was in an infirmary. The windows were open, allowing the sunset to spill through and cast different shades on the room.

There were many cots. The first few dozen were in plain view while the ones farther down had long navy curtains separating them for patient privacy. All the beds were occupied by unconscious people, mostly men in tunics worn under armor, but also some women in brown robes. Additional sleeping bodies were strewn across the floor, the occasional nurse lying amongst them. The veins on all their arms glowed sickly purple like they’d been exposed to Poppies or some form of Poppy Potion.

Arian was on the far end of the room. He stepped into a curtained-off area. I followed him. When I was on the other side of the curtain, I discovered he was talking to dream me. They were standing on opposite sides of a cot, an unconscious girl lying between them. She had wavy black hair and wore a mint green jacket; however the angle of my perspective blocked her face. My vision focused on the exchange happening between dream me and Arian.

Dream me wore a brilliant red dress with ripped hems over her leggings and boots. She also donned a torn navy, military-styled jacket that had seen better days. A sword sheath was strapped across her shoulder and her hand glowed fervently gold with the aura of magic. Her face was filled with spite.

Arian, meanwhile, had a calm demeanor and placid expression on his face, cool and confident as ever. His cruel handsomeness and malevolent presence remained intimidating—even in a dream. Seeing him made my bones rattle with spite. My hatred for him ran deep, no matter if I was awake or asleep.

His black Shadow Guardian eyes drifted down to the body lying in the cot.

“An awful lot of trouble to go through to kill me, Arian,” dream me said. “Why not just do it right here?” She gestured at the infirmary, provoking him. “Afraid you can’t beat me on your own?”

“I’m not trying to kill you today,” Arian said, walking around the cot back into the aisle. He began heading toward the large doors at the front of the infirmary. Dream me trailed him.

“I actually need you to do something for me,” he said.

“What’s that?”

Dream me stood frozen in the center of the walkway ten feet behind him. He gestured with a tilt of his head for her to follow. “Come on. I’ll explain on the way.”

My vision shifted to Natalie Poole.

The hazel-haired teenager was in a graveyard. The sky was gray and leaves were blowing everywhere. Three ravens were perched on a tree in the corner. The grass was deep green like it’d recently rained.

Natalie wore a black dress and a bright yellow coat. Ryan Jackson stood beside her with an arm tight around her shoulder. Her head rested against his chest. They stood in front of a gravestone with the name James Poole carved into the stone.

Again my dream changed. I saw a blonde woman face-planted in the dirt. She wore a light blue shirt and khaki skirt. While the woman’s face remained hidden, I saw that her arms had a green tint. They also didn’t resemble regular arms. It was almost as if they were partially made of straw. A hazy background surrounded the girl that looked like thick walls of cornstalks. And the vague cawing of crows resonated throughout the scene.

The vision started to blur even more, but before I transitioned away, I saw a crow land on the woman’s head. The crow had a gray collar outfitted with a little mechanism that held a blinking red light. In the crow’s beak was a weirdly glistening object like a sponge. Just after the crow landed on the woman’s head, a purple energy exuded from her skull. It was absorbed into the crow’s sponge, as if attracted to it.

The crow took off at that point—sponge now glowing. I saw movement in the background by the cornstalks, but my subconscious was moving into the next scene.

Now I was in a cave with dream me, Daniel, and a man of about sixty. I recognized him. He was the same old man who had spoken to me in my dreams and compelled me to go to Neverland. His white, wispy beard hung down to his hips. He wore the same silver-and-dark-blue robe and utility belt I’d seen before. And in his hand, he still grasped that long, weird staff.

Unlike the dream where he’d talked to me directly, this was a normal vision. He had no idea that I was there.

The three of us were in a massive cave with a high ceiling and a bluish hue. There was a small pond in the middle filled with silvery water. A fountain protruded from its center, spewing a steady stream. The floor was composed of reddish stone, but bright indigo rocks dotted the whole space. Meanwhile, huge clumps of pale blue phosphorescent moss grew all over and provided light.

Dream me was studying the walls of the cavern. They were covered in drawings, words, and diagrams that had been crafted with some form of indigo charcoal, no doubt sourced from the peculiar rocks. I floated into her body and looked through her eyes. I recognized certain words on the wall, like Century City, Pure Magic, and Chance Darling. I also saw some words and phrases I didn’t understand, like Big Bear, Dreamland, and Simia Crown.

