For once, there was no one waiting at Seraiah’s bedside when she woke up. She tossed the blankets aside and scrambled out of bed, grabbing for her discarded clothing. There was no time to brush her hair or make sure she was presentable. She needed to tell everyone the news as soon as possible.

  A tingle of exhilaration shot through her body. There was still a chance to save Sterling—to save them all.

  In the main room, a fire burned low in the hearth and an empty bowl sat on the table alongside a vase filled with fresh wildflowers, but there was no one to be found.

  Seraiah shoved open the door to the outside and threw up a hand to shield her eyes against the afternoon sun. Birds twittered in the trees, and the fresh scent of pine hung heavy in the air. It was the sort of day she would have loved to sit and enjoy. A perfect reflection of the joyous news Ren had given her.

  She spotted her father picking over the woodpile, an axe dangling from his hand.

  “You’re awake,” he said when he looked up and caught sight of her.

  She nodded, already scanning for the others. Her father wasn’t her first choice to share the news with, but she might as well tell him. “I learned of a way to help Sterling,” she said. “There is a spell that can transfer her magic. I must tell the others. Have you seen them?”

  “That’s wonderful news. I knew you’d be able to do it,” he said, leaning his axe against a nearby tree.

  “It wasn’t me,” she said, looking around again. “Ren learned of the spell from the dragons. They are headed to our world to find it. Where is everyone?”

  “Oh, they went off into the woods over there.” He pointed to the trees behind her on the other side of the cabin. “Well, not the younger one. I’m not sure where she is. I think she might have said something about checking on the garden.”

  “Thank you.” The garden was just out of view. She’d head there first and then go in search of the other three. She’d only taken a few steps before she paused and turned back. “How long was I asleep?”

  Papa scratched his forehead. “Two days, I think. They didn’t expect you to wake until tomorrow; otherwise, I’m sure they would have been here.”

  Seraiah nodded and hurried on.

  She found Wisteria crouched among the rows of neatly ordered plants, mumbling to herself—or maybe she was talking to the plants; it was hard to tell.

  Her head snapped up when a twig snapped under Seraiah’s foot.

  “Oh, you’re awake,” Wisteria said, jumping to her feet. “Did you see the dragons?”

  “Not the dragons, but I did find Ren and Virelai, and they’ve learned a way we can save Sterling.”

  Wisteria bounced on her toes. “That’s amazing. Are they coming back here now? Are we going to Nyrene?”

  Seraiah shook her head. “They were about to cross the portal into the human world.”

  Wisteria’s nose wrinkled. “But why? Sterling isn’t there, is she?”

  “No, but they suspect the spell is.” Seraiah quickly explained what she’d learned. “We need to help them search, but first I have to find where everyone else went.”

  “I’ll help you,” Wisteria said, dusting off her palms on her skirts. “They went this way.”

  Seraiah followed Wisteria to what looked like a small animal trail. The wild tangle of plants grew denser the farther they went, and Seraiah was starting to wonder if Wisteria had gotten the direction wrong, when she heard a voice.

  “It’s a possibility,” Kai said from somewhere to her left.

  Another voice responded. It sounded like Kestrel, but she didn’t speak loud enough for Seraiah to make out her words.

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  “Let’s go this way,” Seraiah told Wisteria, moving off the animal trail and shoving through a pair of bushes.

  “Kai?” Seraiah paused, but she couldn’t hear them speaking anymore. “Kai? Kestrel? Eryx? Where are you?”

  The sound of snapping branches answered her as Wisteria pushed her way through the bushes behind her. “Are you sure this is right?”

  “I heard them,” Seraiah said. “They have to be close. Come on.”

  “If you say so,” Wisteria said, trudging after her.

  Kai was the first one to appear through the trees, his eyes scanning the area before landing on them.

  “Is everything all right? Did something happen?”

  “Yes. Well, no,” Seraiah said. “I have news. I woke up and needed to tell you. Wisteria helped me find you. What are you even doing out here?”

  “Making sure the wards are still holding and everything is as it should be,” Kestrel said, coming up behind Kai with Eryx at her side. “What’s this about news? Were you able to find Ren and Virelai?”

  Seraiah nodded. “They found a way. We can save her.”

  “You’re sure? You were able to speak with them?” Kai asked at the same time Kestrel let out a whoop and slung an arm around Seraiah’s neck. “I knew it! I knew there must be something! How much is it going to cost us?”

