working properly. I slipped my hand into my pocket, drawing comfort from the relic. Devlinn’s eyes followed, and I wondered if he sensed its power too.
Tansy caught Lena’s hands, folding them between her own. “If Alec returns, will you send him to the tea room?”
The brightness slipped from Lena’s face as though someone had drawn a curtain. “Of course, dear.” Her eyes flicked to me, apology sharpening them. “Miss Donadieu, I’m terribly sorry for all this trouble. If you’d prefer to meet the other consorts?—”
Tansy cut her off once again. “We’ll speak with Miss Donadieu about what’s happened. But you’ll tell us if there’s any word?”
Any word about what? Confusion pinched my brows together. I opened my mouth, questions already climbing up my throat, but Tansy pinned me with a look.
“Come. Let’s have tea.” She tucked my hand into the crook of her elbow and led me out of Lena’s office, guiding me through windinghalls to a tearoom I’d never seen before. It was all black lacquered walls, dark wood grain, and gold accents. While it was Bastien’s colors, it didn’t feel like a room he’d ever voluntarily use. And not just because tea wasn’t his drink of choice.
As soon as the attendants were excused and the door was closed, Tansy wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight against her. I soaked in her warmth and positivity for as long as I could. “It’s so good to see you, Claire.”
“It’s good to see you too.” She rubbed my back and made soothing sounds as she held me, rocking us back and forth. I buried my face into her white hair, just like I’d done countless times with Seraphina. Little by little, the anger I was struggling to control melted, allowing me space to breathe.
So much had happened since I last saw Tansy, and the gravity of it all was finally sinking in. Including the echo of the old witch’s voice.
“In order to remove the cursed choker, you must die.”
I didn’t want to think about that right now. It would be easier to call the whole trip down to Imogen’s cavern a fever dream and be done with it. But there was something I couldn’t ignore. The fact that my trio of friends was missing a member.
“What’s happened to Alec?” I asked.
Tansy pulled back to study my face. Her dark eyes lingered on the cut on my brow, the one I’d earned when I’d fallen headlong into a gravestone. Along with the red hair and unstable magick. “I was about to ask you the same question.”
Ask me? How would I know where he was? I’d only just returned home. “I haven’t seen Alec since the last time we were all together in the ballroom.”
Tansy cursed under her breath, then nibbled on the edge of her thumb.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “What’s happened to Alec?”
The legs of a chair scraped loudly across thefloor, breaking the moment. Devlinn had pulled out a chair for me. “Perhaps we should sit.”
Reluctantly, I sat. He pulled out the chair to my right for Tansy before taking the one to my left. My white wolf placed herself between Tansy and me.
She cast a wary glance at the animal. “A new pet of yours?”
“Something like that,” I replied coolly. The brown male came to sit beside Devlinn, who pretended to ignore the wolf. “They won’t hurt you,” I reassured them. “Either of you. I swear.”
“Good to know,” he said with a thin chuckle. Devlinn poured each of us a steaming cup of dark red herbal tea that reminded me of the shade of Alec’s eyes.
I wrapped my hands around the warm cup. Steam rose, reminding me of the lake I was trying hard to forget. “Tell me about Alec. What happened?”
“Last night, after you left with the Duke, Alec was beside himself,” Devlinn explained while stirring sugar into his tea. “He was going on and on about how he needed to talk to you. He said there was something important he needed to warn you about.”
“Warn me?” I muttered. “About what?”