My eyes stopped on an image that sent a myriad of emotions rippling through me. It was a sketch of me facing off with Mauvrey. I was grabbing her by throat, pinning her against a wall and strangling her. The expression on my face was nothing short of ruthless.

Flashes replaced the scene. A bronze statue of a swan. A brick bookstore with concrete steps and simple, white pillars framing the entrance. Daniel and Kai in a dark forest, arguing. The shadow of Natalie Poole running up a narrow stairwell, distant applause behind her. And then back to Arian.

He opened a trap door and descended the stairs to a room of black stone. He wore a cruel sneer on his face. The scene blurred as he came nearer. I felt my heart beat louder and louder—its palpations were deafening. Arian was only two feet away. The scene went dark. Everything was silent for a second. Then a scream—my scream—pierced the void and I was jolted awake.

I sat up in bed. The children in the Lost Boys and Girls’ bunker were still asleep. The room was not completely dark. Magical, fairy dust-powered nightlights lit the ceiling.

I was in the bottom bed of a spare bunk; Blue was on the top. Twisting slightly, I saw Jason sleeping peacefully in the bottom bunk across from me. Lying on his sheets was a flashlight that he hadn’t turned off before falling asleep. Over his body lay the unrolled Oz map he’d been studying.

Based on Mitchell’s tip, we would need to go to Oz next. As such—and given that we didn’t know where our next wormhole would deposit us in that enchanted realm—Jason had stayed up late trying to commit our Oz map to memory. Not just the names of cities and roads, but also our notes. Neatly written on the back of each elaborate map were important references about the realm, including customs, cultural preferences, and types of magical creatures. I was grateful all that research had borne such great fruit, and that we didn’t have to worry about carrying these maps around with us thanks to SJ’s magic bag.

As I mentioned earlier, SJ, Jason, and Blue had all been given a reward for saving that Fairy Godmother last semester. SJ’s gift was the sack she carried her portable potions in. My friend always kept her portable potions in the same dainty velvet bag, which she hung from her belt beside the slingshot she used to fire them with. Unfortunately, only so many portable potions could fit inside, so she had asked the Fairy Godmother to enchant her sack to remedy the problem.

Though it was no bigger than a sandwich bag, the sack now had a sort of reality-bending wormhole inside it. SJ simply had to think about a specific object in a specific location, stick her hand in the sack, and she would be able to pull out what she desired.

There were a few catches to the enchantment. For starters, SJ had to know the exact location of the object. If she wanted a hairbrush from our room but didn’t remember which drawer she’d stuck it in, it was no good. Also, the object had to exist. She couldn’t stick her hand inside and draw out a miscellaneous sandwich that hadn’t been made. But she could concentrate on the granola bars we kept in my nightstand and pull out one of those. Lastly, whatever she pulled out had to be small enough to fit through the mouth of the bag. SJ could also send things back through the bag by the same principles.

The enchantment came in handy for a lot of reasons, like providing us with supplies, emergency food, and, of course, our maps. As part of our initial plan, when our Wonderland maps were complete, SJ and Blue were meant to hide them in a secret compartment behind a false wall we’d built into her closet over winter break. With the exception of the Camelot map Jason had brought to Midveil to show me as a sneak preview, it was my understanding that all our rolled-up maps were stashed there now. At some point before we’d left Midveil, SJ had restored the Camelot map to this hiding place via the charmed sack, and tonight she’d pulled out the Oz map for Jason to peruse by the same means.

This enchantment was particularly helpful because it allowed SJ a much greater stock of portable potions. While my friends had been working on their maps of the Wonderlands over the last month, SJ had also been aggressively brewing different kinds of potions in preparation for our journey. They were hidden in bulk in the same secret compartment as the maps. By concentrating on their location and the exact potion she wanted, SJ could now pull out tons of ammo without needing to worry about rebrewing on the go like she had on our previous mission.

A few minutes had passed since my dream had woken me up, but I was by no means calmed down. I sighed and stared up at the bunk above me. My heart was pounding too fast for me to go back to sleep. I was awake, and in the silence my thoughts threatened to wander to bad places. Fearing that unkind topics would cause me to suffer a panic attack like I had during the bonfire, I decided not to just lay here and simmer.

