He tried to stab himself,” Bri said, propping her elbows on her knees as she leaned toward the warming fire.

They’d left the horses and carriage closer to the trail and hiked uphill to camp for the night. The forests hugging the High Mountains were damp with springtime rain, the temperature still frigid compared to where they’d just departed. They’d barely found enough dry wood to start a fire.

“Tried?” Carys asked, arching her eyebrow. She held her fingers out toward the flames.

“He cut himself,” Bri grumbled. “Just a scratch before I stopped him, but . . .”

“The blade was poisoned?” Cole guessed.

Bri nodded, carefully avoiding Lina’s gaze. Each time her shape snagged on Bri’s periphery, it felt like a knife stabbing into her side all over again. Just the thought of Lina’s pained eyes made breathing hard. They’d just been nearly killed by Augustus Norwood, ancient magic was stirring in the world, and she didn’t care one whit.

How could she hide it all when she really wanted to scream to the Gods and punch her knuckles into the nearest tree trunk? Curse the fickle Gods and the wishy-washy prophecies of the blue witches. How much pain could everyone have avoided if they’d never known their true destinies?

“We should fae fire Rua,” Carys said. “Tell her we’re coming.”

“No,” Lina cut in.

Bri focused harder on the smoke in front of her, forcing herself not to look. She knew one glance would ruin her, her emotions already seizing control of her muscles. The way she sat, the way she spoke, the way she choked on her own breath . . . it all felt wrong. Willing stillness into her agitated body, she clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking.

“It’s too risky,” Lina said. “There are too many players in this game now.”

“We can trust Rua,” Carys insisted.

“But can you trust every guard attending her fae fires not to whisper of this call?” Lina countered. “Knowing that we are alive is already more information than I am willing to give. Bern will inform them in person, but for now I don’t want our location known.”

Bri was going to open her mouth to correct Lina, that Bern was heading toward Remy, not Rua, but then she thought better of it. She wondered if the mistake was an intentional ploy to get a rise out of her. She wouldn’t put it past Lina to try to goad her into speaking.

“Agreed,” Cole said, gripping the journal in his hand. “There are location spells in here. Maybe they can track us through our magic too. We need to be careful.”

“Monroe,” Bri whispered, her eyes widening at the flames.

“What?” Carys shifted from where she was perched on a rotten stump to look at Bri.

“That was your ancestor’s name, wasn’t it?” Bri narrowed her eyes at Cole over the crackling flames.