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"Then why—"

"Because my mother laid salt across every threshold once a month. I don't remember why."

"Does it help?"

"No." She kept pouring.

When she came back to the table, the tea was ready. The fragrant steam curled upward, soft and sweet. She poured for both of them.

Kitsa wrapped both hands around her cup and held it a long while before drinking.

"Again, why tonight Kitsa?"

Kitsa looked down at her hands.

"Why are you here, Kitsa?"

Kitsa looked down at her hands.

"Because of Edik."

Idonea went still. "What about him?"

"He will not speak. He sat by the hearth in the hall after they took her body and he has not moved since. I tried to bring him a blanket. He wouldn't look at me." Kitsa's voice grew smaller. "Arina was all the family he'd left."

"I am sorry."

"I am afraid for him." Kitsa lifted her eyes. They were very green, and very young. "He is the only warlock in the hall. He has always been quiet. But this is different. He is — he is somewhere I cannot reach. I am afraid he will do something foolish."

"Such as?"

"I don't know. Run. Try to find what killed her. The Templars have told us nothing, but he was there when they pulled her out of the snow. He saw the wounds."

Idonea's pulse sharpened. He saw. Of course he had. Edik would've been one of the first witches to reach Arina's body. The Templars could lie to the others in the morning, but they couldn't lie to the warlock who'd already seen.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing, I think. He will not speak to me. He will not speak to anyone. I came only because I didn't know who else to tell."

"I will watch for him."

"Do not approach. He will only know I told you."

"Only watch."

"Yes."

Kitsa nodded. Some weight transferred from her shoulders to Idonea's, and Idonea let it settle.

A silence opened between them. Kitsa's gaze drifted past Idonea, to the dim corner where the lamplight didn't reach, and her face changed in a way Idonea didn't understand at first.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Mm."

"Your tattoos. The ones on your back."

Idonea went very still.