“As did I,” Bri murmured, her eyes searching Lina’s gaze, but Lina broke their stare, her face unreadable as she followed the High Priestess deeper into the temple.

As Lina pulled ahead of them, Carys snickered and Bri elbowed her. Her friend didn’t miss a thing. They climbed the spiraling sandstone steps to the second floor and arrived at a door halfway down the hall.

“Nelle?” Baba Omly’s knuckles tapped on the door. She opened it and they stepped inside. “May we come in, mea raga?”

“Yes, please do,” a warm voice whispered.

The woman, Nelle, sat on the bed, her shirt dipped down to one side and her baby nursing at her breast. Sunlight beamed in a halo from the window above her, casting the room in its warm golden glow. Her face was purpled with bruises but the swelling had gone down, and Bri could make out her true visage once more. The brown witches’ healing balms had worked wonders on her already, though Bri knew some wounds would take far longer to heal.

“Is it okay if we sit with you for a while?” Lina asked tentatively, waiting to cross the room until Nelle bobbed her head. Bri was struck by that gesture. Lina was soon to be the future Queen, she could take on an army with a battle-axe, and yet, she waited for this human’s permission to enter her room. It was such a small gesture, but it told Bri everything about what kind of ruler Lina would be.

“I’ll leave you to chat,” Baba Omly said with a bow and ducked out of the room.

Lina sat in the wicker chair beside the bed, while Carys and Bri leaned against the far wall. The room looked nothing like the hospital beds in the East. This room was warm—painted in rich earth tones, delicate woven tapestries hanging from the walls, and potted plants of lavender and sage along the windowsill.

“This is Carys,” Lina said, gesturing to them. “And you remember Bri.”

Bri crossed her arms and then uncrossed them, trying to make her usual stature less threatening. Carys chuckled at her and she had to force herself not to glower at her friend. She was better at interrogating people than she was at comforting them, and she thanked the Gods that Lina and Carys were there. Nelle had been through enough. Bri didn’t want to scare the woman, and something about her face and demeanor seemed to put people on edge.

Nelle nodded to them, a half smile tugging at her lips. Her baby unlatched and she tucked her breast back into the low hem of her nightgown. The babe’s eyelids fluttered, the warm milk lulling her to sleep.

“Did you find him?” she asked in a hushed tone, rubbing a hand rhythmically down her child’s back.

“Yes.” Lina’s brows dropped heavy over her eyes. “You won’t be seeing him again.”