“Exactly.” Audrina nodded as though Ren had just proven her point. “If she let you all stay hidden, someday you might rise up to bite her in the backside. Especially if she makes moves to do something hugely unpopular, like reinstating Genalese rule over the Reaches. Better to get you three out in the open now. Ruin your reputations, destroy you publicly, so there’s nobody with even a hint at a counterclaim. Then, when she takes the throne, Kolonya is out of options. The country has no choice but to follow her into any mess she wants.”

Ren let the idea digest. “Sun above. And if Father dies now, she won’t even need to wait for the child to grow up. She’d become regent in the baby’s stead.”

Audrina lifted one shoulder, let it fall. “It’s what I would do, in her shoes. The best option is to become the only option.”

Ren’s expression darkened. “Not if we can help it.”

17

Zofi

To celebrate Zofi’s return, a huge bonfire had been built in a clearing of the swampland, on high ground. Massive torches burned around the outer rim, each one laced with sweet-smelling fruit peels to keep the vampyre flies at bay. Even now, with Essex-set approaching, the party was still going strong. Every Traveler in the band had come out, though a few rotated back to the campsite on watch, making sure not to leave it entirely unguarded.

Zofi’s heart ached. If she seemed insecure, a little out of place and not quite home yet, nobody seemed to mind. They kept her drinking horn full and her plate overflowing, and no one asked what had happened in Kolonya. Her band knew Zofi would only talk once she felt ready.

As for her other home, well, the stormwing had flown back to Vidal at sunset, holster empty, letter delivered. Akeylah must have received the cure. She would either work it or not. Andros would recover or he wouldn’t.

None of that was Zofi’s concern anymore. Kolonya was another lifetime, one she needed to forget.

She’d grown up on the move, leaving town after town in the dust. Why did this feel so much more difficult?

She whirled across the dance floor, trading partners every few bars of the song that Ina and Kant fiddled. Off to the side, little Pyra had picked up her mother’s flute to join in, and Zofi was startled at how good the girl had grown in just the few weeks Zofi had been away.

What else has changed?

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and grabbed Bette’s hand to swing across the muddy, trampled grass. Her breath came short, half from the dancing, half from laughter. When Bette finally swung her to a halt, she stumbled off to the side, dizzy. There, she spotted Norren’s partner, Rull, teaching Vidal the jump-twist.

Or trying to.