“There is no need to fear, Duchess.” The wolf-leader, already fully armored, had been standing on the other side of the bank, but he held out his hands now in a signal that finally halted that steady shower of arrows.

As the archers lowered their bows, Cordelia’s whole body jerked with the instinct to seize the moment and fly through the open air. But her mother’s bubble was too strong. It would hold her out, too.

And she needed to hear the answer to this question.

The wolf-leader scooped off his helmet and held it out before him like a peace offering. “We have the spellcaster right here,” he said, “only waiting to remove the curse that she laid. You know we would never choose to cause irreversible harm to anyone. All you need do is ask us to heal whichever poor soul bore the brunt of this unnecessary battle … a battle, I might add, that was brought about by your own treasonous choices.”

“All I need do is ask?” Mother’s voice was flat with disbelief. “And what exactly will happen if I do ask for your help in saving my dearest friend’s life?”

“Why, then,” said the wolf-leader, “we will be more than happy to enter your home and instruct our caster to reverse her curse, healing your friend completely … the very moment you surrender to us.”

“I don’t understand. How could this have happened?” Mother’s strong voice wavered for the first time in Cordelia’s memory. “How was this door even opened in the first place? Connall, if they attacked, why didn’t you call me to deal with them?”

Connall didn’t reply out loud. But a moment later, Cordelia shook in midair with the gale of her mother’s voiceless reaction.

CORDELIA!

She had expected the blast of fury that shot through their connection. She’d braced herself for it. But she had never expected the terror that accompanied it.

Mother wasn’t ever supposed to feel fear.

“Mother,” Connall said, “if we don’t let them in, Alys will die.”

Mother looked across the moat at Cordelia’s small, hovering body, past the line of archers. She looked back inside. Then she closed her eyes.

Run. Her silent order shot through the family’s connection, calling to all three triplets at once. Run as fast and as far as you can. Giles, Rosalind, take the tunnel out the back. Meet Cordelia in the trees behind the castle. Now!

Stay safe, stay together, and stay far from sight. I’ll come for you as soon as I can. I swear it.

I love you all so much.

Her shoulders slumped. She opened her eyes … and then, as Cordelia stared in disbelief, she sank to her knees before the invaders.

“Very well,” she said out loud. “The siege has ended.”

Chapter Five

Chapter Five