“It’s unfair that you can heal so fast. But my wound is worth it,” she said, still weak from just coming back from the brink of death but already with a lilt of humor in her voice. “Hana came, and I got to talk to her.”

“She found us and didn’t kill us?”

“Unexpected, isn’t it?” Fairy said, closing her eyes because the sun was too bright.

Daemon conjured an umbrella to shade them with.

Surprised, she let out a small laugh, then told him about her conversation with Sora’s sister.

“Do you think Hana might be considering joining us?” he asked.

“At the very least, I think she has doubts about Prince Gin,” Fairy said. “I’m not sure how strong her misgivings are, so we shouldn’t get our hopes up. But like you said, Hana didn’t kill us when she easily could have. That’s got to count for something.”

“Sora will be glad to hear about this,” Daemon said.

“Oh stars, I forgot about Spirit and Broomstick!” Fairy said. She tried to roll over to reach something, but she cried out and grabbed her ribs.

“Don’t move.” Daemon gently eased her back onto the sleeping mat. “What are you suddenly so worried about?”

“I’m a terrible person. How could I have forgotten? A messenger came from Spirit. Broomstick got hurt in the ice caves. I read the note to you, but I’m not sure how lucid you were.”

Daemon only vaguely remembered it, but he tried to keep calm, for Fairy’s sake. “Where’s the message?”

“Near my bag.”

He retrieved the tiny scroll and read Sora’s brief account of what had happened at Naimo Ice Caves.

“You have to get to Paro Village.” Fairy had closed her eyes. “I don’t think I can travel yet. . . . You have to go alone.”

“What? No.” He put Sora’s message down. “I’m not leaving you here. I’ll stay.”

“You’ll go. We need to remember that there are bigger things at risk than just one of us being in pain. Our entire kingdom is at stake. And don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.

“Bring Broomstick and Spirit here,” Fairy said. “I’ll rest and try to reach Liga. . . .” Her voice trailed away at the end of the sentence, and her breathing slowed. She’d fallen asleep.

Daemon hated to leave her. She looked so tiny and frail, like a doll that might break if touched the wrong way. And yet he knew he was wrong. This was the girl who was constantly underestimated because she was pretty and small. The girl who hadn’t hesitated to disguise herself as the empress and walk knowingly into an assassination trap. She could take care of herself.

Still, he wouldn’t leave Fairy out here in the orchard.