Vesper Stormflicker pressed her palm against the cold stone wall of the servant's quarters. Through the narrow window, she could see the manor's east tower where Callister lived. She wanted him to love her back, even though the rules said a commoner couldn't court nobility. The Gothic Crooked Chateau rose above the town like a twisted nightmare. Its chimneys leaned at odd angles. Windows warped and glowed with pale light. Vesper had scrubbed its floors for three years. She knew every spiral in its rooflines, every crooked hallway. Tomorrow she would work in the heir's wing. Her heart beat faster at the thought. But first she needed a way to reach him without the other servants talking. In the town garden, near the stone path with the strange flowering plants, she'd spotted something useful. An old hollow tree trunk stood at the path's edge. Its wood spiraled in unnatural patterns. The inside glowed faintly in the dark. She could leave messages there. He walked that path every morning. Vesper pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket. She wrote three words in careful letters: "I see you." Her hand shook as she folded it. This was how it would start. One message at a time, she would make him notice her. The rules didn't matter. Love was worth the risk.