I looked over at him. “Is it safe?”

His brow furrowed. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know,” I said quickly, remembering Dagny’s fears that the Ögonen could read her mind. “I only meant, are we allowed there?”

“Of course. I’d never take you somewhere you weren’t wanted,” he said. “At least not without warning you first.”

The rickshaw stopped in front of the Ögonen neighborhood, and Elof asked the driver to wait and assured him that we wouldn’t be too long. He got out of the cart first, and I took a moment to steel myself before following him.

The last time I’d interacted with them hadn’t exactly been pleasant. When I’d snuck down into the Catacombs of Fables, one of the Ögonen guarding it had given me a horrific vision of being chased by giant spiders. Admittedly, I’d been going somewhere I wasn’t allowed to go, but their guarding technique of invading my mind and implanting realistic, terrifying visions had been very unnerving.

I had no idea if they could read minds, but it seemed plausible enough, and I wasn’t exactly comfortable with them reading mine.

I didn’t know if I could do anything to shield my thoughts, but I had to try something. In my head, I started spelling everything, hoping a cloud of benign thoughts would mask anything.

The paths between the mound houses were exceptionally narrow, maybe two feet wide, and I had to walk behind Elof. Nearby, seven Ögonen—

O-G-O-N-E-N-

—walking single file. They kept walking straight ahead but their trollian eyes followed us, unblinking, unwavering—

U-N-S-E-T-T-L-I-N-G

“Why are we here?” I asked Elof again.

“They have a special garden. The Ögonen believe it to be sacred land, but they’ve allowed us to come and have a look if we promise not to touch.”

“Are we looking at anything in particular?” I asked.

“Indeed.”

I was about to ask for info, but we’d rounded another home, and a small, circular patch of overgrown plants sat at the center of the Ögonen neighborhood. It looked like nothing but wild, untended weeds, with the sickly-sweet smell of lilies and potent—

C-O-P-P-E-R

—and I was back in the häxdoktor’s office, my arms held with straps. The air was thick and my father—

No, not my father. My kidnapper. Indu.

Indu argued with Lemak, “Nej-li, it does not.”

“I can help you,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure that I could. “Please let me go. I will help you.”

Indu looked over at me, as if he’d forgotten I was there, and he gave me a wispy, sour smile. “Oh, my child, you are already doing all you can.” His smile fell away the instant he turned back to the häxdoktor. “You need to finish this. It’s time to open the lock.”