Numbly, Anna nodded.

“Don’t tell ’em it’s m’brother,” she continued. “What they don’ know, they cain’t tell McDaran iffen he comes ’round usin’ his Glory on ’em. Don’t tell thet t’Josh, neither.”

“But—”

“What he don’t know, he cain’t tell Jolene, an’ cain’t tell McDaran,” she said sternly. “Would not surprise me a-tall iffen it was Jolene thet tol’ McDaran ’bout y’all in th’ fust place, oncet she found out y’all an’ Josh was courtin’.”

Anna felt as if yet another plank in an increasingly shaky support had been knocked out from under her. “But—why?” she wailed.

“T’git y’all outen th’ way, a’course,” Jinny said, as if she was an idiot. “She ain’t human. Y’all might thank she was yore friend, but thet don’t make y’all her friend. McDaran uses Earth Glory, same as she does, an’ accordin’ to Granpappy, she’s got as much innerest in miners as she does crafters. Which means she don’ give two hoots an’ a holler ’bout what them mines does t’ the land around ’em, I reckon. I figure she’s as innerested in helpin’ him as in helpin’ y’all. An’ she purely does not thank like a human woman. An’ I warned y’all.” Jinny sniffed. “Tarnation, by her lights, she might figger she’s a-doin’ y’all a favor, by puttin’ y’all with someone with more magic power an’ more money than Josh. Y’all cain’t hold her t’what humans thank is good an’ proper. She ain’t human.”

“I’ll ’member,” Anna promised, her stomach turning and churning and tears rising up in her throat until they practically choked her. “Please, Aunt Jinny, lemme go!”

Jinny released her elbow. “Go,” she said. “An’ git right back here. They’s a limit t’what I c’n do t’ pertect y’all.”

She flew out into the deep gray morning, in too much of a state to care about the chill ground on her bare feet. She cursed herself now for not having thought of using the scrying mirror to keep watch on Josh, so she could have had those last few hours to cherish when they were torn apart. There was scarcely any light under the trees in the lane, and she stumbled and nearly fell too many times to count, only momentum and the need to see Josh keeping her on her feet.

But when she emerged from the trees, she stopped dead for a moment.

She knew immediately that something was wrong, because the farmhouse had lights in every window, and Holcrofts running in and out of every door.

As she sped toward the house, Maddie somehow caught sight of her in the dim light, and waved frantically at her, face full of relief. “Anna!” she called, as soon as Anna was within hailing distance. “Y’all got Josh with y’all, right?” Her voice turned from relieved to a combination of relief and scolding. “What was y’all thankin’ of, gallivantin’ aroun’ in the woods this time of—”

But her words brought Anna to a paralyzed halt, and Anna was close enough for Maddie to see what must have been her expression of horror. “N-n-n-no!” Anna stammered. “I ain’t seed him since yesterday! I jest come a-runnin’ down here t—where’s Josh?”