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T eryn paced the clearing, feeling as if he were going out of his mind. A chill had crept down his spine when he’d witnessed Cora and Valorre disappear, and it hadn’t left since. He stared at the empty space she’d occupied. The plan had been for her to try to find the Forest People, travel there, and return at once.

“Shouldn’t she be back already?” he voiced aloud.

Berol gave him no answer. She seemed fully unperturbed as she preened on the oak branch.

He shook his head. Had it been five minutes? Ten? Thirty? Or had it merely been seconds that felt like hours?—

Sound and motion filled the clearing. He halted his pacing and found Cora and Valorre in nearly the same place they’d vacated. His heart leaped into his throat, half with relief, half with surprise. Even though he’d been expecting her, he wasn’t sure he could ever get used to seeing someone appear from thin air. Berol too had lost her composure and was rapidly flapping her wings, squawking at the newcomers.

Teryn rushed to Cora and framed her face with his hands. She looked slightly pale and unsteady on her feet. “Are you all right? Did something happen?”

Despite her pallor, she grinned, and the sight set him at ease. “I’m a little tired, but everything went fine. I found them. I truly found them. Now Valorre and I both have a clear image of the location. That will greatly aid my efforts when I return with Mareleau and Noah in tow.”

“And Berol,” he reminded her. It would be even harder waiting for his falcon to return with word that their party had made it and had physically reached the camp, but at least it would be something.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, and Berol.”

He let out a heavy breath and folded his wife in his arms. Perhaps he was being overprotective, but soon they’d part ways and he wouldn’t be there to protect her at all. If this was his last chance to fuss over her, he’d take it. He planted a kiss on the top of her head. “You have no idea how tormenting it was to watch you disappear.”

“I have some idea,” she said, and the serious note in her voice reminded him that she had witnessed similar terrors. Not with him turning fully invisible, but his soul leaving his body. A blood mage taking over. Or when Teryn had nearly died.

They stepped apart and Valorre tossed his mane with a snort.

Cora’s smile turned wry. “Valorre wants to know if it was torment watching him disappear too.”

He wanted to laugh, but Valorre’s earlier tantrum had him steeling his expression. “Oh, very.”

Valorre must have been pleased by that because he seemed to stand a little taller as he shook out his mane.

“We should return.” Cora strode over to the oak tree and extracted a bow and quiver from behind it. Shouldering her weapons, she said, “I might need these for our travels.”

That of course had his protectiveness flaring yet again. The thought of her being in any sort of danger made him want to discard his duties as king consort and insist on coming with her. But he knew better. Not only could his wife protect herself, but with her absent, he was the only one who could protect Khero and Ridine Castle. Staying behind was his way of protecting her. His eyes flicked to her waist where the dagger he’d gifted her hung from her belt. That eased his panic even more, for he was fully aware of her skills with a dagger.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, as if she could read his mind. “Besides, I’m not leaving just yet. We have some time.”

He nodded, but his mind lingered on the last word. They hadn’t fully set a time for Cora, Mareleau, and Noah to leave. They hadn’t even determined if it would be today or if they’d wait for the following morning. He supposed it would depend on the severity of Mareleau’s discomfort with the collar as well as how dire the situation with the dragons had become overnight. He hadn’t heard a single roar or wingbeat while they’d been in the woods. If they were lucky, the creatures could have fled back through the Veil, unable to sense Mareleau’s magic.

Teryn’s hope was short-lived. After Cora worldwalked them back to their suite, a missive from Lord Hardingham awaited outside their bedroom door. A council meeting would commence at once to address the latest developments with the dragons. Teryn and Cora rushed to get ready, not even bothering to call upon their servants to aid them, and hurried to the council room.

There they got their answer for how dire the situation had become.

The first report stated more crops had burned. The second reported dragon sightings all over the kingdom and beyond. The final, however, detailed the burning of a farmhouse. The family of four that lived there. And the father who had died in the flames.

Teryn’s stomach dropped to his feet. He and Cora didn’t have time after all.

Only for goodbye.

Four innocuous words were now the most hated in Mareleau’s vocabulary: it’s time to go . Cora brought these words to her door, and as much as she wanted to argue, she didn’t dare. She’d heard the report too. Larylis had told her after she’d insisted on his honest summary of the council meeting he’d attended with Cora and Teryn. After that, she’d known it was only a matter of time before Cora came to give the official word that they had to leave.

At least Mareleau was—hopefully—closer to comfort. Sleeping in the collar had been even more uncomfortable than sleeping while pregnant. If leaving now meant she could soon forgo the godsforsaken device, then she at least had one bright side to look forward to.

She forced herself to focus on that alone as she prepared for her journey with shaking hands. Larylis was gathering his party for his own travels, and Noah was sleeping in his bassinet. Mareleau was left on her own in her bedroom to pack for a journey she still struggled to reconcile. She’d never traveled without a retinue. Without maids and a coach. What the hell was she supposed to bring for a magical trek to visit a mystical commune in the woods? How the seven devils was she supposed to prepare?—

A gentle hand fell over hers, stilling her trembling fingers as she fumbled with the chemise she was stuffing into the leather traveling bag.

