“Sophie,” Claire said, her voice low, “maybe you should stay here, in the forest. If Estelle catches you … I mean, it’s your heart she wants.”

Sophie reached out and tucked a wayward curl behind Claire’s ear. “Don’t think about Estelle,” she whispered. “Think about the unicorn instead.” Delight danced across her face. “I’ve never met the unicorn in real life. I was unconscious when you released him from the rock.”

Sophie wasn’t scared at all! She was excited. Claire didn’t know whether to be impressed or exasperated. And before she could make up her mind, there was the crack of reins, and the mare kicked up to a trot. They were on their way.

Sophie scooted over to whisper plans with Sena. Alone, Claire pressed her forehead to the side of the cart and peered out between the planks to watch as they burst out of the forest and into a small meadow flanked by a large hill.

Though a purple twilight streaked across the sky and shadows made everything hazy, she knew exactly what she’d find on that hill. The dark ruins of a castle. A forgotten garden, lush with moss and blossoms in the summer, and in the middle of that garden, beyond a wall of pillars and arches, there would be a well. A way home.

Claire pulled away from the plank. She couldn’t think about that now.

As they crossed the meadow, Claire could make out the sounds of other travelers. The clanging shields of a marching Forger regiment, and above the beat of their marching, a thin melody—most likely Spinner singers practicing for their moment before the newly crowned queen. She wondered if Lyric would be wearing the same slippers Claire had sketched on with chalk.

As they clattered into the crumbling courtyard of Hilltop Palace, Nett took Claire’s spot by the knothole.

“I see some Tillers I recognize from Greenwood and even Dampwood,” he reported. “There are some Forgers in armor and Spinners in costume, but I don’t think the Gemmers are here yet.”

“Really?” Claire asked, and her spirits lifted slightly. She’d assumed that the Gemmer guild would want to support Queen Estelle, one of their own, but maybe they didn’t want to make the mistakes of their ancestors. The Gemmers of the past had a nasty reputation, and rightfully so. They had made life unbearable for many Forgers and harmed the other guilds with their selfish demands.

Patterns form and stories repeat—that’s what Estelle as Scholar Terra had said in Starscrape Citadel. But perhaps it was possible to shift the story. Break the pattern. Start again …

“Maybe the Gemmers are already inside,” Sena suggested, and Claire’s fragile hope sank back down. If history—like the story of the flute-playing princess who turned into a unicorn—was destined to happen again, then what did that mean for Sophie?