I have to believe that Kendara might yet be here—she wouldn’t share her intent to commit treason with the prince, after all. But since she isn’t here at this very moment to reveal what she knows of Ronin and the Dead Wood, Prince Meilek will have to do.

“Well, maybe you can help me instead?”

He gestures for me to continue. I tell him about the task Ronin has given me to cull the Dead Wood and bring it back under control. “Ronin wants me to practice my craft, but I think the best way to handle the trees is to find out what’s keeping them there.”

With a heavy sigh, he rubs the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I don’t know more than what we discussed when Ronin summoned you. He can be a bit of a recluse.”

I grind my teeth together. “My best friend is sick. She’s dying, in fact. I can’t save her unless I know why and how the trees are cursed.”

“Why would her life depend on the Dead Wood?”

“It’s a long story, and it’s not important right now. What’s important is that I succeed.”

His gaze is steady as he says, “I wish I knew more. Truly. Kendara would certainly be of more help, but I don’t think she’s here. She’s been missing for days.”

“What do you mean ‘missing’? She does tend to come and go a lot.”

“But only on my sister’s orders. Speaking of which, I never got the chance to apologize about the apprenticeship. Mei and I were both convinced she’d choose you.”

His words sting, but only briefly and not as badly as I expect. Sometime over the last several days, my concerns have grown far beyond me becoming Kendara’s apprentice.

I lift my chin. “That doesn’t prove she’s not here.”

He reaches into a hidden pocket and withdraws a folded slip of paper. “She left a note. For you, in fact. I meant to send it by falcon as soon as I deciphered it, but seeing as you’re here …”

He holds it out. The longer I stare at it, the larger that pit inside me grows. But I will my hand to reach out and take it from him.

My name is scrawled along the back in Kendara’s handwriting. Slowly, so that my hands don’t shake, I unfold the message. The paper slides across my fingertips with a dry hiss.

Inside, she’s written:

Death and rebirth. Aisle 15. Case 34. Bottom right corner. My brows crash together.

“Judging by your expression, I gather you’ve no idea what it means,” Prince Meilek says. “We’ve checked all the storerooms in Vos Talwyn, and I’m working through the warehouses in our port cities that might fit the description. We’ve turned up nothing of significance yet.”