His gaze doesn’t waver. “If you think Ronin can protect you from me, you’re mistaken. Put away your ego and do your job. What do you think threatening royalty will gain you, other than a brief moment of satisfaction over your failure to summon your craft?”

My sword arm wavers. Anger vibrates through me. I sheathe my sword again in one smooth motion and turn away for the stairs. “We’re done here.”

TWELVE

Saengo and I spend the rest of the day combing through the library for books that might mention anything about soulguides. Or, failing that, the fall of the Soulless and the rise of the Dead Wood.

We sit on the hard floor, propped against the shelves, with books piled around us. It feels a little like we’re back at the Company, studying for our next exam. I roll my shoulders to relieve the ache there and notice Saengo lifting a hand to her chest for at least the dozenth time today.

“Are you okay?” I gesture at the way she’s rubbing the skin beneath her collarbones. An echo of pain pinches beneath my own chest.

She lowers her hand. “I’m fine. Just uncomfortable.”

I close the book I was reading with more force than is strictly necessary. “This is useless. Why wouldn’t Ronin focus his attention on why the trees are growing? It doesn’t make sense. He’s hiding something.”

Saengo gives me a patient look. “Sirscha, he’s a centuries-old shaman with control over an undead wood. Of course he has secrets. Everyone with power keeps secrets.”

She tucks an uneven length of hair behind her ear. I’d offered to trim it this morning, but she’d refused. She’d barely been able to look at herself in the mirror.

“But to stop a weed from spreading, you tear it out from the roots. It’s simple gardening.”

“What would you know of gardening?”

I wave away the comment. I’ve never planted anything in my life, and neither has she, for that matter.

“Ronin’s power is waning,” I say. “Why wouldn’t he explore every possible avenue for a solution?”

“What makes you think he hasn’t? He’s not going to provide you a list of everything he’s tried and failed.”

That would be nice, though. “Do you think he already knows why the trees are growing?”

“It would make sense. He’s ruled the Dead Wood for as long as it’s existed.”

“So he doesn’t want me to know, then.”