“You won’t tell anyone.” Gisela stood a little taller, stroking the undead cat in her arms. “You won’t tell a soul. If you do, I’ll make you pay.”

She eyed the interloper who’d stumbled upon her little home in the trees. Necromancy was often forbidden in the kingdoms. Gisela knew she’d make her name one day and change that, but for now, her work was limited—raising lost pets, bringing the village’s old horse back so it could last one more winter.