There was an air of melancholy that followed us through the grounds as we gathered our belongings and left. Eberon seemed particularly upset to be leaving his mother to deal with the state of their home by herself. I could understand his distress, but after having met Yevaron myself I knew she would be more than fine handling things on her own. I just prayed no more attacks came until she could get things back in order.

And really, I can't say I was upset to be leaving the whispers behind. The damned whispers that followed me everywhere. First, it was the humans, whispering that I was half fae. Then it was the Wyldes whispering that I was the found youth. Then it was the Aoyi'ka in the desert, Lark's daughter in the valley of the witches, and in Eidelhein I was Kalor's daughter.

And now I'm the Wylde witch.

I packed my things in a sour disposition, keeping to the room Thain and I were supposed to share since I could hear the murmurs if I left it. I packed Thain's few things while I was there since he was still out chasing down what he could of the fleeing Winter army.

With a huff, I stuffed my last pouch into my bag and closed it. A hard knock at my door startled me and I jumped. Soon after, the door swung open and Uldur came in with one of the females that had accompanied him in the main house. The maple dryad.

"We leave shortly from the north lawn," Uldur said. "Do you require any assistance?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "I think I have everything."

Then I bit my lip, looking out the window. "We're waiting for all of the warriors who are still out, right?"

He nodded curtly. "We are, they are being rounded up now."

I smiled, relieved. 

"Heyra will accompany you at all times as we travel," Uldur continued. "In the event that we are separated or we find ourselves under attack, Heyra will get you back to Thanantholl where we will convene and meet the king."

I raised an eyebrow. "You think we are going to be attacked?"

"No, not as we draw deeper into the Autumn lands, but I don't take my job lightly. Every possibility must be accounted for," Uldur answered.

I studied him a moment. I knew at first that he was likely glamoured, but I didn't pay him much more attention than that. He was certainly big, but most of the fighting males in the Wyldes were. He kept his auburn hair short, and his red eyes under a firmly set face of duty. He kept his clothes practical and his tone short and firm. Unlike when I met him earlier, he now had on a breastplate.

This was going to be a very long trip to Thanantholl.

Pursing my lips, I moved my gaze to Heyra. She stood very tall, with calm yellow eyes. Most dryads I met had been rather mellow characters. Hopefully, Heyra would be the same. 

"It's nice to meet you," I said to them, then turned back to Uldur. "I'll be down shortly."

He gave me one more firm nod, then left as abruptly as he had come. 

With a blank expression, Heyra took a position near the door, just watching me. 

Great. 

I arranged all of the bags I was in charge of and decided how to carry them. I had my bag of belongings, my bag of witchcraft supplies, and the bag that Thain had been carrying. Once I had them to where I could take them without much trouble, I stood and faced Heyra.

"I'm ready, we can go now," I said. 

Heyra opened the door for me silently and we went down the stairs. They stopped at the bottom of the steps, facing down the hallway where Schula, Nassir, and Spaulder were gathering their own things. 

I looked at the bark-covered dryad, but she didn't offer an explanation so I had to assume we were just waiting on the others. At least we didn't have to wait long. 

Schula came out first, her bag on her back and a frown on her face. 

"Oh, great," she grumbled. "I see they stuck you with one too!" 

I blinked, wondering for a moment what she was talking about, until I noticed the small nymph from before chasing after her. 

"I'm following my orders," the smaller female snapped. "Just as you do for King Baeleon. I still don't see what your problem is!" 

Schula rolled her eyes, rounding on the nymph. "My problem is that you're butting into my belongings and getting in the way!"

"I'm checking for unknown variables that could become essential factors in our mission to Thanantholl," the nymph insisted. "It's for the safety of the mission."

"What do my underthings have to do with the safety of the mission?" Schula asked. 

"What if we're stranded in the unclaimed Wyldes and we need extra layers for warmth?" The little green nymph put her hands on her hips. "And what if you have important medical supplies? And you get knocked out in battle and need medicine? And our own stores are depleted and we didn't know you had something in your pack so you lose your leg and-"

"Yaz," Heyra said in a low, soothing tone, causing me to look up at her in surprise. "Too much."

The nymph, Yaz, blinked. Her mouth was still partly open, probably to continue her list of ridiculous scenarios. 

"But-"

"Too much," Heyra insisted. 

Yaz's shoulders fell. She looked from Heyra, to Schula, to the two males who had come out of the room carrying their own things.

