“Have you heard of any places the rebels might have gathered? An abandoned manor or other place they might hide?” I ask Mara and her husband early the next morning. When we’d arrived at The Emerald Shell at sunrise, only a single maid had been awake, just beginning her task of cooking breakfast for the overnight guests. She paled when we demanded she wake the owners immediately but did our bidding asking no questions. Though it’s a risk, I trust that Mara and her husband are loyal to the crown and not working with the rebels. It’s early enough that none have come down for breakfast, so we can hopefully slip in and out of Echosa unnoticed. Mara’s husband shakes his head, but Mara looks at me, fear in her eyes. “Mara, if you know where they might be, please, tell me. They have Fionn and Silene, who worked so tirelessly to help build back your family’s bakery in Arberly,” I implore.

“There’s an old house about an hour away, if you’re traveling by foot,” Mara says. “Due north of here, completely isolated. It used to belong to a wealthy family who abandoned it to move to Arberly. My parents were friends with them. I don’t know if there are rebels squatting there, but it’s the only structure I can think of near Echosa that could hold them.”

I take her hands in mine. “Thank you, Mara. I will make sure you’re not connected to this in any way. You have my full protection.”

She nods, and Thorne and I hurry out the back door of the tavern before I aerstep us north as close as we can get without being seen. We walk for about twenty minutes before we spot the old house in the distance, hundreds of makeshift tents surrounding it on all sides. It’s much smaller than the estate in Oakton, probably causing the need for so many tents.

“How’s your magic?” I ask Thorne. “If I aerstep us closer, can you keep us hidden?”

He gives me a cocky grin. “There’s plenty of light, witchling. You get us close, I’ll make sure we aren’t seen.”

I nod, feeling Thorne’s magic wrap around me with a loving caress before I aerstep us several yards closer. We watch in silence as the house wakes up. There’s a clear guard rotation, the morning shift relieving those tasked with keeping watch overnight. Humans emerge from the tents, and I bite back a scoff that the fae get to sleep in the house while the humans are relegated to tents.

“I think we found the right place,” I whisper. Thorne nods. I can still see him using my own magic, though I’m not sure if he can see me. “Am I invisible to you?”