Cordelia winced. Mother wasn’t going to like that threat at all!

For one long moment, silence hung over the clearing. Even the birds in the forest stopped calling. They were wise enough to hide in times like these.

Then Cordelia felt Mother rush toward them through the castle, grabbing out for the whole family at once—not her usual gentle brush against their thoughts but a hot, frantic swipe.

CORDELIA!

I’m fine! Cordelia hastily pushed her own thoughts back at her mother. But there are men at the gate. They—

The great silver portcullis flung itself open, and her mother exploded through it. She was still wearing her stained working apron from the herbarium, and more than half of her long dark hair had twisted free of its constraining braid. But Mother never needed to look tidy to be imposing.

Long weeds from the bottom of the moat shot up and wove themselves together to build a living drawbridge for her to stalk across in fury. Bobbing shapes beneath the green moss and lily pads burst upward as she passed, revealing venomous snakes, long and coiling, heading straight for the invaders. They swam as fast as shadows, and the closest soldiers jumped back, shouting at the sight of them.

I should have thought to change into one of them, Cordelia thought wistfully.

It was too late to hide among the water snakes now. Mother’s voice snapped through Cordelia’s head as she stalked forward:

Get off that windowsill now. Out of sight!

Ugh! Cordelia scrambled back into her bedroom and sank obediently to the floor beneath the window … for a moment. Then she lifted herself just enough to peer outside.

It wasn’t as if she was in any danger now that Mother was here. If anyone would simply take the time to explain—

“Make way!” A hard push shoved her aside, and Rosalind took her place. “I want to see!”

“Go somewhere else!” Cordelia shoved her sister back, hard. “You’ve got your own room!”

“But you’ve got the best view.”

“Out of the way, runts!” Giles skidded in behind them, panting, and squeezed his way into the middle. “I couldn’t hear anything from my tower.”

“Not over the sound of your own voice, you mean,” muttered Rosalind.

Cordelia snorted in agreement.

“Shh!” Connall stepped into the room behind them. “Quiet.”

It was a spell, not an order; the lips of all three triplets sealed themselves shut against their wills. Cordelia gritted her teeth, Giles sighed through his nose, and Rosalind punched out wildly, her face reddening with rage—but their older brother ignored the blow, leaning over all of them with his gaze intent and his light-brown hands braced around Cordelia’s windowsill.

Now Cordelia couldn’t even see what was happening through her own window! In her family, she could never keep anything for herself.