MADELINE
The trash bundle sat in my closet like a bomb waiting to go off. Blood-soaked rags. Burnt book fragments. Evidence that could get me hurt badly.
I stared at it for a long moment after Wilhelm left, my mind cycling through options. I couldn't just walk downstairs carrying a suspicious bag. Not with Aldric already onto me. Not when he probably still had eyes everywhere.
They didn't even have to be purely loyal to him to do his dirty work.
My magic stirred under my skin, ready.
I closed my eyes and let it flow through me. The familiar tingle spread from my core outward, wrapping around the bundle. The trash shimmered and then condensed into something smaller and neater. A simple leather handbag that looked like it could belong to anyone. Like it held nothing more dangerous than coins and a comb.
It was perfect. Mostly perfect.
