Clove Bakshi's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

The thorn branch was still on his dresser when Clove heard the small sound through the wall. Crying. Quiet, the way Rosemary cried when she was trying not to. He slipped out of bed, ears hot, and padded down the hall. She was sitting up in the dark, hugging her knees, cheeks wet. "They came," she whispered. "The tall lady. She said I have to bring her something of Mama's. Or she'll—" Her voice broke. "I don't want to." Clove climbed under the blanket beside her and pulled her into his shoulder. "They came to me too," he said. "I told them no. You can tell them no." She shook her head against him, small and scared. "I'm not brave like that yet." "Then I'll be brave for both of us," Clove said. "I promise. Anything they ask you, you tell me first. I'll stand in front of it." Rosemary nodded into his shirt. Her breathing slowed. Outside the window, something moved in the dark, and Clove held his sister tighter, certain now that the fay were watching them both.