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Nymph trees – as close as family members and revered as holy life. I tried to imagine Iorgas and his men making landfall here, red magic flashing everywhere … Even though I hadn't noticed Helenka’s individual grief when I lifted Zera’s bag, even though it was guesswork to figure out what was going on in her mind, it took me very little effort to understand her fears at this particular moment. If she was who I thought she was, Creon had killed her predecessor. All she knew about me was what the Mother’s envoys had told her. And her forest – the forest that formed the heart and soul of her people – was about to be irreparably maimed.

No sense in arguing against that. There was too much hurt here for arguing. The only way to solve that …

I barely heard Tared’s agitated reply as my gaze swerved back to the indigo horizon, to the spine-chilling shapes of the ships that lay waiting for destruction.

‘We could move the battle,’ I said quietly.

Helenka and Tared didn’t hear me, engrossed in their heated discussion. But Lyn spun around to face me, and Creon raised a scarred eyebrow – the first sign of human emotion he’d shown since our arrival on the island.

‘They want me, don’t they?’ The plan shaped itself as I spoke. ‘And Creon, I presume. More than they want to kill a bunch of nymphs they only picked as an arbitrary example anyway. If they were to see us fly by … Don’t you think the main force of their army would go after us instead of attacking the island?’

I didn’t need to elaborate. There was something delightfully ominous to the smile that curled around Creon’s lips, a glimmer of that ruthless, dangerous intent that always lingered just below the surface of him.Interesting thought. They probably would.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Lyn hissed, throwing him a furious glare. ‘You’ve barely recovered from your time with Zera, Em. You’re in no state to take on an entire army.’

‘I do have some new magic to help me out, though.’ I glanced at the sand around my boots. The pastel blue shells were all covered in smooth mother-of-pearl on the inside, a perfect iridescent surface. ‘Excellent motivation to develop a steep learning curve.’

Creon’s smile broadened to a grin of wicked bloodlust; I suspected he may have burst out laughing if not for Helenka’s presence.Your father is going to kill me, cactus.

‘What is that last sign?’ Lyn said, narrowing her eyes at his fingers.

‘Long story,’ I said hastily, because the glint of amusement in Creon’s eyes suggested he was about to make some outrageous claims I didn’t want ending up anywhere near Tared. ‘Look, I know it’s a risk, but it might solve the problem, yes? It’s only …’

The two of us against a full army?Creon finished helpfully.

I pulled a face. ‘Yes?’

The way he bit back his laughter could have sent me swooning into his arms.Yes, that sounds pretty doable.

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake,’ Lyn burst out, loud enough for Tared and Helenka to finally pause their sharp discussion of lives and principles. ‘Don’t be idiots. This would be an extraordinarily bad moment to lose you, Em.’

‘Beg your pardon?’ Tared said.

‘She wants to use herself as bait,’ Lyn snapped. ‘We really can’t take that risk! I know it’s an unpleasant situation, but sending an entire fae fleet after our only … our only unbound mage …’

Unbound. Notgodsworn.The small hesitation in her tirade told me enough: that she didn’t dare trust Helenka with that information yet.

Tared’s glare at Creon told me the blame for this madness had already been allotted. ‘Yes. That sounds rather reckless.’

‘Less reckless for me than for anyone else,’ I said briskly.

He turned to me with a look in his grey eyes that I knew all too well – the same look of tired resignation he’d given me when he told me he’d come along rather than stop me from venturing onto the continent. He wasn’t going to chain me to the trees. He just wasn’t going to be happy about it, either. ‘And I suppose that plan would be executed by you and our princeling here?’

Princeling.I ignored that sting. ‘Consider it from the bright side – I doubt he’ll have time to ogle my ankles while we’re slapping the fae off ourselves.’

Lyn may still have been furious with Creon, but she huffed a laugh at that. Tared just gave me another mildly exhausted look.

‘And what’s the alternative?’ I added, shrugging at him. ‘Do you want him to flyyouto those ships instead? I doubt Iorgas and his men would shove aside their mission just to catch you, even if there were no other objections to that plan.’

By the flash of pure horror on Tared’s face, there were indeed objections to that plan, the first of which was the fact he’d have to spend a full flight cosied up in Creon’s arms. ‘Couldn’t he go on his own? I suppose the Mother wants to get her hands on him almost as much as she’s looking for you.’

Glad to see so much faith in me, Creon signed,but my magic is still bound. I doubt I’d survive.

‘And wouldn’t that be a fucking shame?’ Tared muttered.

‘Tared,’ Lyn snapped.

I risked a glance at Helenka, who had frozen where she stood, eyes still menacingly bright but shoulders sagging. For the first time, her desperate fury seemed to be wavering. In its place had arrived something far more vulnerable – something that might become a flicker of hope if we were very damn lucky.