“He should be back any minute now.”
“Why didn’t he find me before he left?”
Aren’s eyes darted at me and away. “I think he tried knocking on your door and you were occupied.”
The effects of the shield weed had worn off hours before, but my stomach gave a small wiggle, the tips of my cheeks warm even in the bite of the cold. I turned away from them as Kye flashed a particularly annoying smile, joining Aitne and Selena instead.
“A family came through early this morning,” Selena murmured as I approached. “Winterlight is being evacuated, and the army already entered the mountains to fight.”
“What?” Inside my head, I felt Kye’s thoughts quiet as he paused to pay attention. “What about my Naiads? Is Nori with them?”
Selena’s brows tightened. “She is yourOculos, isn’t she? Ask her.”
I hadn’t attempted to speak with Nori across a distance yet. Drumming my fingers against Kolibri’s saddle, I turned away from them just enough to calm my own thoughts, mentally reaching in the direction I knew Nori to be. Somewhere north, into the bitter mountains that had almost claimed Kye.
Nori, I called, quelling the chill that entered my veins at Selena’s words.Are you with the Calderian army?
Silence. Just long enough to have me fidgeting with the pommel of my saddle, running my fingers along the ornamental embroidery in the leather. Then she answered, soft and near-silent, as though the distance between us had delayed our messages across.
No. We wait for you. The town is empty.
I flicked my eyes to Kye, who had stilled beside Aren under the open stable roof, watching me as he listened.
Where did they go?I asked her.
West, most of them. Toward Merriam. A few have gone south in your direction. Scouts reported Rivea preparing to attack, hidden among the slopes.
Behind me, Leal tromped into the stable and Aren gave a groan. “Aalto, Leal. I’m not saying your odor is too strong, but the crickets were alive before you came outside.”
“No crickets in winter, you cretin. And that would be the horses, anyway.”
Where is Rivea now?Kye’s voice murmured in my head. Ignoring Leal and Aren, I sent the question to Nori.
The last of them left thirty minutes ago,Nori replied.
I glanced at Kye.How far are we from Winterlight?
“No horse smells that bad,” Aren’s voice buzzed in the background as he leaned to scratch Fox’s ears.
“Is your bottom ever jealous of the crap that comes from your mouth?”
I sent my hands into my hair, leaning over Kolibri to concentrate.
“Shut it, you two,” Kye snapped.Four hours, if we hurry.
I nodded.We’ll be there soon,I sent to Nori. She sent back a small nod. Forehead in my hand, I found Selena’s gaze through my curtain of hair. “They’re waiting for us.”
“Let’s go.” Kye hoisted himself into his saddle. “We’ll meet Dimas on the way.” The rest of us mounted, a sickening knot twisting in my stomach.
Last chance to stay here, Kye murmured at me, taking the lead out from under the shelter.
A flutter of nerves warped my stomach at his words, and I wondered if our rings could carry emotion across the way they did simple thoughts.
Winterlight sat at our feet, a ghost town compared to the fortress I’d passed through only weeks ago. Tendrils of gray fog whispered between the cobbled streets as we rode. The trees stood tall and naked, ash-white and spindly, and even the birds had fled the town in preparation for a conflict that wouldn’t even take place here.
Kolibri’s ears flattened. I rubbed her neck with a gloved hand, watching a tavern sign above my head swing against the cold wind on rusted chains.
In the center of the town square, under the heavy shadow of dark clouds, a hundred women stood in perfect lines. Garbed in black silk, their hair braided behind their backs, they watched us descend the street on our horses, their faces somber and lovely. Nori stood in front, hands clasped. As we neared, I pulled ahead to meet her.
