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“Custodis,” I snapped, and he swiveled his head in my direction. “We need to get moving if we’re to make Amberdale by nightfall.”

“Then perhaps some of us should learn to hold their bladders.”

“Some of us heard that,” Yaga growled.

I cast a glance to the heavens, offering the gods a prayer to keep me from murdering both of them.

To my relief, the rest of our journey went smoothly. With Yaga only needing one additional stop, we arrived in Amberdale at sunset.

As we rode down the main thoroughfare, sounds of music and laughter reached our ears. Succulent flavors of smoked meat and baked goods wafted on the breeze, making my mouth water.People in colorful skirts and capes paraded down the sidewalks, splendid crowns of woven ivy decorated with feathers, twigs, and berries adorned their heads. Across the path, a brightly painted banner read,Amberdale Harvest Festival.

“Well, imagine that!” Yaga cackled. “What a coincidence. It just happens we’re in time to help celebrate the harvest.”

I shot her a pointed look from beneath a dingy lock of hair. “Funny coincidence. That we happen to be here on the same span as their festival.”

I had a terrible suspicion Yaga wasn’t taking our mission seriously. That suspicion was confirmed once we’d secured our rooms for the night and stabled our animals.

Standing outside our lodge, Yaga turned to me, a childlike gleam in her cloudy eyes. “I think we should split up. We’ll cover more ground that way.”

“And how are we to recognize the temple guardian without you?” I asked.

“Oh, you’ll manage.” She fluttered a gnarled hand. “Besides, the guardian can take on many different forms. You’ll need to use your senses to find them, not your eyes. Heck, even Hot Britches there could feel them if he bothered to listen.”

Custodis swiveled his head my direction, cocking a brow. “Hot Britches?”

“It’s nothing.” I dodged his curious gaze. “Fine, then. We’ll spread out and meet back here at…”

I turned to Yaga only to catch the back of her hustling form. Her direction—the nearest booth pedaling tankards of fermented moon berries. “I swear that old woman is going to be the death of me.”

“What is it, exactly, I’m supposed tofeel?” Custodis asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Sometimes, for me, Hathor’s energy is like a tugging sensation in the center of my chest.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me, and I exhaled an irritated sigh. It wasn’t an easy thing to describe.

“Perhaps we should stick together.” There was no point in sending him out to scout alone when he didn’t know what he was searching for.

My stomach chose that moment to let out a yowl.

“Food first, then,” Custodis said.

“Agreed.”

We selected a pub that wasn’t overly crowded and settled into a table in a secluded area. I glanced away from scanning the crowd to find Victor staring at me. “What?” I touched my face, a jolt of worry washing over me. “Is my glamour slipping?”

“Just reflecting on our first date,” he quipped.

I lowered my hand, snorting. “Oh. Date. Ha, ha. You mean the one where you sacrificed me to the king’s soldiers to save yourself?”

“I seem to recall it was the one where you clapped me in chains in order to sell me to a gangster.”

“Good times.” I smirked, sipping from a tankard of ale we’d ordered earlier. My half-eaten meat pie rested before me.

Between the cozy atmosphere, my full belly, and—make that mysecondtankard—I was in a rare mood. A mellow mood. The first I could recall in a long while. Sure, Idris’s men were hunting us, and we were on a mission to find a rare, shapeshifting temple guardian. But right now, that seemed a far-off threat.

Also, it was literally my mission to make sure Custodis had a good time.

Seated in the corner, a musician strummed his lute, singing a gentle ballad. In the middle of the room, a circular pit crackled with playful flames. The comforting scent of roasted meat and flakey baked goods settled over me like a warm blanket.