After saying one last goodbye to her childhood home, Sterling was more than ready to leave the empty city behind. She felt better when she was on the move. It made her feel like she was doing something, even if she was doing nothing.

It would take them several weeks to reach Daralis from Ratha, or so she had been told. They’d have to cut through the forest again and head back to Baromund. Once in Baromund, they would scavenge the city to replenish their supplies, and then they would pick up the main road for the remainder of the journey.

Kai had been against traveling such a visible road, preferring to cut across the terrain, but Sterling had pointed out that it was highly unlikely for anyone to be using the road at all. If the people in the capital knew what had happened in the northern cities, they were likely to stay ensconced behind their walls.

She and Seraiah were all too familiar with this. When Ratha had sent for help back when the fever first struck, the capital had turned them away. They didn't want the fever spreading. They had offered to send supplies, but those had never shown up. It had been nothing but an empty promise.

Sterling wasn't surprised. King Berenger cared little for Himera's people and only for lining his coffers. It was said his castle was made from solid gold. She knew it was only a rumor, but the idea that a man possessed so much wealth and yet refused to share it made her blood boil. She would never be that sort of queen. She would care for her subjects and treat them fairly.

"A copper for your thoughts," Seraiah said, bringing her horse up beside Kestrel’s. Sterling had specifically chosen to ride with Kestrel because she knew Kestrel wouldn’t force her to talk about things she didn’t want to discuss. Unfortunately, being on separate horses didn’t discourage Seraiah.

Sterling smirked at her sister. "I do believe I'm the one with the money bag."

The pouch of coins she had taken from the inn on their first pass through Baromund was tucked safely away in her saddlebag. She’d advised the others to collect any coins they could find. If they wanted anything in the capital, they would have to pay handsomely for it, or so she had heard. She’d never actually been to the capital herself.

Seraiah waited, undeterred.

"I was just thinking about what kind of queen I would be," Sterling confessed.

"A good one," Seraiah said, with no hesitation.

Sterling frowned. "I would hope so, but I suppose it’s useless to think about when I don't have a kingdom."

"But you will. We will take it back."

"Us and what army?" Sterling asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I'm sure the dragons would help, and maybe the gnomes."

"Would they? I wasn’t under the impression the elves had many friends."

Kestrel snorted but didn’t offer any other comment. Sterling took it to mean she was right.

"They should," Seraiah said. "Even if they aren’t friendly. What is happening in Nyrene should concern them. It may not directly impact them now, but it will."

Sterling tilted her head. "How so?"

Now it was Seraiah’s turn to frown. "Well, I may not have known Gavaran for long, but I could see he was hungry for power. I don’t imagine he will stop at ruling one kingdom. He will want everything."

“You’re not wrong about that,” Kestrel muttered.

Sterling didn't recall much about Gavaran, other than he had been the one who had tested her blood the day her human kidnappers had turned her over to the mages. Her skin crawled at the memory of it—the feel of his papery skin and his pointed nails digging into her.

Gavaran had visited the cave system a few times while she had been there, but she’d never had any contact with him. Each time he had come, Ren had been called away, and he would return tense and quieter than usual.

From all the things Seraiah had said about Gavaran, Sterling was glad to not have had many encounters with him, but on the other hand, it meant all her knowledge of the enemy was second hand.

Don't worry, the voices crooned to her. We will help you. Not them. None of them. Listen to us, and you shall have your kingdom. Sterling shook her head, trying to block out the voices' seductive whisper.

"Sterling?"

"Huh?"

"Are you feeling all right?" Seraiah was studying her face.

"Of course. I'm fine," Sterling reassured her. "Why?"

"You were as pale as snow and your eyes . . ."

"My eyes?" Sterling prompted, afraid she already knew the answer.

"They looked strange. I don’t know. They seemed darker."

Stolen story; please report.

Sterling knew what she was hinting at, having heard about her sister’s nightmare often enough—Seraiah's dream of something dark looking out of her eyes.

Lie, the voices whispered. Don't tell her about us. She would be jealous. She would take us away.

"It's nothing," Sterling heard herself say. "It was probably a shadow you saw—a trick of the light."

"Right, of course," Seraiah mumbled. "Just a shadow."

Good, the voices praised her. Very good.

Later that night, as they sat around their campfire, Sterling decided to tell the others her plan for when they arrived in Daralis. Her suggestion to leave Ratha had gone over well, so she had hope that they would support her in this too.

"I'm going to find Ren when we get to the capital,” she said, with no preamble. “I think he could be useful to us.”

Silence reigned.

Kai frowned and poked at the fire. Kestrel picked at her nails with a knife.

Seraiah, who Sterling expected to be the most against the plan, kept her face perfectly blank. Although Sterling couldn't help noticing that she lifted a hand to absentmindedly stroke the mark on her neck.

Kestrel was the first one to break the silence. "I’m not sure that's a good idea," she said, tucking her knife away.

"Why not?” Sterling asked. “He helped us before, and he could do it again."

To Sterling's surprise, it was once again Seraiah who stepped in and agreed with her. "We couldn't have gotten Sterling back without him," her sister said. "We didn't have the numbers."

"I don't know,” Kai said. “Why would one of them suddenly turn against his own? It didn't make sense then, and it doesn't make sense now."

