As soon as she said the words, she heard the low rumble of thunder, felt the sliver of cold air on the wind as the dark clouds raced overhead, coming out of the west from the Mother’s Hills, shutting out the sun.

“We’re in for a storm,” Liam said.

Selena watched the clouds for a moment, then shook her head. “A soft rain. A farmer’s rain, soaking in deep to nourish the crops. It will wet down the roads, making it easier to travel without all the dust. But when the storm reaches a place where there is no Mother’s Daughter to greet it and ask it to be gentle, that’s where it will break. Roads will turn to mud and creeks will run too high to cross. The Black Coats will struggle through the storm’s wrath, and that will give us time.”

“Time for what?” Liam asked with a trace of bitterness. “The barons from the neighboring counties have sent messages, promising men to help fight the Inquisitors, but there’s no sign of those men. Other barons have declared themselves neutral, hoping to be spared if either army marches through their land—and hoping their estates will remain intact because, even if they didn’t fight for the winning side, they didn’t support the losing side, either. The Fae from the nearby Clans have sent men, but they’re also guarding the Old Places to keep their Clan territories protected.”

“Do you blame the Fae for that?” Selena asked, curious about this bitterness.

Liam shook his head. “No, I don’t blame them. We’ve gotten more help from them than I ever expected, and they’re more skilled with weapons than the farmers and merchants I can bring to the fight from the villages under my rule.” He sighed. “But we’ve heard nothing from the midland barons, and without their support, we can’t win. And even if they are gathering men and marching toward Willowsbrook, they’ll have to fight their way here from either the north or the south, and that delay, and the loss of men, will work in favor of the Black Coats’ army that’s marching toward us.”

“There is an alternate route,” Selena said dryly. “There are roads through the Mother’s Hills.”

Liam looked at her. “Forgive me for saying this, but the Fae are afraid to enter the Mother’s Hills, and anyone who has seen the power a witch can wield understands that fear. As for the humans…If I didn’t have a sister who was a witch, I’d think long and hard about taking my men into those hills. I’d think long and hard about it anyway.”