“Tempting, but Cellina is after Avry. And while we can easily handle a dozen...” Loren gave us a wry smile. “If she sent her dead-ufa pack after us, we’d be—”

“Snack food,” Quain finished.

Odd returned. “You can go as long as my squad goes with you. Let me guess, you want to leave now.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go wake them up. This had better be important.”

“It is.”

Odd’s gaze met mine for a long moment. He nodded. “Give us a couple.”

While Odd roused his men, I consulted the Lily map. East would be the ideal direction to avoid any nasty encounters with the enemy. According to the map, a cluster of Lilys grew a day’s walk roughly northeast.

It seemed as if hours had passed before Odd and his squad were ready. I led them into the forest surrounding the cave. We all went silent and the odd squad practically melted into the darkness. A half-moon shone enough light so we didn’t stumble.

Odd stayed by my side. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”

“It’s for a patient.”

“And it couldn’t wait for morning?”

“Yes, it could, but I like to bother everyone and drag them out of bed.”

“Okay, dumb question. Give me a break, I’m tired.”

“Sorry. Thank you for coming along.”

Odd grunted.

“I should warn you,” I said.

“This ought to be good.”

“You’re not going to get much sleep in the next two days. A man’s life is at stake.”

“Yeah, I figured. I’m not that tired. Lead on, boss lady.”

Boss lady? That was new. Was Odd being sarcastic? Or just being...well, Odd? He kept pace with me, moving with easy, graceful strides. No signs of tension. I relaxed.

No one said much as the sun rose and traveled across the sky. I spent most of the trip to the Peace Lilys mulling over a number of scenarios. If the Lily gave me its serum, should I inject it all? Or a portion? If the serum killed my patient, would my touch bring him back to life? What if the Lily refused? Tohon had harvested the serum using his life magic, stealing it from the Peace Lilys. Those he injected it into had remained dead, but the serum preserved their bodies, preventing them from decaying. One thing I did know, I wouldn’t steal from the Lily.

We reached the cluster of four Lilys a few hours after sunset. In the cooling air, I smelled the familiar scent of vanilla. None of them moved or hissed as I approached. They were all Peace Lilys.