Wolf, in the blink of an eye, tries to charge the intruders, but I halt him with a hand on his arm. I already know what kind of damage that miniature cannon can do and I don't want to see Wolf with a hole inside him.

Besides, despite how dire it may seem, this really doesn't need to get messy.

“What is this about, sir?” I ask calmly.

“Don’t you dare feign ignorance,” he says. “What did you do to her?”

“Sorry?”

“My daughter.” He takes a step closer and I get a good look at his attire. Loose, disheveled sleep clothes and his hair is a mess as well.

Behind the frost in his eyes, is a barely restrained panic. "She’s been lethargic all evening and can barely move. What did you do to her?”

“Pearl can't move?” This wasn’t what I thought the meeting was going to be about. I thought he somehow found out about our report to the King. Maybe, we accidentally set off one of his traps without knowing, and he discovered that the heist wasn’t a simple robbery after all.

But this thing with Pearl...

“Don’t pretend you don't know about it," Lord Raven snaps.

“I truly don’t know sir." For once, I can be honest with him. “When did this start?”

He glares at me and the man from last time, the one who wanted to blast Tia, says “We should take her in for questioning. I’m sure some rounds with the Farrow should loosen her tongue.”

Wolf growls at the man again, and I squeeze his arms tighter so he won't escalate.

“Please sire,” I say. “I truly had nothing to do with it.”

“The same way you had nothing to do with the near robbery?” he sneers.

I swallow and then decide to show my hand. "That I did have to do with,” I admit even as the blonde-haired man sputters something that sounds like an 'I told you so'.

“The King gave us a task, to find out if you're plotting to betray him,” I say. “I orchestrated the dance and even got closer to your daughter, to achieve our task.”

“Clever trick,” The Raven Lord says flatly, looking neither surprised nor concerned with the revelation. “I wouldn’t have caught on to what was happening if I hadn’t investigated and discovered that your friend doesn't have a sick mother.”

Oh. I didn't think he would go as far as to check.

That thought is immediately followed by another.

She knew.

Pearl knew that I lied about Tia, even as she told me the truth about her mother. She must have felt betrayed when I continued to hold on to the lie, even though she’d just poured her heart out to me.

"She wanted to see what you would do next,” Lord Raven continues. "So she advised me not to do anything. To trust you. She thought you would be able to help us find what we're looking for."

"She did?"

"Yes, for whatever reason. She thought, if she befriended you, she could inspire you to have a vision about where it is and reveal it to her.”

I nearly smirk, feeling some of the guilt I'm holding dissipate. Sneaky girl. So she told me that story about her mother as a reverse of the trick I played on her dad, trying to make me feel sorry for her. That way I would be more inclined to have helpful visions, and share them with her instead of the king.

It seems the whole time that I was using her, she was trying to use me too. Somehow, that makes me feel better about this whole thing,

“And now you’ve hurt her,” Lord Raven says.

“I did not,” I say. “While I admit we did follow the King’s orders, I never did anything to harm your daughter. I swear it.”

“She didn’t even tell the King what she knew,” Wolf speaks up.

“What did you know?" Lord Farrow eyes me suspiciously.

“I know why you’re really here,” I tell him. “You’re trying to create a Cure for All Ills, aren't you?"

His eyes widen. "You read the notes? They were in code."

"Yes but not the diagrams." And not the prior knowledge I had of the future.

"It's to save your wife, isn't it?" I ask and a look of abject devastation spreads across his features. "Pearl told me about her, I hope you don't mind. But one thing I don't understand is why you're looking for the cure here."

"How dare you question our–"

The Farrow Lord holds up a hand, suppressing his subordinate's cry of outrage.

He sighs, and it's like his shoulders sag from the pressure of holding up the world. I suddenly feel very, very sorry for him.

His face shows his inner conflict as he weighs what he has to say next. He's taking a risk by letting me know anything but at the same time, I may be the only one who can help him get what he wants.

