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Lily’s own concern fell to a single place. “How’s Luka?”

He blew a noisy breath. “He’s just fine. Not a scratch on him. Threw me Silas’ favorite expletive the other morning and then laughed about it, little shit.”

After getting the reassurance she wanted, Lily stopped listening to Sterling. It allowed for only a moment of calm before Ivy’s voice behind him drew her attention to the center of the sitting room.

Lily drew in a sharp breath. Estelle was on the couch. She’d finally come down from her room. Dressed in a long black gown from Ava, she was hugging a pillow to her chest, staring at Ivy’s chattering with a confused brow. Her silver hair was gathered and pinned at the top of her head.

The bruise on her cheek was completely healed. She looked exhausted. Pale.

Estelle’s violet eyes met Lily’s. She shot up from the couch, fists tight. With how many people were crowding the area, no one noticed her withdraw and dart back up to her room.

Once everything calmed down and the wagon was making steady progress, Gwyneth seeped back into Lily’s mind and refused to leave. I killed her. Estelle may have pulled the trigger, but Lily put her in that position. She dragged them into that hellhole. She killed her long before the Wraith did. Gwyneth was innocent, and Lily didn’t even try to help her. She weighed the value of her life against Aarin’s, and though she told herself no life was worth more than another, his won in that moment simply because his wound wasn’t as fatal.

Lily knew Estelle was asking herself similar questions. She quickly figured out who Lily was, and her contempt for her and the Wraith was obvious.

Even now, Lily’s own hatred for it continued to fester.

Killing people like Caiven was easy. Killing those like Gwyneth—Lily never wanted to do it again. It ate at her every moment the world around her seemed to quiet too long. Keeping herself busy—distracted—kept the pain of knowing she’d have to kill like that again at bay.

She could ignore it no longer.

“I need to talk to you,” she abruptly said to Sterling, interrupting his rambling.

“What a funny coincidence. I have something I need to talk to you about as well.” Sterling guided her toward the kitchen.

Lily stilled once again. Aarin had also come down from his room and was resting on a bench in front of a brightly lit bay window. He’d trimmed his beard and hair, and noticeable color radiated in his face. Though she’d encouraged him to walk back and forth in his room, she’d discouraged him from coming downstairs so soon.

When he noticed the irritation crossing her face, he scoffed. “What? You didn’t expect me to stay locked upstairs, did you?”

“You never mentioned having friends so interesting, Lils,” Sterling said. “He was just regaling me with your reunion in Gridian.”

And that’s all, I hope. “You look better,” she told Aarin.

“I’ve been worse.”

Lily shivered, remembering digging out the bullet from his abdomen in the cramped wagon, and she was sure Aarin did the same. The aura returned over the course of their journey to the plantation. Lily took it away each time and gave it to whatever foliage had been unlucky enough to be dying on its own. Eventually, the wound healed enough it was no longer killing him.

“A lot worse,” she agreed.

“I credit my remedies.”

Lily hadn’t noticed Ava beside him, regal even at this early hour. Stirring a silver spoon in an ornately decorated cup, she casually pushed a plate with bread and butter just out of Aarin’s reach.

“I remember you being in the room when I asked Ivy to stay inside.” Lily turned her rising irritation onto Ava.

Ava peeked up at her.

She was being stubbornly ignorant, though Lily was frustrated for an entirely different reason now. The creature was stalking her in broad daylight. No one else seemed to be able to interact with it, but as it grew bolder, she grew more cautious. “It’s not safe for her to wander around alone.”

“Oh, please. My property is perfectly safe. I’ve never seen anything larger than a fox on the grounds.” She smirked and arched her brow. “Would that be why you threatened to lock her in a box? Is that you looking out for her well-being?”

Lily narrowed her eyes, and Ava straightened her back in triumph.

“Ava, my love, do you mind giving us a few minutes?” Sterling asked.

Ava presented a tight smile to them both, rapping a fingernail over the edge of her cup. She eventually excused herself, sweeping away from the kitchen, trailed by a ruffle of creamy fabric.

“Stuffing children in boxes? I thought you were supposed to be a mother hen of sorts now, Lils.”