Daria's POV

I couldn't sleep.

However I tried, when I closed my eyes every time I seemed to feel it--the pain of Lucius. Faint. Broken. Such as a candle attempting in the wind.

He was running out of time.

I rose gradually, without disturbing Harriet. She lay in a curl on her side, with her little hands turning in the sleep. Twitching her brow, she whispered now and then, of which I had no clear understanding.

I stood up, went to the table and lit a small fire. The shadows leaped on the stone walls.

And that was all, I said to myself. "I won't wait anymore."

I took my...