"Have you ever heard of the True Heart Gem?"

"Um...yes I think so."

The gem is a thing of legend, said to have been given from one Yellic lover to the other. It's also said that the gem can nullify any curse.

"You think the gem is here?" I ask.

Stolen novel; please report.

He chews on the words before he tells me. "I know the gem is here. I just have no clue where exactly."

"And the gem is for what? The Cure?" I venture, then recall what Seir said about the ingredients of the Cure.

"There are no universally accepted definitions for each symbol. It's popularly thought that you would likely need some kind of magic stone and the blood of a magical creature."

Lord Raven had drawn both in his notes, as well as a mysterious third symbol. And then there was also the fourth symbol, the squiggly lines that I'd never seen before, that the Farrow Witch said was no longer supposed to exist.

Lord Raven nods to answer my question. "It's one of the most important components."

"And what are the others?"

He gives me a suspicious look. "I don't see how you need to know that."

"I have someone who knows a lot about the Cure too," I tell him. "Perhaps if we put our information together..."

"We should torture her," the blonde Knight says again. His eyes are heated glaring at me. "Morgana can find out everything she knows."

"Touch her and see what happens." Wolf's voice is menacingly quiet.

The blonde man doesn't back down. "I've heard of you. I've heard you're very strong, and very resistant. But I doubt even you can resist than a three-hundred bolten blast."

I don't know what a three-hundred bolten blast is but it doesn't sound good.

Nevertheless, Wolf shrugs. "Try it and see."

"Everyone keep quiet," Lord Raven snaps, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I need to think."

"Yes, my Lord." His Knight falls silent and we all just stand there watching Lord Raven think.

And think, and think.

After several minutes pass with no decision from him, I finally venture, "Do you think the disease that has befallen Pearl, is the same that befell her mother?" I muse on it. "Or maybe someone has poisoned her..."

"It's not poison," he says. "You think we wouldn’t take precautions when coming into enemy territory? We frequently take elixirs that eliminate most poisons and we use a poison tester for all our meals and drinks. There's also the Farrow Witch we have with us who can detect the auras of most foods, drinks, and other artifacts. There was no way any poison would have bypassed that."

"Oh." So how on earth did the King manage it the first time?

A horrible thought suddenly strikes me. Or did he never poison her in the first place?

Was it all a ruse or was the North destroyed in my past lives over a simple misunderstanding?

But the Raven Lord doesn't look like the type to lay waste to nations over mere suspicion. The only reason he leads the destruction of the North months after his visit is because he knows for certain that the King did something to his daughter.

And in just a few months he'll know exactly what was done. But by that point, it will be too late and Pearl will already be dead.

The Raven Lord stands still in thought, his eyes already having the look of a grieving father.

"I can bring a healer to see her," I suggest, hoping I'm not making a huge mistake. "I know someone who is very good and knows a lot about alchemy."

"No healer can help her," he says. "We have plenty of healers up North and a few of them are very knowledgeable about Alchemy too. We've also contacted scholars. Nothing short of The Cure will work for her."

"So we'll find The Cure," I say and that seems to shock the Raven Lord. His Knights also regard me with surprise.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing. It's just...I thought people in the North didn't even know what Alchemy was but you seem too knowledgeable."

"We're not stupid," I say. "Simply preoccupied with other things that may not be part of a wider education."

He winces a little. "Yes well....that's partially our fault I suppose."

I say nothing for a while, then, "It's alright. War is never as simple as it seems."

He nods and with that, we seem to have formed a truce.

"Tell me something about this Stiffening disease," I say. "Maybe I can help you find the gem."

He shakes his head. "My wife told me about it when we met. She warned me..." He swallows thickly before he continues. "She warned me not to fall in love with her. That she had a sickly disposition for her whole life and carried a genetic disease that killed most of the women in their family before they turned thirty. But I fell for her anyway. Upon reading up on the Stiffening, I found that it could skip a generation or two and hoped that it would skip her and my daughter. Or at the very least, I hoped I would have time to find a cure before the sickness hit. I've spent fortunes searching.

