An hour later, precisely on time, the supper arrived. It was a cauliflower soup spiced with enough pepper to make one sneeze, and garnished with a sprig of parsley. And yet, given how hungry Soraya was, the soup was far tastier than it had any business being, especially when consumed on chunks of sourdough dipped into its warmth.

Morg enjoyed the parsley, as well as what was left of the flowers Soraya had picked as they’d passed through Lostwood. Errol scuttled about the room, seeming to chase his own eight-legged shadow.

By the time they’d finished and set their trays outside the room, darkness had fallen in earnest, visible only through the narrow gaps between the wooden planks hammered over the window, tiny sparkling specks of red, gold and blue pinned to the firmament like frozen fireflies.

“See anything?” Shim asked, sitting on the edge of one of the beds.

“Hard to tell. Nothing is moving.”

“A curfew is difficult to enforce. The fact that no one is breaking it tells us how scared they are.”

“Should we pry off a plank or two? We should be able to shimmy our way to the edge of the roof and then find a drainpipe to climb down.”

“Soraya.”

“Ah, yes, this board’s nails aren’t fully pounded in. Should be easy enough to just…” She trailed off, trying to get her fingers beneath the wood.

“Soraya.”

She finally looked up to find Shim staring at her with those serious eyes of his. Like they were pulling her toward him. “What is it?”

“I’m going alone.”

“What? No. I’m coming with you. I’m your partner.”

“Of course you are, which is exactly why we need to split up. If anything happens to me, you can make it back to tell Cintra our story. Do you remember how to find the Rocklands?”

“No. I mean, yes, I do, but I’m not agreeing to this. We’ll return together. Why are you saying all this? You’ve been a Guardian for years, why are you so worried now?”

“No reason. I’m just being cautious. It’s good to be prepared. If all goes well, I’ll be back in less than an hour.”

“And what am I supposed to do while you’re gone?”

“I’ll pay for a warm bath on my way out. You didn’t clean yourself in the marsh. You’re overdue.” He offered a big grin that didn’t reach his golden eyes.

Normally such a comment would earn her companion something thrown in his direction, but Soraya merely chewed her lip. “Tomorrow it’s my turn to go out after dark then.”

“That sounds fair.”

“Swear it.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“Swear it on Narcissi’s glorious boughs.”

“I swear it on Narcissi.”

“Her glorious boughs,” Soraya said.

“I swear on Narcissi’s glorious boughs,” Shim said. “Now can I go before the nightdemon eats half the village?”

“That’s not funny.”

“Not even a little?”

“Not even a little. Here, help me with this plank…”