“I need you to trust me,” the one called Gadriel said. “I don’t know if we’ll survive. I’ve never guaranteed our safety. But we all know why we’re here. The king has not stopped searching in over twenty years, nor has he shown any sign that he intends to stop. How many men will be sent across the border to die at Farehold’s hands? How many of your brothers will you see filled with arrows? For the king, that number has no limit until he finds what he’s looking for. This girl is the first time in twenty years I’ve held even the smallest of hope that we might end the carnage. I’m telling you, she’s the one.”

“Damn the mad king, and damn his useless fucking plot to lead us all to our graves,” said the fourth voice with vitriol.

No one responded to this, but the silence that followed was not a comfortable one. The sounds of night loomed about them. The soft noises of horses shifting filled the quiet. The summer sounds of nighttime insects and nocturnal birds made a dull, comforting chorus beyond the barn’s wooden doors. The loft creaked as demons above moved, seemingly troubled by the treasonous tone of the fourth man, before Gadriel offered his final words.

“He is our king. That’s the last word on his charge. This is the order, from here on out. We know how to stay alive, how to cling to the shadows. Travel by night and avoid the villages, but follow the girl to Aubade. Keep her safe. Our only hope rests on her meeting with the queen.”

“How will we recognize this savior?” asked a fourth voice bitterly.

“She fits the description,” Gadriel said quietly.

“She’s hard to miss,” Cai added. His voice was the cheeriest of the bunch as he went on, “She’s traveling with two men, one half-fae. The girl herself is as white as the moon.”

Weightlessness swept her from her feet as Nox’s soul left her body.

No human or fae on the continent fit that description—no one, save for one. A sound like the ringing vibrations of her own blood clouded her ears as she clung to consciousness, desperate to hear the men’s next words. She reached for the ladder, feeling splinters bite into her fingertips as her vision swam. They were still talking, but she could scarcely hear their words.

“Look for her silver hair,” Cai continued, his voice a controlled excitement, “and if you’re close enough, her eyes are as purple as lilacs in the spring. Come to think of it, though, she might be traveling with her hood up to hide her features for exactly that reason. If she’s concealed, keep an eye for her companions. We met her human and her fire-haired faeling in the woods. Between the three of them, they shouldn’t be too difficult to spot.”