We reached the cave system by midafternoon. Kerrick and Eva collected firewood while we gathered stones to build a fire pit. Flea supervised. He’d refused my offer to help him during the trip and had plopped onto the ground as soon as we arrived. Estrid sat next to him. She huddled under my cloak. I studied her expression for a moment. She hadn’t said anything all day and I worried she might be in shock.

After we arranged the pit to Loren’s liking, Eva entered carrying an armload of kindling. “There’s another pile of thicker logs just outside.” Eva dropped the thin branches into the pit.

“Hey!” Loren pulled them out. “You can’t just dump them there.”

“Why not?” she asked, confused.

“He has a whole system,” Quain explained. “Each branch must be in its proper place to construct a pyramid, which is the optimal configuration for wood-burning perfection.”

“I don’t hear you complaining when you’re warming your fat a—” Loren glanced at Eva “—rear end.”

“It’s not fat, it’s all muscle,” Quain said.

As they argued, I retrieved the bigger pile, noting another one had been stacked next to it. I scanned the woods, searching for Kerrick.

Eva joined me and scooped it up. “Are they always like that?” she asked.

“Yes. Another friend of ours nicknamed them the monkeys.”

“Fitting.” She returned to the cave.

I waited, but Kerrick must have gone for another armload of wood. Inside, flames stretched toward the ceiling, merrily consuming Loren’s pyramid. Quain joked with Flea and it almost seemed like old times. Kerrick was no longer missing and we just needed to find our lost Poppa Bear.

Eva ducked back outside while I placed my load of wood onto the growing pile next to Loren.

She brought in another stack. “Prince Kerrick said he’d take first watch.”

“Oh, no. He has lots of explaining to do,” I said.

“So do you,” Estrid said.

Glad she appeared to be snapping out of her funk, I didn’t look forward to filling her in on the events of the last two months. “After we eat,” I promised before dashing outside.

Another pile of wood had arrived, but Kerrick wasn’t in sight. I waited for a few moments. Unable to keep still, I strode into the forest. The desire to yell for him climbed up my throat. Instead, I stomped through the fallen leaves, crunching them under my boots and not caring that I made noise.

“Avry, settle down,” Kerrick said. He leaned against a tree trunk a few feet away.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone has to keep watch.”

“Uh-huh. What’s going on?”

He sank to the ground and rested his forehead on his knees. Alarmed, I knelt next to him. Touching his arm, I said, “It can’t be that bad. You’re alive! Whatever else is going on we can deal with it. What happened to you?”