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“I know that.” Brinna flung the covers off and got up.

“She’s not in the woods. She’s at the inn,” Auri said. “What are you doing?”

Brinna pulled the nightshirt from her body and slipped into a chemise. “There was something after her. Remember what mother said? ‘Him.’ That he would find her—without the ribbon.”

Auri sat up and took a deep breath, like she often did when she was thinking. “Who can make any sense of what Mother says?” Auri asked.

“Listen,” Brinna continued. “In the dream, Tarley was in the woods by herself. Then there was a wolf—I think it was a wolf. I didn’t get a good look at it in the dream—and it was hunting her. Tarley was running, but it caught up to her, leapt and–” Brinna shuddered but resumed buttoning her dark blue skirt. “I can’t get the beast’s horrible snarl out of my head.”

“Okay. Okay.” Auri scooted from the bed and stood.

“What do you think Mother meant when she said ‘he’d find her,’” Jessamine asked.

Brinna shrugged, tucking in her tunic into her waistband of her skirt. “Does it matter? If Tarley’s in danger, we need to help.”

Auri shrugged out of her nightgown. “You’re right. And now that you say it… I, don’t know, I feel something. Right here.” She pressed a hand to her belly.

Jessamine lit a lamp. After she replaced the glass chimney and turned up the oil for a more expansive glow, she also left her bed and began to dress. “Do you think she’s hurt?”

Brinna turned to her sisters as she haphazardly braided her hair. “I hope it’s one of those dreams that means nothing. But if we go to the inn, and she’s there, at least we know she’s okay.”

“What if she’s not?” Auri paled, her hands still at the buttons of her shirt.

“That’s why we have to go,” Brinna said. “In case…” She stopped not wanting to believe there was something wrong but feeling it as concretely as the bow she was tying in her hair.

Auri secured her hair in a hastily wrapped bun on top of her head. “I’ll call for Nix.”

“Call? How?” Jessamine ducked into the yellow skirt and pulled it into place. “Where is he?”

Auri grasped Jessamine’s hand. “Don’t worry about it,” Auri said. “I just know he’ll be here.”

Jessamine tucked the ivory shirt before buttoning her skirt. “There’s something strange–”

“Yes, Jessamine,” Auri interrupted. “There’s a lot of strange around here. Nix is just one of those things. And I promise to tell you everything soon.”

Jessamine stilled and leveled her brown gaze on Auri. “What are you talking about?”

Auri sighed, fastening the final button on her dress. “Trust me for now.”

“You sound like Mother,” Brinna said.

Auri stilled. “You’re right.”

“We don’t really have time right now. Not if Brinna’s dream is a prediction,” Jessamine said. “I’m holding you to telling though. When we find Tarley safe and sound at the inn.” Jessamine tied back her dark brown hair with an ivory ribbon.

“Same,” Brinna said.

From the doorway, Jessamine turned. “So you call for Nix, Auri, and I’ll get Mother and Father.”

“And I’ll get Mattias to hitch the wagon,” Brinna added and followed Jessamine, hoping that her dream was nothing more than her imagination but terrified it was so much more than that.

34

Lachlan took three stairs at a time to Tarley’s attic room. He’d hated he hadn’t been able to go to her immediately, but establishing the treaty for the safety of Kaloma, Keyanna and Meera, and Jast had taken precedence with the tension claiming each kingdom’s factions. They hadn’t needed to reignite a war in the dining room of The Copper Pot. While he knew he had to apologize for hesitating after what his father had said, he was confident she would listen to his explanation. They had reached a new level of understanding, he hoped. She loved him. He loved her, and he would spend the rest of his life proving it.

Except when he knocked on the door, there was only silence behind it. Unsure and suddenly concerned, Lachlan let his impatience to rule and opened the unlocked door. The room inside was dark and empty. Cold. She’d never started a fire, and upon closer inspection, her dress was tossed on the bed, the room disheveled, as if she’d rushed in and out.

The woods. She’d run to the woods.