I've tried everything. Every potion imaginable. Nothing has worked. My brothers think I'm insane for still trying but I can't give up."

"There's nothing insane about it." I wonder what I would do if that happened to Wolf or Savannah or even any of my friends. Would I be this persistent, searching for a cure most don't even believe exists? Or would I simply give up?

"The Elfen mines aren't far from here. Perhaps, it's–"

"It's not in the Elfen mines," he says. "We already checked."

Okay, scratch that out. Come on. Think Adria think.

I flashback to my first life, when Caster wanted the Elfen mine shares so desperately. Tyne told me that it was to relieve our famine but he didn't explain how.

Did he think the gem was there? Did he plan on selling it to the Raven Lord for an exorbitant price?

But in this life, the King has not shown much interest in the mines. Why?

Furthermore, the Raven Lord seems certain that True Heart Gem isn't in the mines, but where else could they be?

Where else could one find a gem in the North?

It suddenly hits me like a bull in the face.

Oh. My. God.

There are gems in the Dark Forest.

I look at Wolf with wide eyes, but his expression is impassionate. Either he doesn't know what I know – which I doubt – or he doesn't plan on telling them.

He never would have told me either, even if I asked.

What could be his reason for keeping it a secret?

Unfortunately, I come up with several good reasons why I shouldn't tell a high-ranking Noble from an enemy nation that we have a forest full of rare and potentially magical gems.

"Can I see Pearl?" I ask the Raven Lord. "Please?"

He thinks about it for a second and then nods, turning on his heel. With a flick of his finger, the Knights surround us.

The blonde one eyes Wolf as if he's not sure whether or not his master wants Wolf to accompany me.

Wolf eyes him back like he doesn't give a damn what his master wants.

The trek to the castle is tense and silent. The Elite Guards at the castle gate don't react with alarm at seeing all the armed Knights surrounding us, but I do notice they're tenser and more watchful. In the watchtowers, there are probably archers as well as the reserve guards ready to attack at the first sign of trouble.

I notice all these things to keep myself from thinking too much about what I have to do next.

To tell or not to tell?

Pearl is in her bedroom, lying in bed surrounded by mounds of plush silk pillows. Her Knight stands beside her, his face twisted with concern.

As we appear, she turns her head slightly, and one eye opens blearily.

"Father," she murmurs. "I'm so tired."

"Don’t go to sleep." He rushes to her side and takes her hand, pressing a kiss onto her forehead. "Please."

"Pearl," I say and she turns her head slightly to me.

She smiles. "Hi, Adria."

"Hi." I smile back but I find it painful. It's a pain that I can't describe that pierces my chest. Am I sad? Odd considering I only met her a few days ago, and she's technically my enemy. "Did you eat anything or drink anything today?"

"No," she says. "I wanted to go see Seir again, but then I got up and felt so very tired and so I went back to sleep. Now I'm too weak to move much."

"I’ll bring Seir."

"He’s gone for a long expedition unfortunately." The King's Farrow Witch startles everyone with her appearance. She stands behind us at the doorway, with Elite Guards at her side. "Tragically, I’m all you have left."

I share a look with Pearl, sympathizing with the fear in her eyes. I'm devastated too. Seir is gone and a Farrow Witch is the last person I want close to Pearl.

"The girl is good as dead," she says callously. "It would be better to put her out of her misery."

"You crazy witch," the blonde Knight points his cannon at her, his eyes sparking with anger.

"You want to kill me, don’t you?" She smiles mildly. "Go ahead. Put me out of my misery too."

"There’s nothing you can do?" I ask.

For just a split second, her eyes meet mine and there's a flicker of something in them.

The Raven Lord catches it too, and continues by saying, "Please. If there’s anything, please do it. I’m willing to pay any price to save my daughter."

Her eyes bear into mine while she responds to him. "It's not a price you can pay."