Jadren watched him sardonically, waiting for the inevitable admission.

“Regardless,” Gabriel told him, “I’m no fool. I can figure it out on my own. I’m certainly not taking a spy and enemy of House Phel along.”

Far from offended, Jadren only grinned. “El-Adrel and Sammael have been at each other’s metaphorical throats for nearly a century. Why do you think my esteemed lady mother was so eager to place me next door to Sammael lands? Alise can confirm.”

“Confirmed,” Alise said drily. “But the argument that the enemy of my enemy is my friend doesn’t hold much water.”

Jadren chucked her under the chin before she could bat his hand away. “Not long term, it’s true,” he conceded, “but situationally? My mother would be most displeased if I missed the opportunity to spit in Sammael’s face. I’m going with you, even if I have to follow behind, all spy-like.” He wiggled his fingers in what was probably supposed to be a spooky look, and failed.

Alise snorted, but Gabriel saw she suppressed a smile. “I’m coming, too. Nic is my sister, and I won’t be stopped from helping her this time.”

“Great.” Gabriel, aware of Asa’s astute gaze on him, rubbed his throbbing temples. “So we have three wizards and zero familiars. This will go swimmingly.” One part of him wryly observed how quickly he’d gone from refusing to use a familiar to being certain of failure without one.

“I’m going with you,” Selly said, coming into the room. She’d changed into the tough, close-fitting clothing she preferred during her tenures in the wild. In addition, she sported several silver blades Gabriel recognized as the newly enchanted ones, plus a bow and the quiver of Iliana’s arrows. She had her black hair braided back and, though her face looked far too thin and pale still, her brown eyes sparkled with determination, and her magic gleamed silvery sharp with a touch of steam.

To Gabriel’s surprise, it was Jadren who protested first. “You are not going anywhere,” he informed Selly. “I didn’t risk my life and sanity to pull you out of that muck you made of your magic to have you run off and get yourself killed, injured, or captured by Sammael.”

“Is that in order of importance?” she retorted coolly. Gabriel hadn’t at all expected such ready wit from her, and stared at her in some shock.

Jadren, however, took it in stride. “Believe me,” he said, thrusting a finger at her, “you’d rather be dead than Sammael’s captive.”

“That’s why I’m going,” she returned without hesitation. “Nic has been nothing but kind to me. I would be a poor sister to her if I were to sit here with my thumb up my ass when I could help her.”

An awkward silence settled, Alise actually muffling a laugh and Jadren looking infuriated. Asa regarded Selly with academic interest. “Seliah’s mind has been healing rapidly,” he said to Gabriel. “She’s making excellent progress.”

Gabriel hastily revised his mental image of his little sister. She truly wasn’t the skinny-legged gamine of his memories and the vision in the mist. Selly had seemed childlike for so long that he’d missed that she truly had grown up into a woman, older than Nic, even. “Excellent enough progress for her to come along?” he asked Asa without taking his eyes off Selly. She rewarded him with a brilliant smile.