Helena spoke in a calm tone. “Allow me.”

Right. Mareleau wasn’t fully alone. Her mother was here too. She faced Helena, blinking back tears. Helena made no mention of Mareleau’s undignified crying nor the sheer number of small, tangled braids that wove through her tresses, courtesy of Mareleau’s habit to braid when she was anxious. Instead, she simply smiled and gestured for Mareleau to step aside.

Despite Helena’s kind expression, her eyes were shadowed with dark circles. They’d spoken for a long while last night, shedding tears as Mareleau finally confessed all the truths she’d been hiding. Helena now knew how her husband had died. How the last contact Mareleau had had with her father was a gifted blanket that she’d later lost to the fire. Something had changed between them ever since. Something small and fragile existed where there once had been a wall of thorns. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t exactly warm, but it was open. That was enough.

She stepped back and allowed Helena to take her place before the bag that was perched at the foot of Mareleau’s bed.

Helena moved slowly, calmly, extracting everything Mareleau had packed, then sifting through each item. In the past, Mareleau would have railed at her mother for inserting herself into her business, but this didn’t feel like nitpicking, nor a way for Helena to demonstrate superiority. This felt like care. This felt like something a mother would do.

“Queen Aveline said you wouldn’t need much,” Helena said, “as the people you are visiting will have plenty of resources for you and Noah. Let’s pack a spare nursing gown, underclothes, and swaddling. That will be enough.”

Mareleau’s throat constricted as she watched her mother pack the bag. Something Helena had likely never had to do for herself.

Yes, something had changed between them indeed. Mareleau hoped it would continue to grow when she returned.

Once Helena finished packing the bag and faced her daughter with a proud look, Mareleau did something she rarely felt inclined to do.

She hugged her mother.

As soon as the sun had set, Larylis walked with Mareleau to Ridine’s stables, his wife’s bag slung over his shoulder and his son in his arms. He tried to memorize the precious shape and weight cradled against his chest. Noah was so small. So light, even in the layers of swaddling he was wrapped in. It was agonizing that Larylis even felt the need to treasure this moment, to treat holding his son as a last memory. Yet it would be a final moment, for a short time at least.

The seven gods were cruel to separate them like this. He only hoped that when Cora worldwalked Mareleau and Noah home to Verlot Palace after they accomplished their task with the Forest People, he’d be there too. And not fighting on Vera’s shores against King Darius’ army.

That gave him an unwanted chill. He’d hardly slept a wink last night and probably wouldn’t until he received confirmation about Darius’ fleet. He’d received no word that it had been spotted yet. Of course, the ships could already be approaching Vera’s shores. The news would be delayed by the rate a messenger horse could travel. It was the worst kind of anticipation, like being poised barefoot on shattered glass, waiting to feel the sting of the cut.

He shook the thoughts from his mind and refocused on Noah in his arms. His son was content, freshly nursed, and awake. The last light of the setting sun painted his chubby cheeks pink, the only part of him visible from his swaddling. Larylis was grateful that the night was decently comfortable for the end of winter, absent of icy wind or torrents of rain. A small consolation.

Too soon they reached the closed doors to the stables. Captain Alden stood outside—the only other person they’d come across on their way here. Cora had arranged things so they could leave privately, without stirring too much gossip or concern. They hadn’t refuted the story that Mareleau had already returned to Vera, and the official statement regarding Cora’s upcoming absence was that she would lead another scouting party to the Khero-Vinias border. Easy-to-digest lies for the councilmen and allies who weren’t privy to the full truth.

Alden nodded and stood aside, granting them entry. As they paused before the doors, Larylis glanced at Mareleau. She lifted her chin and threw back her shoulders, despite that awful device she still wore, then let out a shaky breath.

“Are you ready?” he asked, shifting Noah’s weight to one arm so he could brush his fingertips against hers.

Her shoulders dropped and she gave him a sad smile. “No. But…yes.

They found Teryn and Cora already inside. Teryn greeted them with a nod. Berol, perched upon Teryn’s shoulder, chirped at seeing Larylis. Exhaustion etched the lines of Teryn’s face, and Larylis knew then that there was one person who felt like he did. Yet even they couldn’t find comfort in each other’s company for long. Come morning, Larylis would depart with his retinue.

Larylis’ gaze shifted to Cora, who was busy saddling a horse.

Only…it wasn’t a horse. It was Valorre.

A unicorn.

Getting saddled.

Now he understood another reason why Cora had demanded such secrecy and had wanted to wait until just after nightfall. She’d smuggled a unicorn onto castle grounds. While the existence of unicorns had become somewhat accepted by the greater public over the last several months, most citizens had never seen one. It would certainly cause quite a stir if any of the servants spotted Valorre.

Larylis couldn’t help feeling awed at his proximity to the creature. He’d seen the unicorn charging through the battlefield at Centerpointe Rock, but he hadn’t met him face to face. If his heart weren’t so heavy, he’d be amused at the sight of the majestic fae animal with a saddle on his back.

