Ren stared unseeing at the map he held in his hands while his brain sorted through the pieces of what he knew. One by one, they clicked into place. Someone had supplied Gavaran with the potion Ren had been tasked with giving to Sterling. The faeries were known for making potions, but the Summer King said he hadn’t been the one to help Gavaran. Seraiah was going to know who had been responsible soon. Maescia had said she was helping him and now the location of this second faery court had appeared on his map.

  The Unseelie Court must be the ones working with Gavaran, and if Seraiah and Kestrel had gone there, they likely had no idea what trouble they were walking into. The faeries might not be interested in Kestrel, but they would certainly be interested in a seer. If they learned what Seraiah was, she might never set foot out of that place again.

  Ren cursed and shoved the map back into his pocket. He needed to get to that Court now.

  Seraiah may not like him very much or trust him for that matter, but they were allies and that meant it fell to him to carry out a rescue.

  After gathering what he could in the way of supplies from what the mages had left behind, Ren set off across the desert. It would be faster to head directly to the Unseelie Court, but he didn’t have the proper gear to cross the mountain. A cave in the middle of a desert had little in the way of protection against winter weather. He’d have to go back to his cabin and then go from there. It would take weeks.

  Too much time.

  Seraiah and Kestrel would have been at the Court for over two months by that point. The faeries could have done any number of things to them, including moving them to a different location. It was all starting to sound like more trouble than it was worth.

  They are allies, Ren reminded himself, tools he needed to exact his revenge. If they fell into the wrong hands, they would become weapons to be used against him, and he couldn't afford that. Anything he could take away from Gavaran and his mage friends, he would.

  Cold seeped through Seraiah’s nightgown as she knelt on the bare floor, but she hardly noticed it. With shaking hands, she opened the small journal. Ariya’s green hair ribbon fluttered out from between the pages as she flicked through the book, only stopping when she found the place where she’d left off reading. She scanned several nonsensical entries before she landed on the one she’d been looking for.

  The Queen birthed a healthy baby girl two days ago. Since she is meant to be the heir to the kingdom, the queen has asked me for a vision. It is not the first time she has asked, but this is the first time I have been able to fulfill her wishes.

  Seraiah took several deep breaths. She wanted to know what Atherly had seen for him to suggest that the death of a baby would be for the best, but she was not sure she was ready. Whatever she read here might color her perception of her sister forever.

  I dread to tell the queen of what I have learned. How do you tell someone their precious child will one day destroy the world? I shall record what I saw here to the best of my recollection, in case one day it should be needed again. I pray to the gods that it should not.

  She too had prayed to the gods that her dreams of Sterling would not come true, but the signs all pointed to it already being underway.

  The vision showed me the girl. A young woman, by this point. She sat upon a throne in a room I did not recognize, and while she wore a crown atop her head, it was not one I’d ever seen my queen wear. This was a dark piece of metal, all points, and sharp edges, and it glittered with jewels when the young woman tilted her head. There were others in the room. Elves, I think. One rested on their knees before her throne. Without a word, the young woman flicked a hand and the one on their knees collapsed. Red liquid rained down over everything, including the other elves, but it didn’t touch the young woman. When a few of the others retched, I realized the red liquid was blood. The young woman stood from her throne and ordered someone to clean up the mess before she stalked out of the room, leaving red footprints in her wake.

  Seraiah pressed a hand to her mouth. She couldn’t imagine that her sister would do something like this. How could she so coldly murder someone and walk away?

  She knew the answer was because Sterling must have done it many times before.

  The vision shifted, and now we were outside. The young queen was alone atop a platform, looking out over destruction. I could not say if it was a battlefield, or a ruined city. Smoke and dust were thick in the air. On the ground, there were large hunks of rubble strewn about. Elves or humans moved among the debris. I think they might have been looking for survivors. The young queen sighed as she watched all of this, and I was close enough to hear her murmur something about if she should end them all. When I got a look at her face, I nearly stumbled off the platform. Her eyes were an unnatural black. I have never seen anything like it. It was as though something else dwelled within her and was using her body as a puppet. Was it magic, perhaps? Or another being? I can only guess.

  Seraiah had seen this in her own visions. Sterling appeared sometimes as Seraiah knew her, or other times as an older version, but she always had those black eyes like smoke was drifting over them. Her own visions had never shown her anything more than her sister, but she, too, had the feeling that this black smoke was something else. It was not Sterling, but something living inside of Sterling. It was both reassuring and devastating that she was not the only one who had seen Sterling this way.

  The vision jumped many times after this. It showed me flashes of things, some of which I could only guess at. It was more devastation and destruction. Burning and blood. There was always blood. So much blood. No one was spared. Not my brethren, nor the elves, nor even the fae. Everyone fell beneath that dark gaze and whatever used the young queen and her magic. It all ended with a great expanse of nothing. The world was dead except for this being, and with a twisted grin on its face, it stepped through one of the many portals. I could not say where it was going, but it most assuredly meant to destroy that place next. Were the worlds being punished by the gods? It was said they’d done so once before, but not with this level of devastation. All I know is that if we want to save our world and the others like it, we must stop her before it begins. It pains me to tell the Queen this news, but I must do it to preserve the future. I can see no other way.

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  The entry ended there. Seraiah turned the page with trembling fingers, but there was no more. The remaining pages were all blank.

  It didn’t matter. She’d seen the meeting where Atherly had told the Queen, and she knew what the outcome had been. Rather than kill her child, the Queen had sent her away to live in another world. She’d likely never meant for Sterling to discover who she was or return to Nyrene, even if it meant the elves would lose their magic. She’d put the well-being of her child over everyone else.

  And it hadn’t been enough.