I reached into my backpack at the foot of the bed and drew out my Mark Two. Then I slipped stealthily from the bed into my boots and maneuvered across the room, avoiding toys and trampolines. Throughout the bunker there were human-sized clear tubes. They looked like they didn’t belong with the rest of the décor, but they served an important purpose. While the slide was the only way to enter this sanctum, these tubes were the way out. Before dinner Peter had shown my friends and me how to work them.

Carefully I stepped onto the silver platform of the closest tube and pressed a red button. I took in the tranquil room, the peacefully slumbering Lost Boys and Girls, and Blue and Jason before the platform silently lifted me out of sight.

There hadn’t been enough spare beds in this bunker to house all five members of my group. Daniel and SJ ended up sleeping in one of the other bunkers. I was slightly relieved when things had worked out this way. Between the added jealousy my attention from Mitchell and Peter seemed to be causing SJ, and my confrontation with Daniel in the woods, I didn’t want to deal with either of them right now. When the five of us were together, concentrating on a common mission or fight, we could operate fine and gloss over the flaws in our dynamics. But in close quarters those flaws were far more obvious. The frost in our situations rivaled the windy torrents from that snowy realm I’d accidentally opened a Wonderland door to earlier.

The tube-like elevator I was in ran up the innards of a large tree that’d been hollowed out. When my platform reached the top of the tube, the area in front of me slid aside. I stepped through and emerged in the campground. Like Peter had shown us, I pulled on a specific branch of the tree and the door slid shut again. I marveled at how it blended in with the bark of the trunk. It was like it was never there.

Checking my Hole Tracker, I discovered it was one in the morning. The bonfire had died long ago and every child and fairy was tucked away in bed.

The canopy of trees blocked the sky, so I decided to find a spot where I might see the stars and not feel so claustrophobic. I knew my friends wouldn’t have liked the idea of me wandering off alone, but I was not afraid. Frankly, I dared anyone or anything out there to even try crossing me. With the mood I was in, and the day I’d just had, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

A few lanterns projected a faint fairy glow over the Hideaway, but beyond that the woods were dark, save for a few fireflies. I drew my wandpin.

Lapellius.

My wand grew in my hand and illuminated the area in front of me as I wandered through the woods. I stopped at a mighty tree with strong enough branches to serve as footholds.

I transformed my wand into a bow so I could climb by its light and swung it around my shoulder. Summoning my strength, I ascended higher and higher up the branches. Eventually I broke through the canopy into the open air of night.

The view was beautiful. The storm we’d seen earlier had vanished. Above me was the most wondrous sight I’d ever seen—millions of stars twinkling against the humbling blackness of sky.

I gave myself another boost and settled onto a thick branch so I could take a good look around. The forest’s canopy created a sea of dark green in every direction. The ocean sparkled in the distance. The large white moon was rising over the horizon. I breathed in the breathtaking scene, trying to quiet the emotions in my heart and the visions in my head.

With the moon providing sufficient luminescence, I restored my bow to a wandpin and pulled my Mark Two from my jacket pocket. I didn’t know what time, or even what day, it was in Book. AP had explained that Book ran about four and a half times faster than the ONC time zone, but I was too tired to attempt the math.

Liza always answered my calls. I hoped this would be no exception. I really needed someone to talk to. Someone who was not directly connected to the horror I’d seen today and who could distract me with another topic.

I flipped open my magic compact. “Liza.”

The compact buzzed for about a minute before Liza answered the call. Her hair was frazzled, and she had serious bags under her eyes. I didn’t comment on either; I was just happy she’d answered and that the call had gone through despite us being in different realms.

That’s some good reception.

“Crisa?” Liza yawned. Then her eyes took on a more panicked gleam. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” I said. “I only wanted to talk. Just because I call you after-hours doesn’t mean the world is on fire.”

Liza exhaled with relief. “Well, what do you expect me to think when you call me so late? The last time you buzzed me at this hour your school was on fire and you’d nearly been kidnapped by magic hunters. After what happened in Midveil . . .”

“You heard about that, huh?”

“Crisa, the whole realm heard about that. Lena filled me in on the specifics though. I’m only glad you weren’t hurt.”

“Yeah, aren’t we all,” I muttered.

“You told your ambassador Susannah about the antagonists, what they’re planning for the realm and why they want to kill you,” Liza stated matter-of-factly.

“I did.”

“Now everyone knows about your magic.”

“They do.”