  Eryx swatted an insect out of his face. “Why don’t we get out of these trees first, and then you can tell us what you’ve learned.”

  The five of them made their way as fast as they could back to Ren’s cabin. Kai held tight to her hand the entire way.

  “All right, we’re here,” Kestrel said as soon as they entered the clearing. “Now out with it.”

  Seraiah told them how she’d communicated with Ren by writing in the dirt and what he’d been able to tell her. While she was speaking, her father joined the group and listened in.

  “A spell, huh?” Kestrel said. “And he thinks it’s in the human world?”

  “Have you heard anything like it?” Seraiah asked. “If Ren’s wrong, and it’s somewhere in this world, we need to help look for it.”

  “There have been rumors about it,” Kestrel said.

  “Made up stories, more like,” Eryx added.

  “If it was in the collection in Nyrene, we’d know about it,” Kai said. “We can’t be sure the dragons are right. It might not exist.”

  “I think that’s why the humans are being forced to dig that hole,” Papa said.

  They all turned to look at him.

  “What do you mean?” Kestrel demanded.

  “We were looking for something. That’s why they were making us dig. If there is a spell that can transfer magic, it seems like it would be important. I would imagine it might be what we were searching for. We did find some ruins of an old building that they were excited about.”

  “Old building,” Kestrel muttered. “Old building. Oh, that’s it! Did you think you could draw us a map of roughly where this hole is relative to Nyrene?”

  “I can try,” Papa said.

  “I’ll help too.” Wisteria said.

  The two of them disappeared inside the cabin.

  “What are you thinking?” Kai asked.

  “I’ll tell you after I see this,” Kestrel said. “Is there anything else you can tell us from your vision?”

  Seraiah shook her head. “That was it. I was trying to tell Ren we were at his cabin, but the vision dissolved before I could. He might have understood, but I can’t say for sure.”

  “They probably already crossed the portal, so I doubt the transportation potion will work,” Kestrel said. “No use in wasting one.”

  “Why would they go looking for a spell in the human world?” Eryx asked.

  “Mages,” Seraiah and Kestrel said at the same time.

  “Ah, I didn’t consider that. Although if the mages have the spell already, and Gavaran works with the mages, I don’t see why he would bother with this hole.”

  “Perhaps they don’t know what they have,” Kai said. “I believe most of the mages don’t have abilities themselves, so their spell collection is extensive. It would not surprise me if even they didn’t know what all of the spells were for.”

  “Here it is,” Wisteria called, bursting out of the cabin’s door with a piece of paper clutched in her hand. She waved the paper around in the air as she jogged to their group.

  “That was fast. Can’t be much of a map,” Eryx muttered.

  Kestrel elbowed him in the ribs. “You’re one to talk. I’ve seen what you call a map.”

  “Here,” Wisteria said, holding it out to Kestrel.

  Papa was slower to join the group. “It was the best of what I could remember,” he said as Kestrel studied the paper.

  Seraiah peeked over Kestrel’s shoulder. It didn’t look like much except a bunch of scribbles. If she had to guess, the top squiggles that went all the way across the page were meant to be the ocean, and then the triangle-looking thing right below it on the left must have been the cliff where Nyrene was perched.

  “That’s where it was,” Wisteria said, pointing to a circle in the bottom right. “I didn’t see the hole, only the camp.”

  “It was close to the camp,” Papa said. “A short walk through some trees, and you would reach the edge of it.”

  “It’s what I suspected,” Kestrel said. “Do you see it?” she asked, holding the paper out to Kai.

  “I do.”

  “What is it?” Wisteria asked.

  “A long time ago,” Kai said, “all of this was part of the city.” He drew his finger in the space between the triangle and the circle. “It was much larger than what we have today.”

  “What changed?” Seraiah asked.

  “The gods,” Kestrel said. “This would have been from the time before we were punished, when elves were immortal, like the faeries, and the gnomes didn’t live under the mountain. If I remember right, there should have been a school right about here.” She pointed to the circle. “It would have had a large library.”

  “Then Gavaran thinks the spell is in a book?” Seraiah asked.

  “Or some other relic that may have been inside the school. Who knows? None of us were alive then, but it might be something the faeries would know or even the dragons.” Kestrel shrugged. “What matters is that Gavaran doesn’t get his hands on the spell. I think it is time to rescue some humans and see what exactly they’ve found in this hole.”