My good eye snapped open and Aspen stared back, holding a damp cloth in her hand and wearing an anguished expression.

“Aspen?” I said, my panic momentarily replaced by confusion.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I have to go. I have to warn her.”

Aspen looked over my head, and I turned, braving the new lance of pain that shot through my skull to see Juniper sitting on my other side. We were in a small room, decorated with rugs and sporting its very own washbasin. I squinted. I seemed to recall losing consciousness in the cold darkness of the jail, not the house.

“You can’t,” Aspen said, pressing the warm cloth to my face again. “You need to rest.”

I pulled myself into a sitting position, then swore. It was not just my head that hurt. My chest felt as if it had been kicked by a horse.

“What happened to me?”

“You . . .” Aspen had an awed, almost reverent expression on her face. “You did not go quietly when Avery ordered you locked up. You don’t remember?”

I shook my head, instantly regretting it.

“I was able to convince them to move you back in here once Avery left, but I think that’s mostly because the villagers who didn’t go with Avery felt a little guilty about what happened to you.”

“I have to stop him.”

“You’ll never catch them, Row.”

“Aspen.” My sister flinched at my tone, and I saw her press her hand to her swollen belly. “Do you really think Avery can stop her?”

“The hedgewitch says she’s weak.”

“But what about her wolves? Her bear? Even weak, she’s still a match for Avery.”

“He won’t be alone.”

“And neither will she. I have to go.”

“Or stay,” Aspen pleaded. “Stay with us, help us with Father, and when this is over maybe you’ll be free.”

The rose inside me unfurled, spreading its petals wide. I would not be free. I would never be free again if Avery killed her.

“Love is like that. Beautiful, intoxicating even, but sharp as broken glass. You must handle it like you would a rose. Gently, knowing when to prune and when to water, and you must never grasp a cane too tightly, or it will cut you.”

“You don’t understand,” I began, but Aspen cut me off.

“I do understand. This woman killed my husband’s family and stole my sister. She has you under some sort of spell, Rowan, and I will not let you go out there to die.”

“You didn’t exactly seem happy to see me.”

“You don’t know how you looked, standing there in the snow in these furs with that wolf at your side. I thought you were her. I thought that if Avery realized he had been wrong, he would go after her, and I would lose him too.” She stopped, tears welling in her eyes. “I was right.”