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Bael’s eyes darted to the side, looking uncomfortable. “Not long.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Be specific.”

Bael glowered at me. “I don’t have to tell you anything. Leave me alone before I make you.”

I snorted a derisive laugh. “You could try, but in this state I’d knock you unconscious before you ever lifted a hand.”

“Give me a hundred years and I’d win every time,” he grumbled.

I had no idea what the fuck that meant, and decided I didn’t care to ask. Not when there were much more interesting questions at hand. “As you said, I’ll work it out anyway. You may as well tell me everything.”

Bael’s scowl deepened. “I don’t know what’s wrong, alright? You have a better chance of figuring it out than I do, so when you do, let me know.”

He shouldered past me, and plastered on a grin before striding back into the house.

I frowned. That was…odd, to say the least.

The only upside was now I had something to focus on. An actual challenge to exercise my powers without being hindered by the blindspot that was Lonnie or Idris’s interference.

By the end of the week I’d figure out what was wrong with him. I only hoped that would be soon enough to fix it.

The house wassilent when I finally went back inside.

I’d lost track of time, caught in something of a meditative trance, reading Grandmother’s notes and then seeking out possible solutions in the near distant future.

It had taken several hours, but finally I felt like myself again. I’d seen enough of the future to make a plan, and now needed to share that plan with the others.

I made my way up the small rickety stairs in search of Lonnie and the others. There were only two rooms at the top of the landing, so even if I hadn’t known where to look it wouldn’t have been difficult to find where they were sleeping.

I opened the door to a sort of store room. Like downstairs, there were drying herbs hanging from the low rafters, filling the entire room with a spicy floral scent.

There were no beds, but in the back corner of the room I found the others. They’d laid out their cloaks and what looked like a single borrowed blanket on the wooden floor.

Scion lay motionless, arms limply at his sides. His breathing was steady and deep, signaling that he was sound asleep. I couldn't help but smile; as a soldier, Scion had the ability to sleep in any place or situation. He probably found more comfort on the hard ground than on a soft bed.

Conversely, Bael was not asleep, and his yellow catlike eyes followed me as I approached. He looked wary, and we made eye contact for a brief moment. I tried to communicate without words that I had no intention of sharing his secret—yet.

Between them, Lonnie had her feet entangled with Bael’s legs, and was using Scion’s arm as a pillow. I thought she was asleep too, until her eyes flashed in the darkness. She sat up and looked at me. “Are you alright?”

I smiled to myself. She was always worrying about if we were alright, when really she was the only one who mattered.

“Fine, love.” I said, quietly enough that I hoped not to wake Scion. “Better than fine, actually. I finally know what we need to do.”

“Go back to the castle and murder Idris?” Bael asked, sounding somewhat hopeful.

“Eventually,” I replied.

Both Bael and Lonnie looked taken aback, as if they’d expected me to say we should leave him in peace. If so, they’d gravely misunderstood my motivations. I would never advocate for either giving up or showing too much mercy to those who did not deserve it, but neither did I want to be rash. If we stormed back to the castle now, we might win, but the odds were slim.

Of the four of us, all but me had offensive magical talents. Except that no one was in top fighting condition.

Lonnie was still mastering her abilities. She’d come extremely far in a short period of time, but not far enough for a real fight. Bael was clearly in worse condition than he’d been letting on. I’d wondered earlier why he’d killed the mob of mindless courtiers in waves, rather than all at once. Now, I suspected it was because his energy was flagging. Scion seemed to think he was the one who had been siphoning Lonnie’s energy, but now I wasn’t so sure.

That left only Scion to face Idris alone, and I wasn’t sure enough that he’d win to risk it. We didn’t know the full extent of Idris’s power, and thanks to whatever he’d said to me upon our meeting, I still didn’t know.

“Well?” Lonnie blurted out.

I blinked rapidly, suddenly realizing I’d been silent for far too long, lost in my own contemplation. I shook my head vigorously. “Fuck, sorry.”