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“Magic,” Zane replied immediately. “When in doubt, the answer to any unexplained phenomenon in our universe is magic.”

I hopped off the path when a gnarly old root spontaneously burst out of the ground in front of me. “Yeah, you might be right about that.” I hopped again when the sentient root snapped at my heels like a whip, trying to trip me. “This place is so weird.”

“You must have annoyed it.” Zane turned to watch the snickering root slither back into the hole in the ground.

“Annoyed it? It’s a root, Zane,” I said drily. “How do you even annoy a root?”

He shrugged, cracking a smile.

“So,” I said, catching up to him again.

“So?” he wondered.

“How’s life?”

“Fine.”

“Fine?” I repeated. “That’s all I get?”

“What more do you want?”

“Details. I want details, Zane. We didn’t get a chance to chat much at dinner. And we haven’t seen each other in weeks, weeks that you spent with my devious dark angel cousin.” I fluttered my eyelashes. “By the way, how are things going with Aerilyn?”

“Oh, no, not you too.” He winced.

“Oh,yes, me too,” I chuckled, wrapping my arm around him. “I just want to make sure my favorite brother is happy.”

“Youronlybrother,” he said tightly.

“Hey, for all I know, Faris or Grace might have another love child out there—or, at the very least, another meticulously-constructed living weapon.”

“You’re certainly chipper,” Zane observed.

“Of course I am. After months of worrying and waiting, we’re going to find Bella. And we’re going to cure her.”

“I thought Vertigo only saw us saving her, not necessarily curing her?”

“Vertigo saw us save Bella’s life. And she saw Bella happy. You know as well as I do that Bella will only truly be happy once she’s been cured of her curse. So that means this plan is going to work. We’re going to cure Bella, and then she’ll come home. That’s why I’m sochipper.”

“Well, when you put it like that, I think I’m feeling pretty chipper myself,” Zane said, and there was definitely a newfound skip in his step.

I grinned at him.

“Leda, come have a look at this,” Calli called back to me.

“Be right there,” I replied, then said to Zane, “And don’t think I’m letting you off the hook. You will tell me all about your adventure with Aerilyn, and you’re going to give me all the juicy details.”

I winked at him, then jogged further up the path. Calli, Gin, and Tessa had paused at the ridge and were looking down on the valley below. A pair of bright white moons lit up the dark mountains, but that gentle, diffused light paled in comparison to the blinding light pulsing from the Night Prince’s fortress. Every stone—every inch of the castle’s surface—was lit up like the surface of the sun, a glowing jewel in a sea of relative darkness. And thanks to that mysterious light, the valley was as bright as day.

So bright that even from all the way up here, I could see Bella trudging through the valley forest. She was moving through an opening in the trees, heading fast toward the castle. It wouldn’t be long before the sentries on guard saw her too. The brown-and-green cloak she wore didn’t camouflage herthatwell.

I looked at Tessa. “It’s time.”

Tessa nodded, linking hands with Gin and Zane. I took Calli’s hand. And then we all teleported into the woods below, directly in Bella’s path.

She froze when she saw us, her eyes wide. Her mouth started to drop, but she caught herself. Her lips hardened, pressing together.

“No.” She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not going back with you, so don’t even try to convince me.”