A few minutes later, Isadora stood at the kitchen window and watched Lucius hand Seraphine into a black limousine, watched Lenette and Thea follow them out.

And she watched, just before he ducked into the car, Lucius rest his hand against Seraphine’s back and lean down and kiss her, unhurried, beside the open door.

Then the gates opened, and the taillights slid away into the dark.

Chapter 4 — Endurance and Devotion

Isadora stayed at the window until the light was gone from the driveway.

For eight years, she had told herself a particular story about her own patience.