Page 113 of Keldori By Daybreak

“Come on.” Iseult pushed us back. “You didn’t see us.”

“Wait!” The shopkeeper took Iseult’s hand as she tried to step away. “Lysanor's library is an hour’s walk from here on the other side of the Great Willow, near the textile market. Look for the bridge with a stone cat. You’ll find the library close by.”

Iseult’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank you.”

“You’re here to get rid of them, right?” the shopkeeper asked, and my stomach dropped when I realized she was speaking to me. “The Baron’s occupation? I heard what you did to one of them.”

I shook my head.

“I’m sorry.” It was all I could manage. I wished I could make the Baron’s guards go away. I wished I could help the city that had been so hospitable all week.

But the Rift needed to be sealed. As soon as we had the journal, we were gone.

“Come on.” Orla hooked her arm around my elbow and led me after Iseult as I stuttered out another apology. “It’s not your fault the guards are here, Wren.”

“I know.” But my voice was tight. Everyone thought I was a god. The woman had looked so disappointed. They’d all feel that way when they found out I wasn’t what they’d been led to believe.

“You’re a good person,” Orla insisted. I bit back my guilt at the words. She wouldn’t be saying them if she knew we’d orchestrated Ferrin’s arrival and subsequent drowning at the Keep. “I know if we had the chance to help, you would. Maybe after we seal the Rift, we can come back.”

“We can’t,” Iseult said without looking back at us.

“I know, but maybe—”

“The Rift will be sealed. Whatever doorway leads to Keldori is going to be dangerous enough passing through once. It’s worth the risk to save our worlds, but the survival of the Sovereigns’ bloodlines are what keep the Rift closed. To risk passing through the door again is to risk death, and for you to risk death before furthering your bloodline is to risk the Rift.”

“Right.” Orla let go of my elbow and lowered her eyes. “Furthering my bloodline.”

I glanced between Orla and the back of Iseult’s headscarf, my stomach sinking.

“There’s options,” I said quickly. “For women in Keldori who want children but don’t want a husband.”

Orla snapped her head up to look at me, but Iseult sighed.

“I’ve told you before not to speak of Keldori here,” she said. “The less Skalterra knows, the safer both our homes are.”

Orla took my hand and squeezed.

“Thank you, Wren,” she murmured. “I’m excited to see what else Keldori has, especially since it’ll be my home too after the Rift closes.”

“And it’ll be better for it.” I squeezed her hand back.

The Great Willow’s veins of opal glittered in the sun that peeked between vines. The tree towered higher as we approached, and I arched my head back to watch the vegetation sway.

We stopped a few times so Iseult could ask for directions towards the textile market, and then we stopped again for a late lunch in a small plaza.

“Where will we live?” Orla asked between bites of her gravy and meat over bread. “In Keldori?”

“Probably Keel Watch Harbor where the Rift is.” I shrugged. “You’ll like it. It’s right on the water, and the train runs through town.”

“Train!” she repeated. “That’s your word for steamcart! I remember that one!”

“Careful,” Iseult murmured over her food.

“I guess if you really wanted, you could probably take college courses,” I suggested. “We’ll have to forge some documents and transcripts for you, but with magick, that shouldn’t be too hard, I think.”

“College?” Iseult repeated.

“Advanced schooling,” I explained.