Chapter 1:

The New Novice and First Confession

The salt wind whipped across the cliffs as I knelt before the altar of Our Lady of the Eternal Tide, my new white novice habit still stiff and unfamiliar against my skin. Nineteen years old and I had just become Sister Evangeline. Temporary vows only, the Mother Superior had said with a kind smile. A trial. A hiding place from everything I was running from.

Candles danced in the drafty chapel. The stone convent felt ancient and watchful, perched high above the crashing sea. My hands shook as I pressed them together in prayer.

After the ceremony, Sister Agatha touched my shoulder...