Serpent & Dove

Lou’s act knocks her out for three days. When she wakes, Reid is sleeping beside her, having previously been holding her hand. He explains that she collapsed and that Ansel ran to Brie Perrot (Coco) for help. He doesn’t understand why the execution so overwhelmed Lou since Estelle was only a witch. He insists witches aren’t people and get what they deserve for being evil. She asks him what she would deserve if she were a witch, and he says she’d be treated the same.

After Reid leaves her, Lou wonders if she has made a mistake not doing what her mother wanted. If the sacrifice had succeeded, all the king’s descendants would have died as well, ending the witches’ persecution. Lou has told herself that she resisted the sacrifice in part because of the loss of innocent life, but she recognizes that witches are now dying because of her actions and wonders if she was simply too cowardly to face her own death.

A short while later, a visiting Coco reassures Lou that she did what she had to do to protect herself. She urges Lou to move forward, and Ansel agrees. Lou realizes Ansel now knows she’s a witch but remains her friend—a fact that moves her to tears. Ansel tells Lou to try and understand that Reid thought he was protecting her from a demon. He explains that no one can force Reid to change his mind—he must learn on his own—but he hopes she and Reid can find a way forward because they are both good people.

Later, Lou heeds Ansel’s words and goes to the cellar library to borrow a Bible so she can learn Reid’s ideology. She discovers the Archbishop secretly eating a sticky bun. He gives her a Bible, and she notes the irony of her interest in scripture coupled with the Archbishop’s clandestine indulgence.

That night, Reid is surprised to find Lou awake in their bedroom, as she is obviously still weak and ill. He helps her braid her hair, and she asks him about how he became captain of the Chasseurs. He describes killing a pack of werewolves. Lou tenses, and Reid seems remorseful for upsetting her.