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Thea gaped. ‘How has Artos not found out? Even with the shield? Have there been breaches?’

‘In eight years? A handful,’ Anya replied. ‘But we’re careful, as careful as we can be. That’s why we let the majority of the midrealms think the worst of us. It stops anyone looking at this patch of darkness too closely. No one suspects that the University of Naarva and its surrounding grounds holds a rebel force.’

‘And what do you do with a bunch of flowers against wraiths and reapers?’

‘We extract the essence, treat our weapons with it. Over the years we’ve perfected the formula so that a blade imbued with sun orchid extract can be as powerful against a reaper as a Naarvian steel sword.’

Thea blinked. ‘You didn’t want to tell me that before I went through three deadly trials to obtain one?’

Anya laughed. ‘We needed a lightning-wielding Warsword in the mix regardless.’

Thea thought back to the strange sphere Talemir had handed her, the exploding device she’d used in the prison. ‘You’re not just treating blades with the stuff, are you?’

Anya shook her head. ‘Why do you think we wanted Thezmarr’s alchemists on hand?’ She spoke the words with a playful glint in her eyes.

Movement blurred in Thea’s peripheral vision. ‘Althea Nine Lives!’ cried a familiar voice.

Thea barely had time to brace herself as Wren tore away from the flowerbed and crashed into her, almost crushing her in a bear hug.

‘What in the realms…’ Thea muttered, squeezing her back once the shock had ebbed away.

‘Told you we needed them,’ Anya shrugged.

Thea looked over Wren’s shoulder. ‘Are Samra and Ida —’

Wren shook her head. ‘We couldn’t take every alchemist from Thezmarr. They volunteered to remain at the fortress, though they’re working for us. The sun orchids have advanced some of our developments drastically.’

The realisation dawned on Thea instantly. She turned her attention back to Wren. ‘You designed that thing,’ she said. ‘The ball that exploded with gold and turned all the wraiths to ash?’

Wren broke away and sketched a bow. ‘Obviously. That kind of genius doesn’t grow on trees, Thee.’

‘How long have you been here?’ Thea asked, looking from Anya to Wren in disbelief. The last time she’d seen them together, Wren had been far from friendly, but now… There seemed to be an ease between the two, a familiarity that sparked a pang of envy in Thea.

‘I didn’t return to Thezmarr after we all met in Aveum,’ Wren explained. ‘And thank the Furies I didn’t —’ A quiet gasp sounded from Wren as her gaze fell to the scar on Thea’s wrist. ‘Thee…’ she murmured, her voice strained. ‘What did they do to you?’

But unlike with Wilder, Thea found she couldn’t talk of it. Instead, she said, ‘It aches. All the time.’

Wren hesitated, just for a moment, before nodding to herself. ‘I’ll make you a salve when we get back. I have just the thing.’

‘Thank you.’

Thea could feel Anya’s eyes on them, could feel the distance that a lifetime apart had created. Wren seemed to sense it too.

‘Can we show her, then?’ she asked, turning to Anya. ‘She’ll love it.’

Anya shrugged. ‘Why not?’

Bewildered, Thea followed her sisters from the field of sun orchids. As they walked, Wren eagerly built upon what Talemir had told her about the nearby alchemy academy.

‘Before the fall of Naarva, it was the most highly regarded institution for alchemy novices. People came from all over the midrealms to attend,’ she told them. ‘It was known for producing the most elite master alchemists in history, Farissa included.’

‘Has she told you much about it?’ Thea asked.

Wren shook her head. ‘It disbanded when the kingdom fell to the shadow wraiths. Its scholars and masters were swallowed up by the world… But its archives were touted as the most extensive on record.’ Her voice was wistful. ‘What I would have given to see it.’

‘Maybe after…?’ Thea ventured.

Wren gave a sad smile. ‘It’s nothing but a shell now, Thee.’