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“Hmmm?”

“Are we supposed to chop at our branches like that?”

I look down, appalled to see the gouges and scars where I have hacked ainst the pale silver bark of the yew Saints! “No! Of course not It is simply that this knife needs to be sharpened”

She arches one of her pale red brows atfar older than her nine years

“Annith! Look!” At the sound of Florette’s shouting, I turn around to find her pointing through the small copse of trees Is it a crow? For I have promised to pay Florette if she alertsIt is our little secret In exchange, I change the sheets on her bed when she wets it and I tell no one, although I think many of the others suspect

I hurry to the trees,

“No, not in the sky, in the water It’s a boat”

I jerk aze down to the horizon, where I see that Florette is correct: a boat isits way to the island There is a quick, sharp stab of fear in ut until I see that the boat does not bear one of the oo find Sister Thoht rower has arrived Audri, you stay here with the other girls and continue gathering the greenery”

I slip my knife into the sheath at my waist, liftThere are two e priest, I presuh that I do not think she can be older than Audri or Florette As the boat comes steadily closer, I see that her hands are tied, and a rope is around her waist, securing her to the boat

The night rower , missy We tied ’er up only so she wouldn’t jump into the water Thinks she’s a fish, she does” I blink in surprise and turn to the hedge priest for an explanation

He nods in greeting “It’s true The locals sent her to Saint Mer at first, thinking she was one of theirs But the abbess took one look at her and knew she wasn’t Turns out, her mother drowned, but they found her in time to cut the child fro to do with her Thought she’d caused the mother’s death”

Her story, like irls’ stories, twists hters blalad I do not know the circumstances of my own birth What sort of death didto come into this world?

“Well, you’re ashore now, so untie her at once What’s her name?”

The hedge priest shoots an uneasy glance at the rower as he unties her “Melusine,” he says The sailor lifts the sacred conch shell he wears around his neck to his lips

When I roll lare at me “’Tis a bad-luck name, miss Especially for us sailors”

“It is a foolish nae priest mutters

Ignoring them both, I turn my attention to Melusine herself “What do you think of your name?”

She looks up at me with eyes the exact color of the sea, and nearly as fathomless “I like my name I picked it myself”

I sive ourselves are always the best Now, coe priest carefully helps her to the bow, then over the side and onto the beach The girl glances longingly over her shoulder to the sparkling blue water I quickly grab her hand and pull her towardlater,” I tell her “When it is not so cold”

; When I turn to escort Melusine back to the convent, I find a se, curious eyes Aveline arrives just then, breathless froht now, and Sister Widona is tending to aThey said you can see to the new arrival You’ve done it often enough”

And so I have

I shoo the younger girls on to their next lesson a little early—comportment with Sister Beatriz She will be annoyed, but her petty annoyances are a lesser concern than getting this newest girl settled I do not think Melusine is injured or ill, but it is custohly examined, for many come to us malnourished, beaten, or in other ways physically abused

As I lead her down the hall, I try not to think of all the other novitiates I have escorted this way, novitiates who are even now serving Mortain in a lorious manner than I I try not to think of Is the work she was born to do I push away thoughts of Sybella, currently on her fourth assignh I did not escort Sybella down the hall—it took four full-grown nuns, two on either side of her, to be certain she did not injure herself or bolt

No, I will not think of that noill not indulge in the weakness of doubt and self-pity Even though the infirmary door is open, I rap softly on it so that our presence will not startle Sister Serafina She often becoets to eat or sleep or even, sometimes, where she is “Sister? We have a new arrival today”

Sister Serafina looks up fro and flasks, a contraption of her own design she built in order to strea of simples and tinctures She peers over a coil of copper tube at us

“Her name is Melusine, and she was mistakenly sent to the convent of Saint Mer Apparently, she has an affinity for water” I sirl so she will know this is ment