CHAPTER 1

I wake before the bell tolls, as I always do. The air in my cell is cool and still, heavy with the faint scent of damp stone and beeswax from last night's vigil candles. My habit lies folded at the foot of the narrow bed, a stark white reminder of the vows that bind me. Final vows, taken just six months ago in the chapel's golden light, with Mother Superior's approving gaze upon me. I slip into it now, the fabric whispering against my skin like a secret I dare not voice. Purity. Obedience. Chastity. They are my armor, my cage.

The convent of St. Agnes rises with...