"But it does,” Sterling protested. “He was my friend. That's why he helped me."

Kai regarded her across the fire, the flames making shadows dance over his features. "Don't be too sure about that." He pointed at Seraiah. "Why would he put a mark on her neck?"

Sterling shrugged. She didn't have an answer, but she was sure Ren had done it for a good reason or maybe it had been an accident.

"Exactly. You don't know and neither do we, but he wouldn't have done it unless it served some purpose."

"Which is why we need to find him. He could explain why he did it or remove it."

Kai didn’t look convinced, and neither did Kestrel. Seraiah kept quiet as she rubbed at the mark.

“It was only an idea,” Sterling mumbled. “I thought it might help.”

Ssseee, the voices whispered, they don’t understand. You don’t need them. You can do this on your own. Weee will help you.

Sterling stared at the dancing flames of their campfire. Perhaps, she thought, it was time to listen.

----------------------------------------

Wisteria pulled at the sleeves of her borrowed dress as she paced back and forth across the small space near the front door.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Forth and back.

She stopped and shook her head. This wasn’t working.

Normally, when she grew anxious, like all the energy inside of her wanted to burst out of her skin in one great explosion, the rhythmic pacing helped to settle her and stave off the catastrophic detonation. Today, however, she was feeling no such relief. The energy still crackled under her skin—not the magic kind, that sort of energy had been practically nonexistent—threatening to do some serious damage.

Being trapped in this house was going to do in her head and then the rest of her.

Her mother used to tell her she’d go gray from all her worrying, and Wisteria would delightedly tell her if she went gray early, then she would look like she was part of the royal family.

The former royal family.

Wisteria sighed. They were the reason she was anxious, for she had no idea if they were still alive or what was happening beyond the front door.

It had been what felt like months since the last time Virelai had visited. Wisteria wasn’t concerned about supplies—the house seemed to have plenty of those—but she was concerned about boredom. There wasn’t much to do in this small house. She’d already taken all of Virelai’s old dresses and hemmed them to fit her much shorter self. Sewing had never been a strong skill of hers, but after her stay here, she thought it had improved greatly.

Beyond having nothing to occupy her time, she longed to breathe some fresh air. To see the sky. What color was the sky? Did she even remember?

Eryx would tell her she was being dramatic, but sometimes it truly felt like she might forget what it was like outside these walls.

If only she could take a small peek. Just a quick look.

The front window, covered by soft yellow curtains with sprigs of purple flowers—hollyhock, she thought—beckoned to her.

Wisteria leaned closer. The sun was shining on the other side of the curtain. If she nudged it to the side, she’d be able to see. She might even catch a glimpse of the sky. Her fingers drifted closer.

“Come away from there,” Eryx’s voice called from the other room.

Wisteria snapped her hand back, tossing a look over her shoulder. He couldn’t see her, so how did he know?

“Come here.” There was command in his voice, and Wisteria, having spent several years of her young life as a servant in the castle, obeyed without thought.

A few steps later, she dragged herself to a stop. No. She was not a servant here. Eryx could not order her around. If anything, she should be ordering him around. After all, she was the one who had saved his life. He owed her.

“Wisteria?”

She sighed. “Coming.”

She ducked down the short hallway and popped out in the dining room. Eryx sat at the table, a deck of cards at his elbow. If she hadn’t seen him on the verge of death with her own two eyes, she never would have known.

“How did you know?” she asked, pulling out a chair beside him. “Do you have other powers I don’t know about?”

“No powers,” he said. “You were suddenly quiet. Too quiet. You must have been up to something you shouldn’t be.”

Wisteria pulled a face. “I only wanted to look out the window. Don’t you miss seeing the sky?”

“Of course I do, but I also have self-preservation.”

Wisteria snorted, but Eryx went on as if he hadn’t heard her. “If anyone were to see the curtain so much as twitch, they might become suspicious. We must wait for Virelai.”

“We must wait for Virelai,” she mimicked his voice, rolling her eyes. “I know. It’s just it’s been so long since her last visit. What if she’s never coming back? For all we know, she could be dead, and I’ll never see the sky again. I’ve forgotten what color it is already.”

Eryx gave her a disapproving look. He was very good at those, she’d learned. “I do not think she is dead. We would know. Someone else would have come looking at this house if that were the case. We must wait. We won’t be here forever.”

She sighed and plunked her elbows on the table. “Tell me again about that night. About how they got away.”

He eyed her. “You’ve already heard me tell the story several times. There is nothing new to say.”

“I know, but I want to hear it, anyway. Please.” She widened her eyes and pouted her lips. The begging expression always worked on the castle cooks when she wanted an extra dessert.

“Fine,” Eryx said.

As he talked, particularly about the part with Kestrel, Wisteria noticed his eyes looked sadder than usual.

“Thank you,” Wisteria said, when he finished. “I like to imagine they’re out there somewhere and working on finding a way back here. I know they will return and fix things. I have hope.”

Eryx nodded. “They’ll be back soon enough. We must be patient.”

Wisteria scooped up the deck of cards and flicked through them. “Want to play a game to make the time go faster? I’m feeling lucky today. I think I might finally win.”

This drew a small smile from Eryx. “We’ll see about that. Deal me in.”