THERE IS A balcony of rough-hewn stone carved into the castle above the dining hall. While the rest of the celebration had frozen, by some unspoken agreement, the three of us decided that we couldn’t stay there. Didn’t want to see or feel the presence of a crowd. We walk up the curving stone staircase three across, each step one more thought or question building in the silence.

When we reach the top, we move as a group to the wide wall. The clouds overhead are thick and enormous in the sky, brightened by the full moon behind them. Across the moat and wall, a body of water reflects the light, mirroring the sky.

“Like a memory,” I murmur.

Sel and Nick follow my gaze. Sel sees farther than Nick does, and combs the bank on the other side of the lake. “What is like a memory?”

“The reflection on the lake,” I explain. “It looks like the sky above, but there are small differences. Movement in the water. One is preserved, while the other shifts.”

“I see.” Sel turns away from the water, leaning on the wall to face us. “We are in Arthur’s memory, but we’ve stepped away from it, for now.”

Nick leans over the balcony with both elbows on the stone. We both wait for what we expect to come next.

“I won’t ask you to explain yourself,” Sel begins.

“I’m not sure I could if you did,” responds Nick.

“I will ask you where you are now. If you are safe.”

Nick answers. “I am safe.”

Sel waits for Nick to reply to the rest. Narrows his eyes, glares at the stone floor. Clenches his jaw. When it’s clear the answer is not coming, he curses. “Goddamn you, Nicholas.”

“I need time,” Nick says evenly. “I’ve never had time to myself, Sel.”

“How much time?” Sel demands. “To do what?”

Nick folds his hands together. “To figure out how to stop this.”

“The war?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “To stop the cycle.”

I suck in a breath. Sel’s voice is low and dangerous. “There is only one way to stop the cycle, Nicholas, and you had better not be considering it.”

Nick’s head jerks around. “Jesus fucking Christ, Selwyn. Do you really think I could kill Bree?”

“I really think you should explain yourself!” Sel retorts.

I step between them before things escalate. “No, he doesn’t think that!” I release a breath. “But there is a lot of that going around.”

Nick flips to face us both. “Which is why I want to find another way.”

“What way?” Sel asks.