She emerged from behind a honeysuckle bush, wearing casual gardening clothes but with her red hair immaculately styled. “Adrian,” she said, by way of greeting. “You’re hard to find in sleep these days. I can’t tell what schedule you’re on.”

“Not much of any,” I admitted. “Haven’t had much sleep, really. We’ve been busy.”

“I’ve gathered as much. Rumor has it the Alchemists know you left Court now.”

“Afraid so.” I leaned against a palm tree. “You could have called if you wanted to talk.”

She nodded. “I know. But I wanted to chat face-to-face. There was also something you could only see in a dream. Or rather, someone.”

It took me a moment to realize what she meant. “Nina.”

Sadness filled Sonya’s features. “Yes. Her waking condition hasn’t changed very much. She’s not exactly comatose, but she’s also not particularly responsive. If you put food in front of her, she’ll eat it. Turn on a shower, she’ll stand under it. But she makes few decisions that aren’t initiated for her. And she never talks.”

The shock of that news made me reel, and I used a small bit of spirit to create a bench to sit on. “Is there any hope for improvement?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Sonya sat beside me. “I mean, I’m praying there is. I never want to say there’s no hope. But that spirit overload . . . it was too much, with too little preparation. She was in such a fragile state already from excessive use and in no way prepared to handle what she summoned. The scarring from it was formidable.”

My heart plummeted. “I should have stopped her somehow.”

“I don’t think you could have, Adrian. She was intent on doing whatever she thought she had to do to find her sister.”

I hesitated, almost afraid to speak my next words. “I found her. I found Olive and learned why she ran. But . . . well, the story doesn’t exactly have a happy ending.”

Sonya didn’t press me for details. “I’m not sure I’d tell her that.”

“Tell her?” I asked.

“Yes. That’s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you. When Nina wouldn’t respond in person, I tried reaching her in spirit dreams. That didn’t work either at first. Then I was able to—in a way. I’ll show you.”

She fell silent and stared off at a clearing in the garden. After several moments of intense concentration, a huge rectangular block of stone appeared. A small opening was cut into it, but that opening was covered in bars. I stood up and peered inside, gasping at what I saw. Nina sat there in the small stone cell, on the floor, wrapped in shadows.

“Nina!” I exclaimed.

She stared off at the stone wall, saying nothing, her face expressionless.

“Nina? Can you hear me?”