They went to bed that night with the matter unresolved. They were sleeping on Farshaun’s back porch in hammocks, the air warm and sweet, the night sounds soft and distant. They had gone over the pros and cons of staying and going until they couldn’t stand to think about it anymore, all without reaching a decision. Mirai had quit talking to them. Farshaun had ordered them to leave any further discussion outside his front door. Redden and Railing had grown weary talking about it and getting nowhere. Dinner that evening had been a desultory experience, and in the end they had eaten almost nothing.

There had been no further sign of the Ard Rhys. She had not come to them again. She had not asked them to visit the airship to look around, which they would have dearly loved to do. She had not sent any of the other Druids to talk to them. The entire ship’s company had gone back aboard and stayed there.

Redden lay cocooned in his hammock, wrapped up and motionless. Railing was sitting on the porch steps, his blanket draped carelessly over one shoulder, staring out at the night. Inside the cottage, Farshaun was snoring.

“Can’t sleep?” Redden asked from his hammock.

Railing glanced over his shoulder. “Not a wink. You?”

“Not much.”

They were silent for a few minutes, the snores inside changing pitch and cadence.

“I’m going,” Railing said suddenly. “I have to. If I don’t, I’ll wonder about it for the rest of my life.” He paused. “But I don’t want to do this without you.”

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to. I’m going, too.” Redden raised himself up, causing the hammock to sway. “Because I think the Ard Rhys is right. Finding those Elfstones is important. If we can help, like she seems to think we can, then we have to do so.”

They went quiet again for a bit. It was decided, Redden thought. Just like that. Both of them had come to the same conclusion. Amazing, but that’s how they were.

“You’re not going without me,” Mirai said from the doorway.

The twins looked around in surprise as she stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight, her long hair unbound, her blanket wrapped around her.

“How long have you been there?” Redden asked.

“Hours. Sitting just inside the doorway, watching you, thinking. I don’t know if you should do this, but I do know that you shouldn’t do it without me.”

“We’ll have to send someone to tell Mother,” Railing pointed out.

Redden cleared his throat. “I’m glad it won’t be me.”

21