“How are you feeling about that?” Liza asked. “I mean, the ambassadors and the Godmothers haven’t spread the news about the antagonist threat to the greater realm; they’re keeping that to themselves for the time being, so your prophecy is also remaining proprietary. But everyone knows about your powers now. Since your school already knew, the higher-ups saw no reason to try and cover it up anymore. According to Lena, your magic has become top gossip in every kingdom. You’re one of the first non-Fairy Godmother, non-villain characters to wield magic. And not counting your realm’s famed Little Mermaid and her half breed children who possess a touch of Mer magic, you’re absolutely the first princess to have it. Aren’t you concerned about how being outed will affect your life?”

“Not really,” I admitted. “Obviously I can’t let anyone know I have Pure Magic. I’m taking that secret to the grave because if I don’t, I’ll get sent to Alderon and reach the grave way sooner than I’d prefer. But gossip can’t hurt me. My enemies already know about my powers. While I don’t like the extra attention, I like hiding even less. And honestly, with everything that’s going on, I think it might be a good idea to put on a confident face and show those enemies that I’m not scared to show my power. Now if they want to challenge me, it won’t be in the shadows.”

“I respect your decision,” Liza said. “And I understand why you might want to take a more proactive stance . . .” Her voice dropped away and I arched an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Crisa, other than the general chat, is there another reason you called me? Did you want to talk about what happened today?”

For a moment I considered confiding in her. Liza and I weren’t friends exactly. She was my mentor; she was hard on me a lot of the time, but I knew she cared. Well, she cared about me not turning evil. I wasn’t sure if she cared about me as a person yet. We hadn’t known each other that long. I felt like I trusted her with a lot, but as I opened my mouth to voice some of my troubles, I was reminded of the promise I’d made to myself earlier.

Remember Daniel. Remember Alex.

Do not live with your heart on your sleeve. Protect it. Protect yourself.

“No. I’m fine,” I assured her again. “I just . . .”

My mind shuffled through various topics of conversation that would not trudge up any unpleasant feelings, but might warrant a call at such an inconvenient hour.

“Oh, I wanted to be honest with you about something,” I said. “I sort of disobeyed your advice.”

Liza’s expression turned suspicious and concerned. “What did you do?”

“Nothing bad,” I said defensively. “You know that wooden plank I enchanted in December? Blue and Jason brought it to Midveil, and it was a hazard. Since I’ve gotten so much more powerful recently, I decided to try that reverse trick of my magic. I took the life from the wood instead of giving it. I know you said I couldn’t do it. But it turns out it wasn’t that hard. Removing life from the plank was as simple as giving it life in the first place. So no harm, no foul, right?”

Liza didn’t reply immediately. A hard, worried frown had settled on her face.

“Crisa, I told you specifically not to do that,” she said.

“Technically, you told me I couldn’t do that. And I totally could, so what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that we have been working for months to try and give you control over your powers in the hopes that you won’t get corrupted like pretty much everyone else who’s ever been in your situation.”

“What does that have to do with this?”

Liza sighed. “Do you know what a Malice Line is, Crisa?”

I frowned as I remembered that Lenore had used the term at the start of the semester when she’d come to visit me in Lady Agnue’s office.

“Your sister said something about it once,” I responded. “After I showed her what my powers could do, she warned me to be careful of it. But she didn’t tell me why, much less what it is.”

“The power of Pure Magic appeals to the darkness in our hearts,” Liza began. “By giving into that, carriers of Pure Magic are consumed. But the stronger a person’s heart is, the longer they can avoid this fate. What marks the first sign of turning dark is crossing the Malice Line, which occurs when you use your powers to inflict mortal harm on another living being. For example, if I were to use my powers of teleportation to teleport someone’s heart from inside their chest into my hand, killing them, I would cross the Malice Line.”

“You could do that?” I gulped.

“Of course. I am much more powerful than you know, Crisa. But I hold back because using my power for dark purposes would be crossing a line. That line specifically.”

“So me taking life from that wooden plank . . .”

“You crossed the Malice Line, Crisa,” Liza confirmed. “Crossing it once isn’t going to make you wicked. But crossing it the first time is a trigger. It makes your magic stronger, hungrier, more easily corruptible. And with your specific power . . .” Liza shook her head. “Giving life is a rare, beautiful ability, Crisa. But the reverse of that—taking life—is a dark power. Arguably the darkest power. That’s why even Fairy Godmothers, and genies before they vanished, cannot brandish it, because no one should wield such godly influence. An ability like that is too strong. The more times you cross the Malice Line by taking life, the closer you will come to succumbing to its pull, and your Pure Magic Disease.”

