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Part I

Chapter 1

There was blood everywhere, even in her hair

Anouk tripped through fallen leaves in gold-studded Goblin boots two sizes too s bloodstained prints in the smeared shape of hearts Her leather shorts were ripped Her velvet jacket was punctured once in the sleeve and twice near her ribs Blood oozed down her side

The birds were right behind her

One croept down fro for her ear Its beak sliced her cheek She swatted at it, but its talons snagged in her hair or, rather, in the blue wig she wore The wig slid forward over her eyes, blinding her She pulled it off and threw it—?tangled crow and all—?into a sewer grate and raced ahead

Toward 18 Rue des Amants

The former residence of a witch, the townhouse was now hers Her hoed spies on her, more like her prison Her hair had beco to her neck and face Another crow launched itself at her back Talons ripped at her clothes She grabbed the railing to the stairs Just a few ainst the townhouse s,for her to hurry

A crow landed on her shoulder, its talons piercing through the velvet jacket Pain exploded in her arainst it, except that her bag of ingredients was the first thing the crows had gone for, knowing that without it, she was nodown the street, ically oblivious to Anouk’s distress

Gasping, she grabbed the crow by its wing and yanked with all her strength

“Let go!”

She hurled the crow against the steps and, before it could take wing again, yanked open the townhouse’s front door, threw herself inside, and slammed it closed behind her

She collapsed against the door, breathing hard

The townhouse was protected with a spell so ancient that it hadn’t been broken at Mada Vittora’s death, unlikeRennar and his crows out, which unfortunately meant that to be safe, Anouk had to stay in Over the past six weeks, she and Viggo and the two dozen Goblins who had survived the siege of Montéliht as well have been prisoners The first tie; she’d needed baguettes to feed the hungry Goblins The crows had been waiting in the trees They attacked her as soon as she crossed the first step She’d barely made it back inside in one piece

The second tiht fell, when it was foggy and hard to see more than three feet on either side That time shein their talons and dragged her all the way to Castle Ides if Viggo hadn’t hurled an ein bottle at them and pulled Anouk back inside

The third tiht knives Many, many knives, hidden in pockets and strapped to her belt But the croere fast enough to dodge them, their own talons just as sharp

Today, she’d thought she stood a chance, that the Goblin disguise—?the blue wig, the punk boots, and the velvet jacket—?would be enough to conceal her identity from the birds They were merely Rennar’s pawns, after all, just dull-witted spies

But they’d still known

She’d made it only five steps

The sound of a tap-tap-tap cao stood in the hallway He leaned heavily on a cane His face was pale It was a wonder he’d survived at all after losing six pints of blood, but he was tougher than his black eyeliner and slouchy hat made hie

“I take it the disguise didn’t fool them,” he said