  Sterling—or whatever it was that lived inside of her—was going to destroy the worlds if they couldn’t stop her. Seraiah’s own worry over her impending madness seemed trivial now in comparison to this. She shouldn’t have been wasting time on it when she could have been helping her sister. There had to be a way to divert the future from this course.

  Fate cannot be fought. Ashe's words came back to haunt her, taunting.

  It couldn’t be true. There must be something—some way. She only needed to think of it.

  A knock sounded on the door, and Seraiah jumped, the journal slipping from her hands to land splayed open on the floor.

  "Just a minute," she called, stooping to pick up the journal before rushing over to the wardrobe. She gathered her belongings from the floor and shoved them back in her bag. The faeries couldn't find this journal. There was no telling what they might do with the information it contained.

  Unless Ashe already told them what was to come.

  No, she couldn’t think like that. She had to hope she was the only living being with this knowledge because who knows what someone else might try to do with it.

  Once everything was returned to its place, Seraiah dressed in another fur-lined gown similar to the one she’d worn yesterday, except in green. She tucked her dagger that she’d found with her bag into the pocket.

  "I'm here to take you to your morning meal," the male faery greeted her when she opened the door. “You’ll be dining with your friend.”

  “Great,” Seraiah said, plastering on a smile she didn’t feel. She needed to tell Kestrel about what she had learned, but she didn’t think it was safe to do so within the Court. It would have to wait until they found a way out.

  As she followed the faery through the hallways, she asked about an audience with the Queen. For now, she would stick to her original plan.

  “I’m afraid my queen is very busy and won’t have time for you today. I will arrange for an audience soon.”

  Seraiah didn’t have time for soon. She needed now.

  “Can I see my mother again, then?”

  The faery hesitated before finally nodding. “I will make the arrangements. Now please enjoy your meal.”

  Seraiah thanked him and entered the dining room, settling in at the table. Kestrel had yet to arrive, so Seraiah had a moment to think. She didn’t like the idea of giving up on an audience with the Winter Queen, but she didn’t have a choice. Soon could mean tomorrow, or it could mean months from now. There was also the small matter of what the Queen wanted with her. Perhaps she intended to replace her current seer, but Seraiah had no intention of making the Unseelie Court her permanent home.

  She jumped when the door opened again, her hand falling to her pocket where she’d hidden her dagger.

  “Everything all right?” Kestrel asked, quickly assessing her tense posture.

  Seraiah’s eyes darted to the doorway behind Kestrel, where the pumpkin faery waited with its cart of food. She forced herself to relax and withdraw her hand from her pocket. Who knows who else was watching and listening?

  “Of course,” she said with feigned brightness. “I’m starving, and that food smells delicious.”

  Kestrel took the hint and stepped out of the pumpkin faery’s way.

  When they were alone again, Kestrel settled in across from her, but didn’t reach for any of the food. “I have something for you,” she said.

  The vial of blue liquid Kestrel pushed across the table looked vaguely familiar.

  “What is this?”

  “Our way out.”

  Now Seraiah remembered where she’d seen it before. The Summer King had given her a similar one to play his little game with the dragon scale.

  “Where did you get it?” she asked, plucking the vial from the table and slipping it into her pocket.

  Kestrel grinned. “I did some exploring after dinner yesterday. Think of your destination as you take it. We can go right now.”

  “I can’t. Not yet. I need to see my mother again.”

  “Even after yesterday?”

  Seraiah nodded. “It’s important.”

  “Then see her, and we leave. I don’t think we can risk lingering any longer.”

  “I agree.”

  Kestrel opened her mouth, looking ready to argue. When Seraiah’s response registered, her brows shot up. “You do? I didn’t get that impression yesterday.”

  “I’ve learned some things since then. Do you think—is there a way I can share this?” She may not know her mother well, but it seemed cruel to leave her behind in this place at the mercy of the faeries.

  Kestrel frowned. “I don’t think so and unfortunately, this was all I could get my hands on. If you want to bring Ashe, we’d have to go on foot, but it will be difficult to get past the fae. They may not like you stealing away their seer, and that’s assuming she’s even willing to go.”

  Seraiah bit her lip.

  “I can try to work on another way, but it will take longer. In the meantime, someone might notice the vials I took are missing.”

  “No. Nevermind. You’re right. She probably won’t want to come with me anyway. We’ll use the vials as soon as possible. We don’t have time to waste.” It would be hard to leave her mother behind, but the potential cost would be too great. Sterling came first.

  “After your visit, then. I’ll meet you at Ren’s cabin this afternoon. You can picture it, right?”

  “Yes,” Seraiah said. “I’ll be there.”

  When Seraiah returned to her room after breakfast, there was a card waiting for her on the vanity. Her name was scrawled across the front of the cream-colored paper in ink that almost looked black, but on closer inspection was a midnight blue. Seraiah cast a glance around the room to see if anything else was disturbed before she picked it up.

  I regret that I have not been able to grant your request for a meeting, but I will throw a party in your honor tomorrow night. You may think of it as your official welcome to my Court. I do so look forward to seeing you again. We have much to discuss that I think will be beneficial to all involved.

  Seraiah wrinkled her nose. Beneficial to all involved? What was meant by that? The note wasn’t signed, but there was no question who it came from. Tomorrow night was close, but she’d already promised Kestrel they would leave today. Seraiah slipped the note into her pocket. She’d need to think about this. For now, she would prepare to leave as planned.

  Since she would go directly from her mother’s room, she would be unable to carry her bag with her. Instead, she’d need to carefully select what she could fit within the dress’s pockets, which thankfully were deep.

  She fished Atherly’s journal out of her bag and slipped it into the pocket opposite the one holding her dagger. The little book fit perfectly. After an inspection of the other items, she selected the horse figurine her father had made, as well as his carving knife. Everything else could be replaced.

  When the faery came to take her to see her mother, Seraiah was ready.