Chapter 24: Blazing Tempers

Colette wrung her hands together, watching as Nora paced back and forth across her room as she sat at the vanity.

“A Danse Macabre, Colette?!” Nora asked in a hushed shout. She had finally come over to the crimson mansion, and though Colette was happy to see her, she was less happy to be scolded. “What were you thinking??”

“I read about my mother attempting it, and I thought … that I could succeed.”

Explaining her thought process out loud made her feel a little bit strange, but it was necessary for the brunette to understand the place she was coming from.

“Your mother did attempt it, that’s true. But she also lost, Colette. Francine Gauthier is not a woman to be trifled with.”

“Everyone keeps saying that. I met her in person, you know.” Colette stood up and walked over to her bed, motioning for Nora to join her.

Nora did, taking Colette’s hands into her own and squeezing them lightly. “I don’t mean to scold you, I just … I’m scared of losing you.”