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Despite insisting she didn’t see anything, Tayla doesn’t argue against the edict. As we all square our shoulders to venture off the path, she falls in step next to me, bringing up the rear. “So you must have done this a lot, then?” she asks. “Hiking. Camping. With your dad.”

I can tell she’s trying to sound friendly, but the question is so abrupt, so deliberately casual that it has the exact opposite effect. She’s trying to gauge something about me, but what?

My toes curl in my hiking boots. “Never this deep into the forest.”

“Scary for a kid,” Tayla comments. “Fuck, scary now, too.”

Ahead, Keiffer and Radhika take turns holding branches aside for each other while Evan sails right through them, and Kiara does her best to sidestep. She turns around and makes a face, as if to say, Well, this sucks . Truly, the unmarked paths are too narrow and unwieldy for us to walk two abreast.

Several long strides pass in silence until Tayla finally says, “When Dad got sick, my mom asked your dad to take her to the wishing well. She was going to wish his cancer away, make him better. That was right around the time that those spring break girls from Middle Tennessee got lost. Remember?”

At my “Mm-hmm,” she continues. “The ringleader was trying to impress some boy and convinced all her friends that this would be a great photo op for Instagram. All they needed was a high ponytail, a few White Claws, and makeup that wouldn’t give them an oily T-zone.”

“That was some next-level ‘Not like other girls’ shit,” I mutter, remembering the incident well, even though it was almost a decade ago.

The search and rescue had been all over Prior’s End news, probably because of our proximity to the university in Murfreesboro and the fact that the missing foursome were all photogenic middle-class white girls.

Tayla snorts in disgust. “All those rangers and cops swarming the woods trying to find them. They’d cordoned everything off, they weren’t even letting volunteers in to search.

Even if Mom did somehow convince your dad, there’s no way they would have managed to sneak in.

He advised her to trust the prognosis, that we were lucky the doctors caught it in time. And he was right. Dad pulled through.”

As she talks, she keeps touching the thin gold chain around her neck, which I only notice now is actually a pendant of Saint Anthony, patron saint of lost items—and lost people and souls, for that matter.

“I had no idea. I’m glad your dad is okay now.”

But I don’t know why she’s telling me this. I’m the last person on this luck-forsaken trip she’d want to have a heart-to-heart with. Maybe we’re having a moment? Sharing things, being real?

“Thanks,” she says curtly. She slips the pendant inside her collar. “So it goes without saying that only the reckless, the desperate, the glory seekers, and the sheep think it’s a good idea to come here. Which one are you?”

…not a moment, then. I scoff.

“Tayla, what the actual fuck.”

“See, I don’t think you’re adventurous enough to seek glory, and I don’t think you’re reckless enough to put your mom through this again unless you have a really, really good reason.”

I angrily swat away the vegetation, but the recoil is too fast, and it whips back on me. There must be a thorn because whatever it is stings, leaving a long, thin scratch on the back of my hand.

Tayla studies me like a scientist would a particularly intriguing insect.

“Radhika, glory. She prides herself on being a Prior descendant. Probably thinks finding the wishing well is in her DNA, implausible though it is. Keiffer’s here for her, so, sheep.

Evan’s more of a question mark, but sometimes I get the feeling they think they’re invincible because they can see the future in their tea leaves, so I’ll go with reckless. Then there’s you.”

“Maybe I’m just a good person,” I say, hearing Kiara’s voice in my head and almost believing it.

Heatedly, she says, “You don’t even know how to put up a tent—”

“That could just have been Kiara’s bad luck!” I snap.

“And you don’t have a fucking clue about signs of wonderment,” she hisses.

“So what good is Nova Marwood, really? I mean you’re nice to look at, I suppose, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is exactly that Kiara sees in you.

You’re not even competent and nowhere near good enough for her. ”

Gritting my teeth, I rub at my hand. She’s impossible. I rue ever thinking Machete Mouth wanted to have a moment with me. The only moments she wants are the ones in which she gets to play inquisition.

My silence doesn’t deter her.

“Which leaves… desperate .”

