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Dedication

For all the kids who snuck out of tower bedrooms

Found their true families

Chose their own names

And learned to conquer giants

PART 1 The Truth According to Belladonna

Killing her would’ve been easy. That spring we made flower garlands. That spring petals were strewn across her kitchen table, where she drank her tea. If we dropped a petal of belladonna, a petal of poppy, and a petal of lily into that cup, we’d never really know which one of us killed her.

We’d never know which one of us was guilty.

The police wouldn’t know either. We were, after all, three scrawny little creatures, no older than fourteen. What damage could we do intentionally? The death of Raven’s stepmother would be ruled an accident, and we’d be reprimanded, sure, but none of us would be locked behind bars.

Only the monster would suffer. The woman who made Raven so sick and so scared, he was absent from school more than he was present. He’d been fine before she moved into his house. Bright and shining, like a prince from a fairy tale. Someone to live for. Fight for. Die for.

And that spring I would’ve killed for him. I convinced the others to go along with it. I picked out a date. I did everything short of picking the flowers, because we each had to bring our own blossoms. One petal of belladonna. One petal of poppy. One petal of lily.

One petal, for each of our names.

But the night before the murder, one of us got cold feet and ruined everything. We all had to poison her together. That’s what I thought, the spring we made flower garlands. The spring we spread them out on the table, where she drank her tea.

But three years later, on the eve of Raven’s seventeenth birthday, his stepmother was found sprawled out on the kitchen floor. A shattered teacup beside her. It took a little time for the police to gather their evidence, and then they presented their findings to Raven’s father. Apparently, someone had taken a cluster of poisonous flowers and stuffed them into his wife’s teakettle.

No poppy. No lily. Just belladonna.

Two hours later, they came for me.

1 Belladonna Killed Her