“But I did remember something,” I said. “And I need to remember the rest of it.”

Sunniva exchanged a look with Tove, and the worry in her dark eyes belied her aloof exterior. “I’ll do what I can.”

Tove reached behind me and turned off the showerhead. “Let’s get you back to feeling normal before we worry about what to do next.”

If I hadn’t felt so exhausted and achy all over, I would’ve pushed it more, but the truth was that I did need a bit of time to recover, even if I didn’t want to. So I let him help me out of the tub and wrap me in a plush towel.

Finn took me home—after chastising Tove for letting things go too far, even with me insisting that I was okay. Once I got to Finn and Mia’s house, I changed out of my wet clothes into cool, dry pajamas, and they wrangled the kids away from me so I could crash for a long, dreamless nap.

When I woke up, I was still warm, despite all my efforts to cool off, but I didn’t feel quite so run-down anymore. Mia had brought me an iced tea and offered to keep the kids at bay for a little longer, although she warned me that eventually Niko or Hanna would sneak through.

I wanted to make the most of my solitude, and I pulled out my phone. This morning, I’d tried calling Pan and Dagny, both her cell and the landline at our apartment, but there’d been no answer. Though it had given me time to wonder dourly if it was still “our” apartment, since I didn’t know if I’d ever be allowed back to Merellä.

But this was the first time I’d checked my phone in hours and I had a slew of text messages, all from Pan.

Are you okay? Where are you?

Call me when you can.

I don’t know what’s going on, but I just wanted you to know that I’m with Dagny & Elof. I can’t wait to hear from you.

And then finally, a long multi-text essay:

I’m back in Merellä and the reception is spotty, so I don’t know when we’ll talk. I’m in Dagny’s room using the signal booster. We just got back from a meeting with Amalie and half a dozen Mästares. Dagny thinks they were the Information Styrelse, even though they specifically denied it.

Amalie told us about the negotiations, and that the Vittra exchanged some weird flower for us. They said that they’d decided to end your internship. It technically ended while we were gone, I guess, and Sylvi and Calder thought it would be better if you waited until things were more sorted out before you tried coming back.