“I hope they weren’t watching when we bathed. That makes my skin crawl. But I can imagine that ferret-faced Druid doing it.”

“No one watched us bathe.”

She was silent a moment, pressed up against him. “At least the meal they gave us was decent. They didn’t try to poison us.”

“They have other plans for us. Poison doesn’t figure into things until we’ve served our purpose.”

He felt her face turn toward his own in the dark. “Which is? You have a hunch, don’t you?”

His voice was already a whisper, but he lowered it further. “I’ve been thinking about it. Grianne disappeared for no discernible reason, but Tagwen went outside the order to find help. That suggests he didn’t know who to trust among these Druids any more than we do. He knew he could trust Ahren, though. So he traveled to Emberen to ask for his help. Ahren would have given it willingly. That much I feel pretty certain about.”

“Me, too.”

“But then they went to Patch Run. Maybe they did so to look for us, but they found Pen, instead. So they asked Pen where we were. He probably told them and wanted to go with them. Somehow, he persuaded them that it was a good idea.”

“Or they had to take him because they thought he was in danger.”

“Right. But what happened then? Did they come looking for us? If they did, why didn’t they find us? Pen would have been able to track us down. He would have known how. Ahren would have helped him, using Druid magic. Anyway, something happened to prevent that. So now these Druids who’ve brought us here are looking for them. And, ostensibly at least, for Grianne, as well. But they can’t find them.”

“They want us to find them,” Rue whispered. “They want us to do their work for them. But maybe not to help. Maybe to do harm.”

It made sense. While the Druids might profess that their intentions were honorable, there was good reason to think otherwise.

They were silent again for a time, pondering their fresh insight, trying to think through what they should do about it. Bek felt his wife tighten her grip on him. “We can’t help them. We can’t put Penderrin in any more danger than he is already in.”

“I know.”

“I hate it that he’s become involved in this, in your sister’s life, in Druid intrigues and gamesmanship.”

“Don’t underestimate Pen. He is smart and capable, and he has some experience in the world. He might not have magic to protect him, but he has his wits. Besides, if he’s with Ahren, he’s as protected as he would be with us.”

“I wouldn’t agree with that. Anyway, he shouldn’t have to be protected in the first place.”