As we walk, Maeve tells us stories of her journey.

“Did you know that there are trees in Abbacho as big as a small mountain? I found an entire grove while I searched there for my children. People reside in them too. One even has a house carved out of the living wood, way high up in the branches.” Her face is animated, and her auburn hair shimmers while she speaks.

I laugh. “That sounds impossible. I can’t even picture it.”

But Sebastian sobers next to me. I’ve been there once, he thinks. I quickly stop laughing. I know precisely what he was doing there. He doesn’t have the luxury of forgetting like the rest of us did.

“Well, it is quite a sight to see. If you ever find yourself in Abbacho, I highly recommend seeking it out.”

Sebastian stares at his shoes. I miss Jemma. She should be here with us.

My thoughts worm into his mind. Don’t worry. Your sister will meet us at the library. Then everything can go back to normal.

He flashes me a half smile, and I leave his thoughts in peace.

“How do you think they grew so big?” I ask Maeve.

“I have no idea. I didn’t think to stop and ask them,” she says with a wink, making me laugh.

“What else have you seen?”

“Many things, child. So many things.” For a moment, a serious expression flits over Maeve’s face, but it’s quickly replaced with a smile. “One of my other favorites was a jungle, deep in the reaches of Abbacho. All sorts of strange flora and fauna abound there. It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.”

Sebastian frowns. “Isn’t the jungle supposed to be dangerous?”

“Oh, very. Snakes as thick as tree trunks, wildcats that can blend in so well you’d never see them until you were their supper. Even the plants might try to eat you. But sometimes the most dangerous things are also the most beautiful.”

Maeve is right. Lady Aisling was once the most beautiful woman I’d ever met, but undoubtedly the most dangerous. I shudder. I wish I could ban all thought of the Lady from my head and just live as though she’d never stolen my life from me. Sometimes I’ve thought about asking Sebastian to remove all memories of my time in Zinnia, not just the really bad ones.

But if I didn’t have those memories, I really would have nothing at all. Even though the scattered memories I have of my time under the Lady’s thumb are unpleasant, they’re still better than nothing.

Soon the trees begin to thin out, and signs of civilization appear. It isn’t long before we find ourselves on a cobbled road and can just make out the rooftops of a village in the distance.

My stomach rumbles. While Maeve has kept us fed, I’m looking forward to not having to ration what she has left among the three of us. Sebastian is thinking the same thing.