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I less, exactly

But when I died inside Lys, I felt everything--she believed that burning up freed her She was happy becausewould haveher

Oh, honey, is that what you think? That your deaths are an out for bad ?

She squeezed her eyes shut against the sting of sudden tears It has to be so like that It has to be Otherwise it's just pointless

It's not pointless, Bill said You do die for a reason Just not so simple a reason You can't expect to understand it all at once

She grunted in frustration and banged her fist against the side of the wardrobe

I can see what you're all jacked up about, Bill said finally You went three-D and you think you unlocked the secret of your universe But it's not always that neat and easy Expect chaos Embrace chaos You should still try to learn as much as you can from every life you visit Maybe in the end, it'll all add up to so Maybe you'll end up with Danielor maybe you'll decide there'sstartled them Luce peeked around the wardrobe door

A oatee and a small potbelly, stood just behind an actor in a dress They hispering When the girl turned her head a little, the stage lights lit up her profile Luce froze at the sight: a delicate nose and s with just a few strands of long black hair showing underneath A gorgeous golden gown

It was Lucinda, fully costue

Luce edged out of the wardrobe She felt nervous and tongue-tied but also oddly empowered: If what Bill had told her was true, there wasn't a lot of time left

Bill? she whispered I need you to do that thing where you press Pause so I can--

"Shhhh!" Bill's hiss had a finality that said Luce was on her own She would just have to wait until this et Lucinda alone

Unexpectedly, LucindaLucinda reached inside Her hand ht next to Luce's shoulder Luce held her breath, reached up, clasped her fingers with Lucinda's

Lucinda gasped and threw the door wide, staring deep into Luce's eyes, teetering on the edge of so The floor beneath the her eyes and feeling as if her soul had dropped out of her body She saw herself froe dress that Bill had altered on the fly, the raw fear in her eyes The hand in hers was soft, so soft she could barely feel it

She blinked and Lucinda blinked and then Luce didn't feel any hand at all When she looked down, her hand was e on to Quickly, she grabbed the cloak and settled it over her shoulders

The only other person in the tiring-roo to Lucinda Luce knew then that he was William Shakespeare William Shakespeare She knew him They were, the three of them--Lucinda, Daniel, and Shakespeare--friends There had been a summer afternoon when Daniel had taken Lucinda to visit Shakespeare at his home in Stratford Toward sunset, they'd sat in the library, and while Daniel worked on his sketches at the , Will had asked her question after question--all the while taking furious notes--about when she'd first ht she could one day fall in love

Aside from Daniel, Shakespeare was the only one who knew the secret of Lucinda's identity--her gender--and the love the players shared offstage In exchange for his discretion, Lucinda was keeping the secret that Shakespeare was present that night at the Globe Everyone else in the company assumed that he was in Stratford, that he'd handed over the reins of the theater to Master Fletcher Instead, Will appeared incognito to see the play's opening night

When she returned to his side, Shakespeare gazed deep into Lucinda's eyes You've changed

I--no, I'm still--she felt the soft brocade around her shoulders Yes, I found the cloak

The cloak, is it? He smiled at her, winked It suits you

Then Shakespeare put his hand on Lucinda's shoulder, the way he always did when he was giving directorial instructions: Hear this: Everyone here already knows your story They'll see you in this scene, and you won't say or do verystar in the court Every one of them has a stake in your destiny He sed As well: Don't forget to hit the e left for the start of the dance

Luce could feel her lines in the play run across her mind The words would be there when she needed thee in front of all these people She was ready

The audience roared and applauded again A rush of actors exited the stage and filled the space around her Shakespeare had already slipped away She could see Daniel on the opposite wing of the stage He towered over the other actors, regal and ie This was the start of the party scene at Lord Wolsey's estate, where the king--Daniel--would perfor Anne Boleyn's hand for the first time They were supposed to dance and fall heavily in love It was supposed to be the very beginning of a ro

But for Daniel, it wasn't the beginning at all

For Lucinda, however, and for the character she was playing--it was love at first sight Laying eyes on Daniel had felt like the first real thing ever to happen to Lucinda, just as it had felt for Luce at Sword & Cross Her whole world had suddenlyin a way it never had before