“Which is now because you’re a sensible woman who needs food and rest in order to prepare for what will come tomorrow. You’re only annoyed because you know I’m right.”

Ashk looked at Selena, who shrugged. Studying the Son, she said, “Have you spent much time among the human gentry?”

He shook his head. “Do you think I need lessons in persuasive speaking?”

“No, I think you could give them.”

Ashk stepped out of the house. The Son had been right about the fog drifting. It was eerier somehow when it parted suddenly, providing a clear view for a few seconds before drawing a veil back over the land. But it had hidden the men who had gone into the field to search for the wounded, and they had brought back more than she dared hope for. Many of the Fae were too hurt or dazed or frightened to change back to their human form, but as one human told her when he walked up to the house with a Fae in his arms, it was easier to carry a fox than a man.

So many wounded. So many dead. She was grateful to Gwenn and Lyrra for making a record of the men arriving, writing down names and Clans or a human’s home village. It had helped to see the names of those who had come back to them, even if they were wounded. And it helped to receive copies that had been sent from the other gentry houses who were taking in wounded.

But it squeezed her heart to see how many names were missing. Clay had lost an eye but had managed to get back to the village on his own. But Rory was missing. Squire Thurston had lost his right leg below the knee and was being nursed in his own home. But no one remembered the last time they’d seen Donovan. Varden had come through the battle unharmed, but Sheridan was missing.

And no one had seen Falco. Or Aiden.

She tensed when she heard the door open, then forced herself to relax. There were no enemies here. She didn’t have to guard her back.

Morphia stepped up beside her. “I wish they hadn’t made the fog.”

“It was needed,” Ashk said quietly.

“I know, but…” Morphia wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “I didn’t tell you everything about the dream I had last night. I couldn’t. I still can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I told you something terrible was coming, and it is. I know it. I can feel the echo of it from the dream. But I can’t tell you what it is because my mind won’t let me see it.”

A fist of dread settled in Ashk’s stomach. “Is there anything you can tell me?”

“Only that it will come among us shrouded by fog. And it hunts.”