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Staring into my mother’s colorless eyes, I pressed a hand to my chest and came up with a quick lie.

“Before I give you an answer, I need to commune with the dead and ask for their guidance on this matter,” I told him.

The older witch didn’t look pleased, but denying me the chance to speak with my ancestors would go against our traditions.

“Of course,” he said through gritted teeth. “Speak with yer family. Then let me know by the mornin’.”

The witches made a tight space for me to squeeze through, and when Hartley pressed his medallion against the wall and opened the door, I left as quickly as my feet would go. It wasn’t until I was past the doorman and his charm and the gambling tables in the main room that I let myself breathe.

I had to get out of this town. Immediately.

“Della!” I whistled and patted my shoulder. “Della, come on!”

A cold knot tightened beneath my breastbone when she still didn’t appear. I knew then that something was wrong. Very wrong. I gathered my skirts and started walking, then running toward Widow Martell’s.

If my mother had done anything to Della, I was going to bind her ghost to the bottom of the harbor and let the tides do to her what the fire hadn’t finished.

Chapter 10

Repêchée

CORA

Itook the stairs that led up to my room two at a time, but halfway up, I felt like I couldn’t suck in a full breath. The sensation came from nowhere. It was like water was filling my chest, pressing on my lungs, the way it had when I’d gotten caught in the rip tide.

Della.

Della was in the water. Not just swooping up fish, but underwater, struggling to break out of the waves. Even though I knew I was feeling her distress through our bond, I prayed that this was an attack of nerves, or the effects of some spell Lou placed on me—anything except Della in danger.

I forced myself up the rest of the steps, needing to see her waiting for me on the bed, safe and sound. My door banged against the wall when I shoved through it, but I found the room empty.

Panic surged through me, but I stumbled across the room and threw open the window. The evening air struck my face, carrying music and drunken chatter from the tavern below. Beyond the crooked rooftops, the last light of day shone against the harbor.

“Hold on. I’m coming.”

I kicked off my shoes and gathered my skirts. The roof below the window sloped toward the alley, but once I cleared the buildings, I could take to the air and search the harbor from above. I would follow the bond until I found her. If she were trapped beneath the water, I would drag her out myself.

I climbed onto the sill, my lungs burning, and black spots crowded the edges of my vision. I gripped the window frame, refusing to let the dizziness stop me. I had promised to take care of her. I had sworn we would always be together. We were supposed to live long enough to become wizened old bitties who terrorized an entire village.

“This is my fault,” I choked out. “I’m going to find you.”

I swung one leg through the window. The pressure in my chest crested. My vision blurred. I steadied myself by gripping the wood frame, intent on squeezing the rest of my body through, when the world began spinning around me. I was going to lose consciousness before I could fly to her.

I sagged against the window frame, gasping for air, praying to whoever was listening to save my bird. My head lolled forward, and everything got so quiet. So very quiet. I didn’t want to let go, but the light was slipping away.

In my last moments, I recalled the spell I’d cast when I was sixteen years old, asking my ancestors to send me a familiar who could keep up with me. In their wisdom, they’d sent me a bird. And not just any bird, but a best friend. A sister.

She was the only family I had left—the only one who mattered.

My heart gave one more slow beat, and a tear ran down my cheek.

Suddenly, the weight pressing down on my chest miraculously lifted, and I drew in a greedy breath. If I could breathe, Della could breathe. She had reached the surface.

She was alive.

But being able to breathe didn’t mean she was safe. She could be exhausted, injured, or too far from shore to stay above the waves.

“I’m coming,” I urged her.