Chapter One
Time was growing short.
The moment I felt the faint stirrings of dawn creeping through the small cottage I knew I was out of time. The cheery daisy curtains whispered to me in the early spring breeze, but I did my best to ignore them. I still had a few minutes until the sun was up and only needed to do one more—hopefully, it would be long enough.
But then I heard a telltale sound.
The slight creak of battered floorboards caught my ear. My eyes widened, taking in the disarray beside me. Shoe leather and tacks were strewn about everywhere, not to mention my tools. I clicked my tongue in dismay before I could stop myself and winced at the noise.
I froze, hoping no one had heard. But when the creak came again, I bolted.
Quicker than a human eye could follow, I gathered my ite
