'Come on, quickly! We don't have long.' My cousin Belle hissed as she hauled me down the winding streets of Paris. We had to stay close to our coven sisters. People hastily moved out of our path as the four of us dashed along the cobbles. I barged past people queuing for a stall selling fresh bread and pastries. Hopefully we would lose the Chasseurs amongst the chaos of the marketplace. This had been a complete disaster. I'm not even really sure what had happened.

Our skirts flew as we tore down the street away from the stalls and into a long dark tunnel that stretched ahead. I could hear shouts behind us; it seems we had not lost the Chasseurs and they were catching up to us quickly.

The dingy tunnel he had entered was almost completely black. I could barely make out my surroundings, but I could hear the heavy clomp of their boots on the cobbles and the splash of their boots in the puddles.

This was not going to end well. They would seem catch up to us and we would all burn for what we are. More importantly, this mission would have been for nothing; the Key would fall into the hands of the Chasseurs and the Livre Blanc would be lost forever.

'Go, I'll distract them', I hissed franticly.

Avery and Cecile looked back at me with concern, before nodding and dashing off into the darkness.

'Don't let them take you. I'll meet you back at the attic.' Belle whispered gripping my wrist tightly, before hurrying after our sisters towards the end of the tunnel. She didn't put up much of a fight because she knew we had little alternative. The book was too important; more important than our lives.

I threw myself down onto the ground, heedless of the damp and dirt; this had to look realistic. I would have used magic to fracture my ankle, but the Chasseurs were much too close and would smell the heady scent of sorcery. I would just have to pretend.

I could hear my heart beating frantically through the corset of my dress. The clink of dozens of balisardas echoed into the tunnel as they approached. Suddenly concerned they might cut me down where I lay, or just trample me under foot, I cried into the darkness, 'Please, I'm hurt.'

The little light that shone in from either end of the tunnel must have illuminated my sprawled form. 'Halt,' a strong male voice ordered.

Chasseurs barely knew anything about my kind. They did not know the difference between my coven the Dame Blanches and the Dame Rouges. They were looking for a group of scarred witches in possession of a magical object; a lone normal looking woman would arouse no suspicion. The Chasseur who I assumed had spoken came forward slowly. Once he saw that I was just a defenceless woman, he crouched down beside me. I schooled my face into an expression of fear and pain as his eyes scanned my face and neck assessing for scars. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes; their ignorance was astounding. The Chasseur was silhouetted by the light filtering in from the tunnel entrance, but I could barely make out his face.

Once satisfied that I was not scarred and therefore not a witch, he spoke. 'It's alright, mademoiselle…?'

'Dumas.' It was the surname Belle and I had adopted since living outside of our coven. I rather liked the sound of it.

'We're here to help, Mademoiselle Dumas. I am Captain Laurent. Can you tell me what happened?'

'I- I'm not sure. I was knocked down and I think I've twisted my ankle.'

'Do you know who it was that knocked you over?'

'I couldn't see clearly – it's so dark in here –' A noise of impatience sounded from the group.

I realised I would have to give them something to aid their chase and ensure no suspicion landed on myself. I had already bought my sisters enough time, they would be at the city walls by now. Without the Chasseurs on their heels, they would use magic to hasten their journey.

'Well, there seemed to be several of them… they were rushing… and I think, well… they all seemed to be women.' Immediately the Chasseur crouched by me straightened and barked orders to his men. They splashed past us towards the end of the tunnel, hastening on with their pursuit. Little did they know it was fruitless now.

'Do you think you can walk?' the Chasseur asked with concern.

'Oh I-, I think so.' I mumbled, taken off-guard. I had not really thought my plan through this far. I had given my sisters time to escape. What happened beyond that had not really crossed my mind. Shakily I tried to stand, and he quickly took my arm, helping me to my feet. His concern was unnerving; I'd been taught that these were brainwashed and bigoted soldiers who hunted and slaughtered my kind at the whim of the Archbishop. Yet he seemed honourable, even kind. I had only been living in the city for the past two weeks; I hadn't much first-hand experience of the Chasseurs. Yet I knew I was being completely naive. If he knew my true nature he wouldn't hesitate to burn me alive.

I leant some of my weight on him, envisioning the pain in my ankle after I had twisted it tripping over a tree root when I was thirteen. 'Let's get out of this tunnel.' He said, as his arm came round my waist. Together we managed to shuffle the little way out of the tunnel and into the grey morning light. On our left there was a low wall surrounding a dilapidated stone villa. We made our way over to it and I perched on the edge.

