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It should have felt like a job well done; a puzzle solved; justice for the witches whose lives had been taken.

But Saga just felt empty. It didn’t make sense.

True, Velouette Radu had been Wilhelm Norton’s assistant on his last case as a Mercy. She had taken notes on the testimonies of Abigail Rhyder, Betsey Paris, Theresa Duffy, and Patricia Aldridge. Yet, as an assistant, not present in the court for the sentencing, she had also not been held to the binding spell that came with sealing the case. She had known who Patricia Aldridge was when she came to her office the first time. She had even slipped in telling Avery that Patricia’s magic had been bound—this being directly related to the case would have been sealed and unknown to any involved. Except that no one remembered assistants, and so when the time came to seal the information away, she had been forgotten.

It was an oversight the council would rectify moving forward.

It was her. Undeniably the evidence piled up against Velouette Radu, and yet for all the means and opportunity, Saga couldn’t put her finger on a motive. She had been visiting Abigail in Blackthorn since the trial. But why?

Abigail had bequeathed her personal effects to her. Items that very likely held the first piece of the murder weapon—enabled Velouette to go after Abigail’s former friends… But why? And why now?

Avery assured her they would find their answers, either through interviewing Abigail, unsealing the file, or interrogating Velouette, but they needed to bring her into custody first—for everyone’s safety. If she was acting on behalf of Abigail, it was unclear who her next victim might be—if it wasn’t already Justice Norton.

Lahiri warned that given the mounting evidence against her, they might not need a motive if she did not volunteer it.

There were two council members present when they gathered for the arrest, flanked by two uniformed sentinels, with herself, Reza, and Avery following after.

Saga recognized Gideon Blackthorn from her mother’s trial. In person, he looked no less unnerving, a being cut from winter’s pale shadow. Logically, she knew both he and Avery were children of the Erlking, but Saga believed it especially of Gideon—perhaps it was the lack of humanity in his blood. His presence reminded Saga that “fey” derived from the old German for “doomed” or “fated to die,” a name that ancestors had called the creatures not to describe them, but rather to describe what it meant for you if you encountered one.

Thankfully, the other council member present was Fiore, who greeted her as warmly as they had the night they found Avery slumped on the floor. It was a small comfort, but it meant one more ally to offset the pit in her stomach. Fiore was, as usual, impeccably dressed, in a suit that seemed sewn onto them, made of a midnight-blue silk and embroidered with swirling silver storm clouds that trailed across the left breast and embellished the cuffs. Their group stopped outside Mercy Radu’s office door and Avery stepped forward to stand beside Gideon in order to knock.

Saga couldn’t see who answered, but she found she didn’t want to. She wished she could back away from this. That she’d requested not to be here.

“Is Mercy Radu in?” Avery asked gently. Roxanne must have answered. There was a moment of silence, and Saga held her breath.

“What is going on?” There was fear in Velouette’s voice.

“I am afraid this is also not a social call,” Avery apologized.

“Velouette Radu.” Gideon’s voice possessed the same chill it had the day he sentenced Saga’s mother. “Where is Justice Norton?”

“I…” The Mercy’s voice faltered. “I am not sure. He has not come in. We had to postpone our morning cases.”

“Do not force them to compel the answer from you,” Avery urged.

Saga knew it was a threat simply by the way it had been phrased, but Avery’s voice sounded like it was pleading with her.

Saga shifted, trying to catch sight of Velouette’s face through the gaps in the figures that stood around her, but to no avail.

“At my home,” Velouette finally said. There was something about her voice that sounded utterly defeated, yet Saga still did not feel like they had won. “You’ll find him contained in the basement. Alive.”

Why kidnap him when the others had been killed without a thought? Saga understood why Velouette couldn’t have left the body in his home if he was going to be framed for the crimes, but why leave him alive? It didn’t fit.

“Why did you do this?” Avery’s voice was still soft, betrayed.

“I don’t expect you to understand,” Velouette answered coldly.

Gideon gestured to the sentinel, and Saga’s view cleared as they moved to chain her. “Velouette Radu, you are under arrest by the will of the Winter Council. You will be charged for kidnapping and the murders of Betsey Paris, Theresa Abernathy, and Patricia Aldridge. You will be taken to Blackthorn Correctional for holding, whereupon you will meet with a Justice and Mercy and plead your case in court before a magistrate.”

Saga could see Roxanne in the doorway, wide-eyed and afraid. “Velouette?”

“Go home, Roxy.” Velouette’s voice was hard and almost unrecognizable.

Two sentinels led the zână away. She did not struggle, and she did not argue. She had not even attempted to deny it. But that pit in Saga’s stomach grew.

“If you send a team to retrieve Justice Norton, they should be prepared to look for the pieces of mirror safely,” Avery warned.

Gideon nodded and gestured to another sentinel in the group. “Take a squad with you to Velouette’s home. Do not assume anything. Zână may not be able to cast for themselves, but they are capable of horrible curses on behalf of others.” He shook his head as the man nodded and also departed in haste. “A zână out for revenge, I did not see coming.” He looked to Avery. “What was her connection to John Hingley?”