“‘Over there’ could mean a lot of things, I’m guessing,” remarked Dorian. His voice was lazy and smooth, but there was an eager glint in his eye. What was a recent problem for me had plagued Dorian and the others for a long time. No doubt he was as anxious as Rurik to finally make progress. “Particularly since none of us have been to Varia’s realm. Can you provide us with a more specific location within the Yew Land?”

“No,” said Volusian. “I am forbidden to cross its borders. The magic that exiled me prevents me from entering.”

“Damn,” I muttered. Volusian was annoying, but he was good in a fight.

“However ...” Volusian hesitated, something I had rarely seen, as though deciding whether or not he should speak. “That spell is old. There’s probably no one alive from the time it was cast. The spells that bind me to you, mistress, are not as strong as that original curse, but they are powerful in their way—and newer.”

I frowned. “What are you saying?”

“One of the most basic and powerful parts of my enslavement to you is that I must come when you summon me. There is a chance that if you commanded me to come to you in the Yew Land, our bonds would be strong enough to bring me to your side—even within that kingdom’s borders.” He paused again, this time for dramatic effect. “Or there is the possibility I might not show.”

“Well, that ambiguous answer aside, the important part right now is that we really don’t have any way of knowing exactly where in the Yew Land these objects are,” I said. “So, if we send people after them, it would be a blind mission.”

“It’s better than nothing,” said Rurik.

Dorian smiled at him. “Crudely put, but true. Our lands can’t go on like this. We need to take some action, no matter how remote our chances are.”

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, watching the flames of the fireplace dance. There were some ugly choices ahead. I didn’t believe much in destiny, but I knew then that this was the reason I had returned to the Otherworld. “I’ll go.”

Roland straightened up. “Eugenie—”

“Don’t,” I said. I gave him a gentle smile. “I know you’re worried, but you also knew when I came back that I’d be signing on for something like this.”

“Actually,” he said wryly, “I was hoping you’d just do some hocus-pocus and fix things in a day.”

“I would if I could,” I said, a lump forming in my stomach. I wasn’t an expert on the Yew Land—not yet—but knew the venture we were about to undertake would last a lot longer than a day. It could take us days—even weeks— to get there. Those were all days I’d have to stay away from Isaac and Ivy.