“Perhaps this isn’t the best place to work through it,” Elof said, and I finally looked up to see the Ögonen were standing all around us, watching us with their big brown eyes.

Elof offered me his hand, and helped steady me as I got to my feet. He stayed at my side, his arm around me, and my steps were still unsteady as we hurried through the narrow roads.

“Take us back downtown, please,” Elof told the driver as I climbed up into the rickshaw. “And if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, go as quickly as you safely can.”

I was grateful that we didn’t have to make the long walk on foot. The driver jogged onward, and a breeze cooled my face. Tangles of hair stuck to the sweat on my skin, so I slid the scrunchie off my wrist and pulled my hair up into a topknot. The pain in my head had lessened to a dull throbbing, but my body felt weak and tired.

“I apologize for bringing you there,” Elof said quietly. “I thought you would have a reaction to the flower, but I never suspected that it would be something like that.”

“How’d you know I’d have a reaction?” I asked him.

“Because I had one,” he replied. “When we returned, I went to get a sample of the sorgblomma to discern why the Älvolk had wanted it so badly. As soon as I smelled it, I remembered the dungeons we’d been held in, only for a moment. I was in a dark cell with Pan, and you were returning—Noomi and Tuva had you by each arm, and you were only semiconscious, your feet dragging along the ground. And the scent of the sorgblomma was coming from you.”

“But you didn’t have any pain with the memory?” I asked.

He shook his head. “None. But the memory didn’t last very long.” He leaned in, lowering his voice a little. “It seems that the Älvolk put special protections around your particular memory. I think you may have found what they wanted to hide the most.”

“Great.” I sighed. “Do you have any ideas on how I can get through the wall of excruciating pain that surrounds it?”

“Not at the moment, no,” he said sadly. “But I’ve been looking into different forms of memory recovery. I’m hopeful that I’ll have an answer for you soon.”

Elof had the rickshaw drop me at my apartment. Even though I was feeling well enough by then that I probably could’ve made the walk from the Mimirin, Elof preferred to err on the side of caution. I gave him money for the rickshaw, and Elof initially declined until I told him to add it to the driver’s tip.