Page 97 of Crown of Wings and Whispers

Not all. You’ll find out tomorrow.

Yes. Trouble tomorrow, contentment tonight, I thought, as I wobbled on the tightwire between awake and asleep. If Griffon would just stop kissing the back of my shoulder…

“Lennon?”

“Mmm?”

“Is it cold, out in space?”

I froze, weighed my options, and answered as coolly as I could. “I couldn’t tell. We were in some sort of protective bubble. It surrounded us long before we reached the edge of the atmosphere.” I rolled away from him, so I could face the music.

He was leaning on his elbow, holding his head, obviously happy I was ready to confess, but not at all pleased at what I was confessing. “Why didn’t Kivi explain this protective bubble before?”

“I don’t think she knew.”

His nostrils flared and I could see him gearing up for a lecture about taking risks.

In a preemptive move, I reached out and laid a hand on his chest. “Listen. We’re not dealing with a logical being. She’s an animal, and she lives on instinct—magical instinct that has been guiding us all through this learning phase. I can tell when she’s only wishful thinking as opposed to following some sense of purpose. And that purpose is what we’re after, right?”

He nodded, then sighed. “Go ahead. Tell me the rest. Just where were you when you had to flee a dark dragon?”

I started from the beginning and left nothing out, even when he winced at the idea of Kivi calling that other place home. I placated him by swearing I had no intention of going there again.

“Interesting.” He toyed with a tie on the stretch of quilt between us. “The Pleiades features prominently in very old lore. If we ever findThe Queevnaagain, we’ll have to ask them about it.” He suddenly yawned and stretched and tugged on me until I scooted close. “Long day. We need sleep.”

“Sleep?”

“Yes, sleep.”

* * *

After breakfast,the others sat in while Wickham told Griffon and me that most of the Naming Powers had been stolen from the tunnel between Muirsglen and Castle Ross. He explained how Orion could have learned about the tunnel from any of the Muirs he’d tortured. And even if the Fae hadn’t sensed the powers through the porous bottoms of the jars, Orion could have guessed it was Wickham’s hiding place.

“The only powers still in our possession are Persi’s and Fallon’s. Persi warned me not to keep all our eggs in one basket, so I wrapped the Hope jar in an old, oiled skin and hid it inside a tomb. If anythin’ happens to me, one of the Rosses can get ye to it. They’ll know the tomb I’m talkin’ about.”

Wickham and Persi exchanged a long look, then he took my hands in his and demanded my full attention.

“If anythin’ happens to Persi—if we suddenly cannae find her, if there is a chance Orion has taken her, I want ye to get to the castle and take that last jar far, far away. Dinnae bury it in the earth. We must keep it from Orion no matter what the cost.”

I stared deep into his eyes and willed him to believe me. “I can do that.”

He smiled, nodded once. “I believe ye can.”

I realized Griffon wasn’t happy to hear that, but when Wickham released my hands, Griffon was watching the man with a new appreciation. Of course, there was no way Wickham could have known that I was capable of flying to another planet, but maybe the old Grandfather had given him some sort of hint. Or maybe that white mist inside him knew things…

It was more plausible that Wickham had taken a peek into my recent memories, but if he had, I didn’t want to know.

Our next logical move was to findThe Queevna. If there was a way to thwart Orion now, they might just know a way to get the Naming Powers away from Orion. Or at least a way to end this war with a stalemate.

Griffon interrupted the conversation to announce that we would have our wedding before we hunted anyone, which sent the household into chaos. Everly said we’d need two weeks to pull it off. Griffon refused to hear it.

“Two days,” he said. “And that’s being generous. If I had my way, we’d head to St. Mary’s this morning.”

Everly gasped, then shook her head. “Five days.”

“Two.”

“All right,” she said. “Four days.”

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