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Agnar spots me and straightens. A grin spreads across his face. “Agnar Kerrin reporting for debriefing, Your Majesty.”

Leesa’s eyes are wide and bright, and I’m pretty sure she’s biting the inside of her cheek.

Which doesn’t explain the muffled giggle coming from their direction. Nor the wriggling lump under Agnar’s coat. Or why Kin’s hovering over Agnar’s head.

I play along. “Agnar, I’m so glad to see you. Though you seem to be suffering from a strange form of humpback.”

Agnar shrugs his shoulders, and the bouncy act produces even more girlish giggles from behind his back. “Ah, yes. It’s a family affliction, you understand. Tends to flare up after I’ve been away for a while.”

When he lifts his arm, the lump under his coat scrambles. A familiar leg pops out before digging into his side in an attempt to climb back up into hiding. A set of hands is suddenly visible at his collar as well.

By this time, I’ve reached them. I pat him on the oddly head-shaped lump just below his neck. “Yet despite your travels, you show up smelling like roses.”

“I don’t smell! Mama made me take a bath!” Rose’s voice is muffled by her uncle’s coat but indignant enough to make us all fight to keep our composure. Except Agnar, who just continues smiling with innocent eyes.

Sterling chokes down a laugh. “Well, we all appreciate this new rosy disposition of yours. Let’s get some breakfast. Then we need to talk.”

Unfortunately, all the jokes and levity are left at the door. The air feels thick in my private sitting room as Sterling, Agnar, and Leesa recount the strange things they ran into during their journey.

Abandoned villages stretch across my mind. Children “dedicated” to temples like sacrificial lambs. Fourteen ships off the coast of Tirene lured to their doom by harpies. Temples filled with blank-faced worshippers, like the corrupted, but without black eyes. People who, when questioned, vowed that they chose their fate without regret.

As they speak, every fact bleeds into another, each detail worse than the last. The collective horror of their discoveries cocoon us like a thick, suffocating shroud that demands to be torn apart.

My heart sinks, and I’m sure of the answer before I even voice my question. “And the portal?” I glance over at Rose, who’s happily swinging her legs at a table on the far side of the room. She’s eating a cream pastry, unaware of the “adult talk” happening over here.

Honestly, I don’t know how her mother keeps up with the little girl. Though, now that they’ve moved into the palace, Quinn no doubt enjoys some quiet moments to herself when Rose is hanging out with me, Sterling, or Agnar.

Sterling shakes his head, the shadow on his face deepening. “Gone. Hidden. Maybe never existed. While we located places resembling what we saw in the scrying and book illustrations, we never actually found it. But the worst part was what we did find.”

A chill runs through me, and the room grows still.

Rafe and Helene arrived during these disclosures, joining the circle silently. Their presence heightens the tension because I’m still waiting on their discoveries about the missing scientist-priests. With every new piece of information, faces grow grimmer. Bastian slipped in last and took a seat beside Leesa on one of the couches. He’s since pulled her into his lap.

With anyone else, I’d be willing to bet they missed the last five minutes of the conversation. But I have no doubt that between stealing kisses when he thought no one was looking and whispering into Leesa’s ear, Bastian’s processed every word.

“It’s not just the other kingdoms we have to worry about.” Helene clenches her hands tight in her lap. I know she has to be worried for her own family back in Aclaris. “If this corruption spreads, it could reach our borders and devour us whole. We need a plan, and we need it fast.”

“Something is wrong with the elemental balance.” Rafe toys with his breakfast, using his air magic to push a sausage around on his plate. “This is all the gods’ work.”

Sterling’s brow creases as he stares into the hearth in contemplation. “If we could find the portal, we could demand answers. We could…” His voice trails off, the possibilities weighed down by harsh reality.

Agnar catches my eye, his expression shifting from camaraderie to urgent concern. “Lark, Sterling’s being watched. He felt it the whole time. The presence is getting stronger.”

The tension uncoils around my heart, pulling my breath short. I recall my garbled vision of three figures staring into a pool. Of gazing down at Sterling surrounded by water. Sterling didn’t mention anything like that happening.

Questions race through my mind, like fire raging through the underbrush. Thinking of that distorted vision reminds me of something else I saw. Or thought I remembered seeing. “Rose, can you come here, please?”

The little girl perks up, scrambling down from her chair to race over to me. The others shift to let her through. She licks pastry cream off of her lips and brushes her hands on her dress.

“Do you think we could see Kin scry again? The first one you showed us of the portal.” At my request, Rose’s flame familiar flickers and flutters at her shoulder, its soft glow illuminating her blond hair.

When Rose nods and smiles, the flame-image shimmers to life with images of mountains, caves, and mist.

There.

Something I hadn’t noticed the first time.

I point to a blurred section. “There’s something odd there. It’s as if some illusory, gauzy film floats overtop, hiding what’s beneath.”