My gaze fell on Pagiel, who was watching me warily. “We also can’t raid the human world for food.”

He straightened up, and I knew he’d been bracing for this. “Why not? There’s plenty of food there! It just sits around. And most of those humans are fat anyway. They don’t need it.”

I sighed. “That’s not the point. Most humans don’t even know this world exists. They’re not ... ready for it. Plus, what you’re doing is practically an act of war. It isn’t morally right.”

Pagiel crossed his arms and leaned back. “Morals don’t mean much when friends and family are starving to death. And I don’t even think it’s wrong. Humans have plenty. We have none. Taking it from them is better than letting the Yew Land abuse us for their food. That’s robbery right there.”

It was hard to argue against his Robin Hood logic, and seeing his stubborn expression, I knew it would take more than a “talking to” to win him over. Dorian, as his king, might be useful, but my guess was that even if he didn’t actively condone it, Dorian wouldn’t feel the food raids were severe enough to warrant intervention. After all, Dorian was a supporter of the Storm King prophecy. What was a little theft here and there compared to outright invasion? He probably thought Pagiel’s raids were an acceptable warm-up act.

Still, Pagiel’s words brought up another concern. I glanced around at the others. “The Yew Land. What do we know about them?”

“That they suck,” said Jasmine.

“Noted. Anything else?”

Dorian propped his elbow up on the chair’s arm and rested his face in his hand. “Everything suggests they’re responsible, though we have no hard proof.”

Rurik snorted. “No proof? That bitch queen has said she can lift the blight to those who choose to follow her.”

“Yes,” said Dorian, “but she’s very careful with her wording. She doesn’t say she can lift it because she caused it. She acts as though she simply has the power to—if we bend the knee.”

“Same difference,” growled Rurik.

“I concur, but it’s irrelevant. We don’t know enough about their magic to puzzle this out,” said Dorian.

The answer came to me like a slap in the face. “Volusian,” I said.

The others regarded me questioningly. “What about him?” asked Dorian. “I assume he’s as charming as ever, though I wouldn’t know since you went to great pains to keep him away.”

I ignored the jab. “Volusian’s from the Yew Land. That’s where he was cursed. It happened a long time ago, but obviously, they’ve still got some pretty serious magic going on. Maybe he knows something.”

Jasmine leaned forward eagerly. “See? I knew you’d know how to fix this.”