It’s so obvious, the way she lands on it like it’s what she was aiming for all along, crowing and self-satisfied that she’s told me something about myself she’s sure will rattle me.

And it does, but not as much as she thinks.

Because everything she’s told me I already know is the truth: I am not good enough.

“Don’t project your reason for being here onto me,” I snarl, not bothering to match her low tones. I don’t care if anyone overhears, if Kiara knows we’re fighting over her like jealous lovers. Suddenly, my own words land at the forefront of my mind. That’s what this is all about. Of course.

“You’re not just here to save her life,” I realize out loud, narrowing my eyes. “You want her back.”

Her sharp inhale gives her away. When she doesn’t deny it, I shake my head.

“I don’t care why any of you are here, Tayla.

And that trip down memory lane you just told me about those college girls?

The glory seeker and her sheep? You are just like her.

She came out here to impress someone, too, didn’t she? ”

With that, I walk briskly ahead, intent on leaving both Tayla and this conversation in the past.

The other four are crouched around the thick trunk of an enormous tree, something ancient enough to have been here even in Henry Prior’s time.

“I’m telling you, they’ve debunked that myth,” Keiffer says patiently.

I stoop, squeezing myself between his shoulder and Evan’s.

My thighs rebel, muscles screaming their agony.

My most supple, buttery jeans, comfortable to wear for a whole day at school, feel a size too small.

I can’t see what’s so interesting about this tree out of all the other trees here. “What are we talking about?”

Evan looks at me over their shoulder. “The moss. It’s growing on the wrong side of the tree.”

“What’s the wrong side? How can you tell?”

I hate to ask. It only proves Tayla’s accusations.

But the difference between this and what happened with the tent collapse is that now I am unashamed of my ignorance.

Or rather, I am unashamed to admit that someone else has knowledge and skills that I lack.

If I never admit to what I don’t know, how will I learn?

After all, if I’d been here by myself, I wouldn’t have even known about the moss, but Keiffer and Evan obviously do.

Not for the first time, I am inordinately grateful for the Fellowship of the Fling.

“Moss doesn’t like sunlight,” says Evan. “See how this one is facing in the opposite direction from the others? And look at the trunk right behind it, same thing. And the one after that and the one after that.”

“Y-yes?”

“These trees are all in a line, kind of like they’ve been marked. And the moss is growing toward the sun, not away from it.”

“Signs of wonderment.”

They nod. “Exactly.”

“Except,” says Keiffer, “the reality is that moss can grow just about anywhere.”

“He knows what he’s talking about,” says Radhika.

“Isn’t he averaging, like, a C?” This, naturally, comes from Tayla, who doesn’t deign to stoop like we do. She crosses her arms, distinctly unimpressed, looking down on all of us like we’re a bad smell.

Kiara shakes her head in disapproval, but Keiffer ignores the jab.

“Back in the day, the old wisdom was that moss faces north, so people used it as nature’s compass to navigate their way through the forest. But really, all it means is trees have moisture, and moss thrives in the damp and the dark.

This whole forest is covered in shade. Without even a hint of sun, the moss is pretty much spoiled for choice.

Like I said, it can grow anywhere just fine.

” His eyes, a slate gray, cut to Tayla. “And I have an A in biology.”

She flashes her palms at him, actually managing to look contrite. “I stand corrected.”

“Just saying, I don’t think moss is the sign we’re looking for,” says Keiffer. “Honestly, guys, who’s to say that people don’t get lost because they followed this line of thinking?”

“But we have to follow something. Otherwise, what are we doing here?” Tayla’s face is grim with determination.

“Think about it. If the wishing well could be found on the trail, it would hardly be a secret, would it? Anyone could find it just by putting one foot in front of the other.” She smiles at Radhika, knowing just what to say.

“Only a select few are worthy of Henry Prior’s legacy. ”

That’s all it takes to get Radhika on board. She holds her chin a little higher. “I think it’s worth the risk. I mean, it’s for Kiara. Go big or go home.”

Disappointment sinks into Keiffer’s face.

Glory , I think, stomach twisting.

Tayla’s eyes glitter with victory. “Kiara?”

