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“I’m Geraldine.” She drew closer to me, her eyes wide with urgency and her face pale. “And you cannot be here.”

I went rigid, every ounce of my body on high alert. “Are you Geraldine Pine?”

Slowly, she nodded.

My pulse skittered. This was one of Gran’s contacts. Her name had been first on the list. My breath felt trapped in my lungs when I asked, “Why should I not be here?”

“Because our clan leader has been after your magic for years.” Geraldine stepped closer, her expression taut with fear. “And with Elvira dead, she can’t protect you from her anymore.”

My pulse roared in my ears. The clan was after my magic? Why? Gran had been far more powerful than me. It didn’t make any sense.

Geraldine grasped my arm, her grip firm. “If you come any closer, the clan will know you’re here. You have to come with me.”

She started tugging me away from the encampment, but alarm bells clanged in my head, warning me that something was wrong.

I yanked my arm free. “I don’t know who you are. How can I trust you?”

Geraldine turned to face me, her lips pressed together tightly. “Because I can show you what your grandmother was working on before she died. I can tell you everything.”

My heart rate quickened. I was wary of this stranger, but what if she did have the answers I was looking for?

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Geraldine went on. “As soon as I heard Elvira was killed, I put a tracking spell on her blood so that if you ever came around, I would know right away.”

My eyes narrowed. She put a spell on Gran’s blood? After she had died?

Had Geraldine been the one in the cottage who had torn apart Gran’s bedroom?

I swallowed hard. Regardless of what Geraldine’s intentions were, it was clear she knew the most about my grandmother’s doings.

Which meant Alaric would want to talk to her.

I took a deep breath and let out a high-pitched whistle.

Geraldine flinched, her head whipping around nervously. “What are you doing?”

“Signaling my friend,” I said. “If I’m to go with you, he’ll want to come, too.”

Her face paled. “Friend? What friend?”

Heavy footsteps drew closer, and within moments, Alaric’s dark figure appeared. His hand came down on my shoulder, his posture stiff as he appraised Geraldine.

“Who is this?” he asked, each word full of venom.

“This is Geraldine,” I said, my voice tight. “She’s a witch who has information about my grandmother.”

Geraldine’s eyes bulged as she took a stumbling step backward. “A… a Wolven? You brought a Wolven here?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“He’s helping me find the truth about what happened to my grandmother,” I said, leveling a hard look at Geraldine. “I’m not going anywhere without him.”

Geraldine’s lips quivered as she glanced between us, then shot a worried look over her shoulder toward the encampment. After a moment, she hissed, “Fine. Follow me quickly. Before the entire clan picks up that horrid wolf stench.”

She lowered her hood and strode to the left, away from the encampment. I made to follow her, but Alaric grabbed my arm.

“A witch?” he whispered. “Are you sure we can trust her?”

“No,” I admitted. “But she has answers. And she claims the witch clan is after my magic. If there’s a chance she’s right…”

“Then there could be a trap waiting for you in the encampment.” Alaric sighed, a muscle working in his jaw. “I don’t like this, Cerise.”