Seraphina's POV
The assassin's hand reaches my windowsill.
I don't think. I just move.
I grab the heavy candlestick from my bedside table and swing it hard at the fingers gripping the ledge.
CRACK.
The assassin yelps and loses their grip, falling backward into the darkness.
A thud. A groan. Then silence.
I lean out the window, heart pounding. The figure lies motionless on the ground below. The guards haven't noticed yet—they're still on the other side of the estate.
Did I just kill someone?
Then the "assassin" sits up, pulls off their black hood, and I see her face in the moonlight.
Lucy.
"Lucy?!" I nearly scream. "What are you doing climbing my wall like a—"
"Shh!" She waves frantically at me. "I'm trying to rescue you, you ungrateful— ow!" She rubs her hand where I hit it. "That really hurt, miss!"
"You scared me to death! I thought you were here to kill me!"
