‘Dorothy,’ said Theodora. ‘You can do it. Break the—’
Salamander waved one finger. Theodora’s voice was lost.
The witch’s eyes went wide, darting between Dot and the daemon.
Dot reached for the contract beneath her coat but one of Salamander’s long white barbs shot out from his back and yanked her up by the wrists, turning her to face him. He towered over her.
Then, Salamander looked down on Theodora.
‘I expected to chase you across Calléum,’ said the daemon. ‘I did not expectthis. Gone is the young lady who in her hubris pretended to be some foreign sorcerer’s daughter. How amused I was. How I enjoyed tearing down all that you had the arrogance to create.’
The daemon stepped slimily past Theodora and, to Dot’s surprise, placed her down. Freed from his grip, she rubbed at her wrists.
‘I will not harm you, Dorothy,’ said Salamander. ‘And I admit, I now regret the unhappy memories I made you relive. I have an offer for you. It is generous and I believe it will bring you some excitement.’
Dot’s mind churned. If she ran, Salamander would only tear her back. If Dot reached for the contract, the daemon would seize it.
‘Dorothy,’ said Salamander, commanding her full attention. ‘I would like to offer you an apprenticeship.’
Dot’s eyes went wide.
Salamander smiled. ‘Ah. What did you think I wanted with you? To cage you like one of these specimens? To turn you into a conduit like I did to Miss Weyer? Your magic is too special for that. Let me prove your value.’
Dot glanced down at Theodora, twisting in her stone bindings.
The witch shook her head, desperate.
‘I have seen your memories,’ said the daemon. ‘Your family was cruel. Emily was cruel. Robert Liutprand Lashkari was cruel. Theodora betrayed you. I ask you, Dorothy, what did you do to deserve their nasty glances and perverse laughter?’
‘Lio wasn’t cruel,’ said Dot. ‘He was hurt.’
A long white barb shot out from Salamander’s back and connected with Dot’s temple. She buckled as the daemon’s magic surged through her.
‘He told you to grow up,’ came Salamander’s voice. Dot watched flashes of Lio, drunk in the courtyard, yelling at her – she was back there, ashamed and furious and humiliated. Salamander took back his barb and Dot dropped to her knees on the wet cement. ‘He was not the only one. Theyalltold you to grow up, in one way or another. They mocked you when you talked about the radio or the ocean or maps. Your brother, Willard, laughed at the way you flapped your hands and covered your ears and counted the planks of wood on the pier. Why?’
Salamander circled her, now standing between Dot and the staircase. She shrank under his gaze, her back now to Theodora.
‘Your father yelled at you when you were only a babe for casting the spells that were your birthright. He did this until you masked it all away, stifled it, used magic only in your dreams. That man told you he loved you. Helied.’
Dot skirted away from the daemon and stumbled over Theodora’s pinned body. She sat promptly beside the witch, eyes fixed on Salamander. Theodora strained against her bindings to take Dot’s hand in hers.
‘How old were you,’ said the daemon, crouching, ‘when you understood in earnest that the only way to be loved was to be something other than yourself?’
Dot closed her eyes.
‘You have spent a lifetime, Dorothy Walcott, manipulating people into loving you. Laughing at quips you did not understand, smiling as others excluded you, pretending that their snickers did not hurt your feelings. In so many ways, your performances have been moremyriad, more masterful than Tessa’s, Theodora’s, Kaeïs’s, Justine’s, Bianca’s. The one time you lifted that mask and showed someone your anger, what happened?’
Dot’s eyes were stinging now.
‘You killed a girl,’ said Salamander.
‘I didn’t.’ The tears flowed from Dot’s eyes. Theodora clutched tighter at Dot’s fingers. Rupert was dead. Lio, somewhere above them, was surely dying. ‘I didn’tmeanto.’
‘You did,’ said Salamander. ‘She deserved it.’
Dot’s throat tightened. Fatigue descended. Her ears began to ring.
Salamander’s barbs shot toward her again.