And I thought I couldn’t be in any more trouble than I already was. That’ll show me.

I felt the urge to chuck my Mark Two out into the sea of trees. Having my home destroyed, my family betrayed, and my friendships tested in one day wasn’t enough. Apparently, fate deemed that today was also a good day for me to cross a major threshold toward darkness.

The fact that I’d made the choice myself was the real kicker. I’d taken this destructive step on my own. Now there was no going back and my magic was only going to be harder to control. I groaned internally. Maybe it would just be easier to be evil.

“I think I’m going to call it a night, Liza. I’m kind of beat.”

Liza looked at me sympathetically, as if remembering for a moment that I wasn’t just a student for her to instruct, but a person—a kid—who sometimes needed a hand to hold and not just a kick in the butt. “Okay, Crisa,” she said. “But remember, crossing the Malice Line once won’t break you. Every time you cross it, it will just destabilize you a little more. But you’re not going to do that anymore, right?”

“Right,” I muttered, staring at the trees.

“Keep me updated?”

“I will. Good night, Liza.”

“Crisa . . .”

I met her gaze.

“I’m sorry about your brother.”

I nodded at her, accepting her condolences, but didn’t say anything else.

I snapped the compact shut and sat there with my back pressed against the tree trunk for a few minutes with my eyes closed. As I was drifting off, my Mark Two began to buzz. Liza must’ve forgotten to tell me something, or she realized she’d let me off too easy and wanted to get in another round of nagging. I dug the compact out of my pocket and flipped it open.

“Yes, Liza?”

“Liza? Make a new friend, Crisa?”

I was startled to see Mauvrey’s smug face in the mirror.

“Mauvrey! What the heck? How did you get a Mark Two?”

“Crisa, after everything you have seen me orchestrate, do you really think I would have trouble acquiring a simple piece of magic tech a few weeks before it hits the market?

“What do you want?” I spat.

“I wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing.”

“I’m peachy,” I replied.

“And how are your parents; did they make it out all right? I do hope they were not too shaken up.”

“They’re a whole lot better than yours, I’m sure,” I countered. “Alex may have betrayed my parents today, but at least he didn’t try to have them taken out by sniper.”

“Crisa, I needed my parents out of the way so that I could inherit my crown and exert influence over Tunderly in time to aid Nadia and Arian with their plan for the realm. It hurt to give the order, but that was my cost for power. It was a calculated, acceptable loss.”

“You’re a monster, you know that?”

“It is just politics, Crisa.”

“It’s patricide, Mauvrey. And it’s another reason why I’m more than happy to hunt you down and make you pay for it.”

“As fun as that sounds,” Mauvrey continued, “you and I both have more important tasks to see to at the moment.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh please, Crisa. There is no need to beat around the bush. I know you are going after Paige Tomkins as surely as you know Arian and his antagonists are doing the same.”

“Aren’t you chasing her as well?” I asked.

“I have another important mission on my hands, one that I cannot complete without your brother’s help. He is very special, you know. A Knight of royal blood destined for something great. With any luck, soon he and I will be on the verge of claiming a fantastic destiny.”

“With any luck, you won’t run into me along the way. I don’t know why Arian and your antagonist friends want Paige, Mauvrey, but my friends and I are going to find her first and do whatever it takes to protect her. If you get in our way, I will take you down.”

Mauvrey smiled that smug, venomous smile of hers. I had to resist the urge to crush the compact from the hatred that pulsed through me.

“I am sure we are going to have some fun conflicts in the future then,” she said. “Sleep well, Crisa. Try not to get killed on your quest. I was really hoping to murder you myself when this is all over.” She glanced over her shoulder for a second, then back at me. “Oh, hold on. Looks like your big brother wants to say hi.”

“Mauvrey, I don’t want to—”

It was too late. Her image had vanished and Alex’s face appeared in my Mark Two.

“Hey,” he said.

The single syllable was enough to send a jolt of pain through my body. I steadied my tone, trying to keep him from seeing how much his presence affected me.

“What?” I replied.

Alex paused for a second.

“I’m glad you got out of the castle,” he responded. “I was worried you’d be trapped in there.”