For the first time I had a clear and unobstructed view of his face and I had to hold back my gasp. His face was beautiful to look at. He had the most incredible green eyes I had ever seen. Dark curls fell onto his forehead. His strong jawline was covered in stubble. He couldn't have been much older than my twenty years.

My breath caught as he dropped to his knees at my feet. 'May I?' He looked up at me, a question in his eyes, as he reached for my ankle.

'Yes.' I breathed.

Carefully he lifted up the rather filthy hem of my dress and took my foot and ankle into his hands. Being so close to the enemy was fascinating. I found that I couldn't take my eyes off the Chasseur. How ignorant, how oblivious he was. His hands were warm. The Chasseur's eyebrows furrowed as he pressed down gently on my ankle and looked up at me, a question in his green eyes.

'It's a little tender,' I winced, 'but I really think I'll be fine'.

'It doesn't seem to be broken, just a strain in the muscle. Even so you should avoid walking on it for the next week at least.' He assessed me. 'And you will need to come to the Tower to answer some questions.' My stomach dropped. The Chasseur Tower was the very heart of the enemy; the only witches to pass through its gates were those taken to the dungeons and then the pyre.

'What?' I squeaked.

'But because of your injury… I dare say we can make an exception. Why don't you come back in a week's time? I'll expect you next Wednesday morning, nine o-clock.'

He must have seen the panic in my eyes because his gaze softened. 'It's just a formality, you're not in trouble. You'll just need to give a statement. The Archbishop wants more diligence in our investigations.'

'But why? … I've already told you what happen-'

'We were hunting a group of witches.' My stomach dropped. 'We have sufficient reason to believe-' His voice had taken a hard tone, but he cut himself off, looking down, hesitant to say too much. '…I think they knocked you down in the tunnel. Anything you can tell us about what happened will be a great help.' He looked back up at me, his eyes full of earnest conviction. It was hard not to stare into them.

'Oh.' I schooled my expression into one of concern.

'Please don't worry yourself. We'll find them and they'll burn.' He said it with such cold detachment and surety. Any kindness that had dwelt in his eyes was gone. Suddenly I could see the Chasseur Captain who had fought his way to the top of the ranks by slaughtering my sisters. Any warmth I felt towards him evaporated completely. I needed to remember who he was – what he was. I was playing with fire feeling anything but hatred towards this man.

His voice pulled me out of my thoughts. 'Can I escort you home?' My eyes widened; this had gone too far. I had to get rid of him or this was going to get me killed.

'Oh no, I'm fine really. You've already been so kind.' I spoke hurriedly, slipping down from the wall. I needed to extricate myself from the web of deception that I was weaving before I trapped mysef in it.

'Let me call for a carriage, it would be no trouble.' He insisted.

'Oh no, really-' I began, backing away.

'You are in no condition to walk home, mademoiselle.' His eyes had narrowed slightly at my obvious desire to escape.

'Ah...well,' I conceded, smiling weakly, 'it would be very kind of you, Captain.'

It took him barely a minute to hail down a carriage. When he asked for my address my reply got caught in my throat. I knew there was some invisible line I was about to cross. The Chasseurs knew my face and now where I lived.

The carriage was hot, slightly sticky, and smelt vaguely of smoke. I spent the whole ride on edge. My heart was hammering and my palms were sweaty. Something was hanging in the air between us, pulled taut, but I didn't know what. Was it the secret of my true nature? Or impeding doom? Had a match been lit that was either going to burn out or send me up in flames? The Captain didn't seem to share in these thoughts. He didn't appear as tense as I'm sure I did, but he was staring at me. I tried to even out my breaths and alternated between staring out the window at the dingy streets of the inner city and at my hands folded neatly in my lap.

Luckily the journey barely lasted more than five minutes. We came to a halt outside the flat where I had been staying with Belle since we moved to the city. It wasn't much to look at but the Chasseur didn't seem to notice. He jumped out of the carriage onto the cobbles below. His hands quickly circled around my waist as he lifted me down.

I had to tilt my head up to meet his eyes. 'Thanks.' I said breathlessly, my cheeks heating slightly. He was so close I could count the different shades of green in his irises.

Over his shoulder I saw the glowering figure of my cousin in the cracked window of the top floor. The pit of nerves in my stomach grew.

'I'll see you at the Tower next Wednesday, Mademoiselle?' He asked politely, taking a step back.

'Oh, er, yes.' I mumbled. There was no way in hell I was going to set foot in that place.

I could feel Belle's glare without glancing up at the window. 'I really have to go.'

I limped my way to the door, before glancing back at the Captain. 'Thank you.' I threw a shy smile in his direction.

I was never going to see him again.