“The Oak Land,” I murmured. Dorian’s kingdom. Even though I knew he’d been affected, it was still incredible to see the reality. Many of the other kingdoms around here had changed since I became a frequent visitor, but the red-hued, perpetual autumn of his realm had remained constant. It was unreal to see a land that had once flourished in vivid color, now so barren and stark.

“Do you want to see Dorian?” asked Roland.

“No,” I said, even though I kind of did. “We’ll stick to the original plan and check in with the Thorn Land first. I need to see my own people.”

Another shifting of the road took us back to the Rowan Land, and still another took us into the Willow Land. I cringed, expecting an ambush, but the world around us remained frozen and silent. The only change was that in addition to the wind that had been constantly blowing, snow now began falling as well. It stung our faces and eyes and continued when we made our next crossing, into the Thorn Land.

Although the land had its own unique feel, its cry for freedom matched that of my other kingdom. I stared around, watching the snow fall, unable to believe that this landscape had once been a mirror of Tucson.

“We’ve got to go off the road now to reach the castle,” I said. “Usually there’s a smaller road or at least a path that splits away, but if there’s anything like that ...” I shook my head at the drifts, unable to differentiate one from another. “Well. It’s buried.”

Roland eyed the snow, which was as high as three feet in some places, depending on how the wind had blown it. The visible parts of his face were red, and I knew he was as cold as me. “This is going to be fun to walk through. You’re sure you know where you’re going?”

“Yeah. I can feel where everything is around here, and the castle’s that way.” I hesitated before continuing. “You probably won’t like this, but I can make things a little easier.”

The blight’s enchantment was too powerful and all-encompassing for me to break or affect on a large scale with my weather magic, but I still had some control over the individual elements. The blight’s greater spell had been to simply lay wintry weather on the land. Once in place, that weather behaved like any other. I summoned my magic to me, gathering the air and already gusting wind. Directing it forward, I made the air blast into the snow ahead of us, serving as a magical snow blower to create a more accessible path. Roland scowled but didn’t protest. He knew as well as I did that we’d be out here all day if we had to trudge through this mess unaided.