“Oh. My. God. They were fighting. In the library. Over her.”

“Oh yes, we're going to brawl, baby. Over you. Again.”

“Molly slapped the lid back down then pushed past Luce into the foyer stumbling over Shelby in her path. “Excuse you ” they said gruffly at the same time eyeing each other suspiciously. “Oh good. ” Gabbe leaned in to give Luce a hug. “Molly'’s made a friend.””

“I'm sorry," Lucinda said,pressing her hands over her heart. "I don't know what came over me.I've never done anything like that..."Daniel wasn't going to argue with her now,though she'd slapped him so many times over the years that Arriane kept a tally in a little spiral notebook marked You're Fresh.”

“Don't worry," she whispered. "You're going to make it.""I know." His whisper came so quietly, and sounded so impossibly sad, that Luce wasn't sure she'd heard him right. Until then,she'd thought he was unconscious,but something in her voice seemed to reach him.His eyelids fluttered. Then, slowly, they opened.They were violet.The jug of water fell from her hands.Daniel.Her instinct was to crawl in next to him and cover his lips with kisses, to pretend he wasn't as badly wounded as he was.At the sight of her, Daniel's eyes widened and he started to sit up. But then the blood began to flow from his neck again and his face drained of all its color. Luce had no choice but to restrain him."Shhh. She pressed his shoulders back against the stretcher, trying to get him to relax.He squirmed under her grip. Every time he did, bright new blood bloomed through the bandage."Daniel,you have to stop fighting," she begged. "Please stop fighting. For me."They locked eyes for a long,intense moment=and then the ambulance came to an abrupt stop. The back door swung open. A shocking breath of fresh air flowed in. The streets outside were quiet, but the place had the feel of a big city,even in the middle of the night.Milan. That was where the soldier had said they were going when he assigned her to this ambulance. They must be at a hospital in Milan.”

“He dipped her low and kissed her fiercely, as if he were angry, and each time his lips left hers, even just for half a second, the most parching thirst ran through her, making her cry out.”

“William Shakespeare. She knew him. They were,the three of them-Lucinda,Daniel,and Shakespeare-friends. There had been a summer afternoon when Daniel had taken Lucinda to visit Shakespeare at his home in Stratford. Toward sunset,they'd sat in the library,and while Daniel worked on his sketches at the window, Will had asked her question after question-all the while taking furious notes-about when she'd first met Daniel, how she felt about him, whether she thought she could one day fall in love.Aside from Daniel,Shakespeare was the only one who knew the secret of Lucinda's indentity-her gender-and the love the players shared offstage. In exchange for his discretion,Lucinda was keeping the secret that Shakespeare was present that night at the Globe. Everyone else in the company assumed that he was in Stratford, that he'd handed over the reins of the theater to Master Fletcher.Instead,Will appeared incognito to see the play's opening night.When she returned to his side,Shakespeare gazed deep into Lucinda's eyes. "You've changed.""I-no,I'm still"-she felt the soft brocade around her shoulders. "Yes, I found the cloak.""The cloak,is it?" He smiled at her, winked. "It suits you.”