“I…I don’t know. If Keiffer thinks—”

“You’re the reason we’re here.” Tayla implores the Fellowship, “Let Kiara decide.”

Kiara looks like she’s about to be sick. “We should take a vote.”

“But there’s six of us,” interjects Evan. “What if it’s a tie?”

“This isn’t a democracy.” Tayla takes a deep breath then appeals directly to Kiara. “Do you trust me?”

Maybe I should be flattered that Kiara looks at me first, tries to gauge my expression.

I want to save her, but I’m Team Keiffer on this.

If he’s right about the moss, then we could be putting ourselves in more danger by following the wrong signs.

Tayla and Radhika want progress, so of course they’re interpreting the presence of the moss on the wrong side of the tree to be a significant clue.

Isn’t this exactly what Aurora said about tarot readings? Nothing is conclusive. It’s up to us to interpret their meaning.

On the other hand, Tayla’s desperation makes sense.

It seems unlikely that the way to the wishing well would be so easy.

If I’d paid more attention to what Dad was doing when we were in the woods, maybe I wouldn’t be so useless.

Maybe I would be able to stand up to Tayla and convince everyone to follow me.

But the cool, logical mind I’ve relied upon all my life has deserted me. Running through the pros and cons of both choices in my mind doesn’t clarify the situation, only confuses it further.

There are as many reasons to side with Keiffer as there are to side with Tayla.

Playing devil’s advocate is a good way to look at a mystery from all angles, but my mind is a pinball machine, all sharp corners and whizzing balls, a dozen going at a time, picking up speed, only to crash and rebound before I can get my bearings.

“Maybe we should split up,” says Evan.

Radhika’s eyebrows hike up to her hairline. “E, that is an appalling suggestion.”

“I’ve watched enough horror movies to know splitting up is never a good idea,” says Kiara.

Tayla taps her chin. “It’s not a bad compromise, though. We’d cover more ground. And whoever finds the well first sends up a smoke signal. Unless, Nova, you happen to have another walkie on you?”

I shake my head. “Just the one.”

“Are you kidding me? We’re not splitting up.” Kiara’s eyes flare wide. “No way.”

“Then my way it is.” Tayla doesn’t waste a second, looping her elbow around Kiara’s.

She all but drags Kiara away with her, Evan scrambling to keep up.

Kiara throws a frazzled look over her shoulder as if to make sure we’re following, and after an apologetic look at her boyfriend, Radhika falls in line, too.

“Safety in numbers,” she says, already walking away. “We’re better sticking together.”

“This is a huge mistake,” Keiffer mutters, but everything about his body language shouts that he’s giving in. He doesn’t seem to expect a response.

In the distance, something howls its agreement.

Everyone stiffens. But no one asks what animal could have possibly made that sound, like ignoring it will erase the mournful, haunting note from our collective memory. The others march on.

“Yeah,” I tell him hoarsely, swallowing past the panic in my throat. “I think it’s a mistake, too.”

“Oh, I was meaning to ask you when you got back from brushing your teeth.” Keiffer lowers his voice. “Did you happen to borrow some batteries last night? Only there’s some missing.”

“What? No. I’d ask first.”

“I didn’t really think it was you.” He gives me a rueful smile.

“But no one else fessed up to it, either. It’s not a big deal.

I don’t care, it’s whatever, but it’s just that there’s not many left, and I know it was almost full earlier.

And we might need them, so we should know how many we have for the journey home. ”

“Yeah, no, one hundred percent,” I say. “It wasn’t me.”

“Okay.”

“Maybe they just rolled out somewhere. Double-check your backpack pockets.”

He frowns like I’m stating the obvious and of course he’s already done this, but he just nods. “For sure. Just wanted to ask. And, um, were you wandering around last night?”

Both my eyebrows shoot up. “In the dark?”

“We couldn’t sleep for ages. Thought we heard…never mind.” His cheeks turn pink. “Probably just a trick of the wind. Regular old outdoor nighttime noises.”

Cold slinks down my spine. “Keiffer, I don’t remember there being that much wind last night.”

We stare at each other. Neither of us know what to say.

At the next howl, we both break into a run.