“Yeah, and what else will it do, I wonder?” Puck muttered, giving both Grimalkin and the flickering candles a dubious look. “You sure you voiced the wish exactly right, cat? No loopholes or funny turns of phrase that could be used against us? I don’t wanna wake up as a frog or find myself on the bottom of the ocean or something crazy like that.”

The cat scratched an ear, unconcerned. “I suppose you will have to take your chances.”

I spotted a candle on a low hanging limb, its orange flame dancing weakly in the shadows. “Come on,” I told the boys quietly. “If this is the only way to the oracle, we have to do this. No turning back now.”

Ash moved beside me and took my hand. “We don’t want to get separated,” he murmured, lacing our fingers together. “There will be a cost, later, that’s how it works. The Wishing Tree always demands a price, no matter what Grimalkin says.”

My stomach twisted, but Ash gave me a reassuring smile and squeezed my hand. I felt the smooth metal of his wedding band press against my skin, and I smiled back.

Half turning, I held out the other hand to Puck. He hesitated, still eyeing the tree, and I wrinkled my nose at him.

“Robin Goodfellow,” I said, giving him a challenging smile, “don’t tell me you’re afraid.”

His green eyes flashed with familiar defiance, and he stepped close, taking my hand. “Not on your life, princess,” he returned, smirking. “Though don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. If we all end up as llamas, I’m going to spend the rest of my life following you around saying ‘I told you so’ in llama-ese.”

I quickly pushed away the thought of Puck as a llama before I started laughing. I needed to stay serious, focus on what lay ahead. The oracle waited for me, and she held the answers about my child. But I wasn’t afraid anymore. Not with Ash and Puck beside me, their fingers wrapped tightly around mine, protective auras glowing strong. Just like old times, as Puck said. The three of us had been through so much together and always won; this wasn’t going to be any different.

I squeezed their hands, raised my head and blew out the candle. A thin wisp of smoke curled into the air, and that was the last thing I saw.

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

I opened my eyes, blinking in confusion. I didn’t remember closing them, but I must have, because everything was different. The glen and the Wishing Tree were gone, as was the body of the monstrous snake. A tunnel of thick black brambles surrounded me, bristling with thorns, the branches creaking and slithering against one another like they were alive.