“You were a stranger dating my sister,” I say. “The back talk was justified.”

“So says you.”

“Yes, I … says,” I reply, and we both laugh. “I promise to only talk back in my head, or I’ll vent it to one of them.”

Seth looks over his shoulder. “About that…”

Oh, skies. “Please don’t.”

“I hear the rumors in the Hall, you know. They’re both good guys, Rowan,” he says. “But I’ll send you home if you can’t keep your feelings in check.”

“You would never,” I reply, but his expression has shifted away from friend and back to commander.

He pauses, and I do, too. “I mean it, Rowan. We can’t take chances.”

“I know,” I reply. “I understand.”

Seth resumes the lead, while I slow a little to put some space between us. My legs tremble, and the space underneath my eyes feels heavier with every passing second. The crunch of twigs behind me pulls me back.

Callen comes up behind me, brow raised. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Just a little tired.”

We keep walking together, strides matched, pushing through the ferns and underbrush. The terrain rolls in uneven hills and valleys, making the journey at times more arduous. The air is still thick between Callen and me, but remembering my words to Seth a few minutes ago, I grasp toward any topic that’s not us. “What happened at the coast?”

“The humans built up their defenses these past months,” he says. “That must be why the attacks by sea stopped. As soon as we got close, the coast lit up with gunfire. Sethran told us to dive, so I dove. Exin got shot in the leg. He told me to go,” he says. “He knew he was going to die.”

My chest tightens. “He did his duty, Callen. We can honor him by doing ours.”

“Yeah,” he says. “But it’s still hard to forget.”

Ahead of us, Seth stops short and raises an arm. He motions downward, crouching as he does. I drop and go for my knives.

A horrible, ghostly horn sounds near us, followed by a high scream. I flinch and look up in alarm, ready to run in the opposite direction, but Seth turns toward it.

“What is that?” I whisper.

“This way,” says Seth, walking toward the sound. “Keep low.”

The three of us follow behind our commander. Up ahead, the forest drops off into an open valley. Below us are trees—or what’s left of them. Fractured stumps of what used to be thousands of years of magnificent pines and oaks have been left in ruin, the soil around them churned up.