“There’s a unicorn,” Mareleau said, pulling up short.

Right. She must be shocked. While Larylis had at least glimpsed Valorre with his own eyes, Mareleau had never seen a unicorn in person.

Cora lifted her gaze from the saddle’s buckle. “Mareleau, please meet Valorre.” Her words were kind yet edged with impatience or fatigue. Then she added, “Yes, Valorre, you look incredibly fashionable.”

Valorre tossed his mane then shifted his head toward Teryn.

Cora rolled her eyes and addressed Teryn. “Valorre wants to know if you think he’s fashionable.”

Teryn extended a hand and patted the side of the creature’s neck. “Oh, I think you look incredibly dashing.”

Valorre whinnied as if Teryn’s praise pleased him, while Berol nipped Teryn’s cheek from her place on his shoulder. He idly scritched her feathers to placate her too.

“You’re saddling him,” Mareleau said. “A unicorn.”

Cora tugged on the buckle, testing that it was secure, then straightened and brushed her hands on her gray wool cloak. Beneath it, she wore a simple wool skirt and matching top. Mareleau too had chosen her plainest nursing gown for her travels, though her fur-lined Aromir wool cloak betrayed her status.

“I figured this would be the easiest way to use my abilities with all of us,” Cora said, retrieving a quiver of arrows from the stable floor and securing it to the saddle. “You will mount Valorre with Noah, Berol will perch on the pommel, and I’ll worldwalk while touching Valorre’s side. That should bring us all to our destination.”

Mareleau scoffed. “ Should ? That word doesn’t inspire my confidence, Cora. And I’m supposed to mount a…unicorn? Sit in a saddle holding my infant son?”

Larylis shared her reservations. Panic flared sharply inside him, but he reminded himself that Queen Constantina of Rovana had led her army to victory with her newborn son in one arm and her sword in the other, dripping with the blood of her enemies. Not that he wanted Mareleau doing anything as reckless as Queen Constantina. At least Cora had cushioned the saddle in blankets and furs.

Cora grimaced. “It’s sidesaddle. I figured you’d prefer that.”

Mareleau threw her arms in the air. “Yes, well, it doesn’t negate that my lower bits were stretched to oblivion mere days ago.”

“It’s just while I’m using my abilities,” Cora said. “We can walk the rest of the way as soon as we get to our destination. And…if you really don’t want to come, you don’t have to, Mare.”

Larylis’ breath snagged on an ember of hope.

Yet did he truly hope she’d stay behind? Remain in that painful collar for even a second longer than necessary? The ember cooled, and he realized it hadn’t been hope at all, merely selfishness.

Mareleau finally replied, “Fine, I’ll mount the unicorn.”

Valorre snorted and scraped a hoof on the floor. Cora released a long-suffering sigh before turning a pleading look at Mareleau. “He wants to know if you think he looks fashionable too.”

That seemed to drain Mareleau of her ire. Her expression went slack before a slight smile curved her lips. “I think he’s beautiful.”

After Cora finished preparing Valorre’s saddle with all their belongings, Teryn retrieved a mounting block. Mareleau marched up the block and climbed into the saddle with practiced ease, wincing only slightly as she shifted in her seat. Now it was time for Larylis to release the bundle in his arms.

His eyes burned as he approached his wife. He stared down at Noah’s face one last time, studying his eyelids that had fluttered closed, the sweet, furrowed look on his face as he slumbered. Gods, his heart ached. He hated this wordless goodbye. Hated the way his heart was being cleaved in two as he climbed the mounting block and gently transferred Noah into Mareleau’s arms. Tears trailed down his wife’s cheeks. He leaned forward and met her lips with a brush of his own.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“And I you,” she replied, voice trembling.

He slowly stepped down from the mounting block, feeling colder with every inch of space he placed between him and the two people he loved most. From the corner of his eye, he saw Cora step out of Teryn’s arms, caught Teryn swiping a hand over his cheeks. Berol launched from Teryn’s shoulder and landed on the saddle’s pommel.

“There’s one last thing to do,” Cora said, tone wary. “We need to remove the collar. Otherwise, it could interfere with my abilities.”

Larylis’ heart leaped into his throat. “Is that safe?”

Cora angled her head toward him. “The dragons might sense her magic, but we’ll be gone before they can locate her here. And when we get to where we’re going, I can put it back on.”

Mareleau’s expression sagged as if she dreaded both having it removed and replaced. “Do it,” she said through her teeth. “Let’s get this over with.”

Cora climbed the mounting block and reached for the collar with both hands. The cuff opened on its hinge. Larylis’ gaze locked on the twin lines of blood that trailed down his wife’s neck, but Cora wrapped a strip of gauze loosely around where the collar had been. He had to grit his teeth to keep from interfering, to stop himself from begging her to stay.

He was half in a daze as Cora pocketed the collar, stepped down from the mounting block, and placed her hand on Valorre’s flank.

Larylis watched, hardly breathing, not daring to blink.

One second.

Two.

Cora took a subtle step forward.

Then they were gone.

Gone.

And Larylis felt as if all the warmth and light had been leached from the world.