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The closest building appears to be an inn, a wooden sign swinging above the doorway, its paint too faded to be legible.

We urge the horses forward, stopping near a cluster of stalls. A short, slight woman stands at the first stall, her hands moving quickly as she ties bundles of dried herbs with thin twine. She sweeps her gaze over us, looking entirely unimpressed.

“What do you want?”

“Food,” Calysian says, swinging himself down from his horse. “And supplies.”

“You’re going into the swamp.”

“Yes. We’ll also need to stable our horses.”

She spares him another glance, her eyes flicking to me before returning to her work. “You’ll find bread and salted meat a few stalls down. If you’re looking for better, you’ve come to the wrong place.”

“How did you know we’re going into the swamp?” I ask.

She raises one brow, tying off her current bundle and placing it in a pile with the others. “You’re not covered in mud, so you can’t be travelingoutof the swamp. And we’ve seen a steady stream of visitors passing through for the past several days.”

My skin prickles. Just as I’d anticipated, the soldiers have made it here first.

“What kind of visitors?”

When her lips thin, Calysian places a gold coin on her stall. It’s more money than she has likely seen in her life, but she merely slips it into her pocket with a nod.

“I have a feeling you know what kind of visitors. The kinds of visitors who have removed their uniforms and traveled into our kingdom, hunting for something within our swamp.”

Calysian’s eyes meet mine.

“We heard screams last night,” the woman continues, a slight smile playing around her face. “Our swamp does not take kindly to those who seek to destroy it in order to get what they want.”

I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry. “You speak of it as if it’s almost…alive.”

“That swamp was ancient long before the fae were ever created,” she says. “It does not take kindly to those who would attempt to burn their way through it.”

I shiver. “Thank you for the warning.”

“I’ll give you another one. Beware the Blightmere Serpent.”

Unease ripples through me. The last time I visited this swamp, I approached from the west, traveling just deep enough to find a suitable hiding spot. This time, we’re approaching from the northeast, which means we’ll need to spend much more time traveling within the swamp itself—directly through the heart of Blightmere.

I wish we could travel around the outskirts, but we’d lose too much time. Precious time we need to catch up to Vicana’s soldiers.

Calysian gives the woman a grave nod. “Thank you for your help.”

We move toward the stalls she pointed out, loading up on food and water. By the time we’re ready to leave, the sun is high in the sky.

Calysian glowers at the stable, and Fox tosses his head as if instantly rejecting the thought. But we can’t take the horses with us. Unstable ground, sinkholes, mud, twisted roots, insects…

Fliora’s voice echoes through my head.

“You need to take the horses.”

“We are.”

“Not now. Later. When you think you shouldn’t take them, you’re wrong.”

I heave a sigh. “We have to take them.”

Calysian snorts. When I don’t dismount, he glowers at me. “You’re serious.”