The Court of Fire
The days that followed blurred into a storm.
Tessa’s footsteps carried her back to the one woman she had sworn she would never seek again. It was almost laughable how her promises had dissolved in the acid of desperation. When she first arrived at the mansion gates, the guards looked her up and down with suspicion. But when they carried her name inside, Lady Bianca summoned her at once, like a hunter who already smelled prey.
The meeting was not filled with theatrics. Tessa sat stiff in the cold parlor while Lady Bianca poured herself tea, not offering her guest so much as a drop of water.
“You came,” Bianca said finally, her voice smooth and dripping with triumph. “I knew you would.”
Tessa didn’t flinch. “I need your help. I can’t take it anymore. He’s keeping my ch