“Aw, how sweet,” I hissed. “Aren’t you just the most thoughtful.”

Alex huffed as he took in my glower. “Resentment doesn’t suit you.”

“Yeah, well, empathy doesn’t really suit you either. So why don’t you just shove that feigned concern down your throat and tell me why you really wanted to talk to me? I know it wasn’t to check on my well-being.”

“I want to warn you about something,” Alex said.

“It’s a little too late for that, bro.”

“Crisa, would you listen to me for a second?”

“Why should I? I don’t even know who you are. You’re involved with Mauvrey and you’re helping the antagonists launch a commons rebellion. For goodness’ sake, you’ve got a Shadow living inside of you like a parasite! Is there any part of the old you that’s even there anymore?”

“Of course there is. Crisa, I’m still here. Hard as it may be for you to believe with the recent choices I’ve made, it’s true. The person who helped you learn to fight, who looked out for you as a kid, who cares for you and will always try to protect you even when you don’t want me to—that person’s not gone. I promise you that’s still me.”

“Your promises don’t mean anything to me. Not after everything you’ve done.”

“Yes they do,” Alex said, holding my gaze. “I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice. You want to believe me. I can tell.”

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know if I had the strength to deny it.

“Crisa,” Alex continued. “Arian has sent teams to different Wonderlands to find Paige Tomkins—splitting them up to cover more ground. They started searching a few weeks ago, but haven’t found anything. So far they’ve eliminated Toyland, Cloud Nine, Xanadu, and Book in its entirety. Mauvrey and I aren’t helping them with the search. We’re with Arian and some of his men tonight, but tomorrow morning we go our separate ways again. Mauvrey and I have business in Camelot and that’s where we’re headed. Arian’s plan is to do a sweep of Oz next, then Neverland. So if you’re in either of those two realms right now, watch your back.”

Hm. If Arian was still divide-and-conquering his forces, that meant the antagonist Mitchell mentioned hadn’t warned anyone else about Paige’s whereabouts before Hook fed him to the crocodile. That was important. Then another thought occurred to me and I bit my lip.

“Why are you telling me this? Aren’t you on their side? Why give me the heads up?”

“Because despite the fact that I’ve chosen my side, that doesn’t mean I want to see anything happen to you. Arian’s main goal right now is to find Paige Tomkins, but he wants you too. All his men are under orders to bring you in alive if they find you on their hunt.”

“Well, that’s a step up from kill on sight,” I huffed in cynical amusement. “Are you telling me your boss doesn’t want me dead anymore?”

“No, he definitely does. But not right away. Mauvrey was instructed to capture you because he needs you as a . . .” Alex cut himself off. “Look, whether you prove useful or not, if they catch you, they will kill you eventually and I won’t be able to stand in their way. But I can protect you by doing my best to make sure your paths don’t cross in the first place.”

“How do I know this isn’t a trick?” I asked suspiciously. “Arian and Mauvrey know I’m after Paige and you’re with them. How can I trust anything you say?”

“I can’t answer that,” Alex said. “You just have to.”

Alex looked over his shoulder. “I’ve gotta go. Mauvrey’s coming back. But, Crisa, before I go, remember that no matter what I’ve done, I would never hurt you.”

Alex’s image vanished as he hung up the call.

I didn’t know what to believe. I let go of my rage, punching a branch with my balled-up fist. The pain jolted back the tears that had welled up in my eyes.

I’d grown up fine-tuning my ability to see through Alex’s poker face, to read his tells, to know when he was being truly vulnerable and when he was simply pretending to be.

The fact that he’d become this monster under my watch made me wonder if I could trust my instincts about him at all. Maybe I was too close to the situation. Maybe I wanted so badly to believe him, to believe in him, that I could no longer count on my own judgment where he was concerned.

Shoving my compact back inside my pocket, I decided to climb back down. I’d been gone long enough and it was time to return to camp.

As I descended by the light of my bow once more, I wondered why the antagonists wanted to capture me and not simply kill me like before. It definitely explained the incident in the mausoleum with Mauvrey. I’d thought it was strange how she’d chosen to incapacitate me with that Poppy Potion instead of taking me out then and there. Now I understood why. She’d put me in that coffin because she was saving me. For Arian.

The understanding made me gulp.

Somehow I liked it better when Arian was trying to kill me. At least then I knew what he wanted. Now it was anybody’s guess.