Page 11

Dimples? What are you even thinking?

She tried to grab at the bedding, at anything, as she felt herself slipping to the floor, her ears ringing with her own memories.

Two sets of hands reached for her at the same time, but the strong ones, covered entirely with tattoos—of crows?—found her first, easily beating Victoria’s.

Seren lifted her up and back on the bed with an ease Lark found hard to believe and harder to overcome. Her heart hammered in her chest. Her breath was shallow. She blinked and forced her vision to finally focus on the chiseled face of the woman so casually carrying her around.

The auburn hair that she had been pushing out of her face flopped back over her forehead, soft as a caress when it fell partially onto Lark’s face as Seren leaned to let go of her.

Something stirred in her, something that had been dormant, that felt forbidden. Lark bit her lip and forced her mind to stay in the present. To keep up. To focus.

“Thank you, Ms. Crowhart.” She tried to sound as normal as possible. She looked up and saw the same little smile playing in the corner of that sinful mouth⁠—

Sinful? Gosh, oh my gosh!

“Ms. Crowhart is usually my sister Ceridwen, though she is more often than not Councilwoman Crowhart. Mrs. Crowhart is my Aunt Victoria here. The rest of us Crowharts just go by our first names. Since there are several of us, it can get confusing otherwise. So, I’m just Seren.”

“Several of you?” Lark asked weakly. As someone very familiar with large families, she wanted to extend her commiserations.

Except, Seren’s smile bloomed wider.

“Well, Ceridwen is the oldest. Then Rhiannon. Then Deryn and I are twins, but I’m older.”

“By like twenty minutes. Big deal, Rennie.”

Lark craned her neck to observe a woman who looked both similar and nothing like Seren swan into the room. Lark could swear she had already seen her. Was she one of the women she had observed kissing on the pier weeks ago?

Her hair was longer, messier, and her bangs were dyed neon pink. Her eyes were of a slightly darker shade of green, more emerald than sea, and then there was the distinct lack of muscles. Lark sighed in disappointment. Then realized what she was doing and felt an almost painful blush rise up her neck and over her face.

“Why are you here, Der?” Seren bumped her sister with her shoulder, Lark almost wincing, expecting immediate retaliation. Her own siblings would’ve caused a commotion by now.

Nothing but laughter ensued however.

“I brought Victoria leftover bread and some other stuff. Ceri said her fridge was empty, so now she won’t have to bake. With the storm coming down as hard as it is, I didn’t want her to have to worry about food. And rumor had it you all have a visitor. Ceri also said you thought that said visitor was pretty, so I had to come up and see for myself.”

Deryn gesticulated wildly as she spoke, and Lark found herself immediately at ease. She felt her mouth stretch into a rusty smile. Then the smile faltered as the words finally sank into her mind.

Pretty? Seren said you’re pretty?

She could feel her earlier blush return in full force.

“Deryn, that girl is weak and famished. Will you stop pestering her? And leave your sister alone while you’re at it!”

Seren rolled her eyes but did not look in Lark’s direction as she gave her sister another shove.

“You heard Victoria. Let’s give Lark some space. The last thing she needs is people crowding her more. Next thing you know, Rhiannon will be popping in here any minute⁠—”

“Have I been summoned?”

Lark’s eyes opened wider. The voice was smoky and probably illegal where Lark was from. They surely burned women like Rhiannon Crowhart back in the day, whose mane of long, wavy red hair appeared in the doorway even as stormy eyes winked at her.

Lark watched as three Crowhart sisters bickered and quibbled in front of her, the little room already crowded and yet somehow brighter for their presence. In what world did she find herself? What rabbit hole did she fall into?

“Why is everyone here? Am I always to be surrounded by hordes of you?”

Victoria muscled her way into the room and turned her back to Lark, looking at the squabbling sisters, her hands on her hips.

She tsked and waved her hands, the women reluctantly making their way out.