Chapter 39

Rose

We moved slowly as we made our way back home. The king was not the strong man he was ten years ago, and Abigail’s stomach was becoming more cumbersome. The way back seemed far more treacherous, as well, with dangers real and imagined around every corner.

Every day, we fought off something: a bear, wolves, a pack of kobolds. It seemed as though something had awoken in the forest and whatever it was wanted us dead, in the worst possible way. We were constantly on edge and none of us had had a proper sleep since we left the Sea.

I watched as my sister grew somehow both bigger and smaller. As the babies grew within her, she herself seemed to become less. She still hadn’t spoken a word since we left the Black Keep, though she had become more communicative through other means, and would allow others to touch her again. Despite these improvements, her sadness was killing us both.

“Stupid question, I know,” Cat said one evening as she sat down next to me, “but are you okay?” I had walk