Schula crossed her arms, looking down at Yaz with an eyebrow raised. "I promise you, younglings, that I am a capable fighter. Neither me nor my companions need any looking after. I understand your role if we become separated, but in the meantime, you will treat me like the capable fae that I am, and I will give you the same courtesy."

Yaz's face flushed. She gave one last sheepish glance to Hayra, then turned back to the icy fae before her. "My apologies. I will... refrain from that sort of behavior in the future."

Schula sighed, her posture relaxing. "Thank you."

Spaulder chuckled and Nassir cleared his throat.

"I believe we can probably gather with the others on the lawn," Nassir said. 

The six of us gathered our things and left the guest house. I fell a bit behind the others, looking up at the sky as we walked. The gray clouds rolled overhead, promising to wash away the scars of the battle soon with a light rain. I could smell it in the air already, and if we didn't leave soon we would be marching in it. 

"What's the matter, Wren?" Schula asked. 

I looked back down to the land around me, meeting her eyes. "I was looking for Puko. I haven't seen him since I woke up."

"He followed Thain," she said as I sped up my walking to meet the group again. "And they should be back soon anyway. I see a lot of the warriors already gathered. And look, there's Eb."

Ahead of us was Uldur, talking to some of the other Autumn warriors. Eberon stood near them, impatiently tapping his foot as he looked out over the trees beyond where the battle took place.

"He looks anxious," I murmured.

"He probably doesn't want to leave without Thain," Nassir said, falling back to join us. 

Once we made it onto the field where we were to depart from, Schula and I walked over to Eberon. The fiery fae shot us a nervous smile.

"Is he far?" Schula asked. 

"No, I can feel him," Eberon said, his eyes glued to the trees once more.

"Are you worried about something?" I asked, reaching out to put my hand on his arm. 

Eberon sighed, meeting my gaze and giving me a more earnest smile. "It's just hard not to worry with him chasing after the Winter warriors."

"Eb," Schula said softly. "It's Thain. Don't be silly."

Eberon let out a soft laugh. "I know, I know, but... I suppose after seeing the estate nearly fall it's shaken my perspective. There was I time I thought this place was untouchable."

We looked around the grounds at the destruction. The blood and debris could be washed away, but there would be deeper scars here that would last long after that.

"Eb," Schula put a hand on his shoulder. 

"No, I'm being ridiculous," Eberon sighed. "We will rebuild, and I need more faith in Thain."

"Yes, you do," Spaulder said coming over to us. "Of all the fae I have met so far, he is easily the one I most expect to survive this war."

Eberon's face paled as he looked over Spaulder, letting the silence stretch while he tried to remember something. "What are you, Spaulder?"

Spaulder just chuckled. "I will show you when I am ready. I am very weak right now, but recovering nicely."

Eberon's eyes widened, and he looked to Schula who just hid her smile behind her hand. He turned to me, and I held my tongue and looked away. 

"At any rate," Nassir said. "I believe Thain is on his way. I feel something approaching swiftly from the west, and I believe the movement patterns are Thain's."

Relief flooded me, and I glanced at Eberon to see a similar expression on his face. Then I looked to the sky to see a fat black bird above the trees. They weren't too far at all.

"Alright, gather!" Uldur called. 

We turned to see the captain standing in the middle of a circle of his warriors. Anyone else in the field who wasn't already around him began to drift his way, us included. 

Uldur scanned the faces of the fae around him while he waited for everyone to get closer before he spoke. 

"We leave for Thanantholl in a moment, but before that I wanted to reiterate the importance of what we did here. The Winter court grows far too bold, and if it weren't for the brilliant signal provided to us, we would have lost a valuable point on our borders."

Uldur looked to where Eberon and I were standing, and then so did many of the other fae. My face heated a bit, but Eberon was eating the attention up. It brought a smile to his face as he gave a small bow, though the joy didn't quite reach his eyes yet. At least he seemed better than he had a moment ago. 

"Some of you have volunteered to stay here, and for that I thank you. Help Lady Yevaron rebuild and protect this edge of King Baeleon's reach. Let no Unseelie thing from the unclaimed Wyldes and no Winter creature encroach on her estate again, so long as we still stand."

Sounds of agreement fumbled around the gathered fae. 

Uldur nodded. "For the rest of us who do not remain here, we will escort Schula and Wren to the Autumn palace. In this, there will be no failure. They are the catalyst with which King Baeleon will set the Wyldes on fire with our wrath. One of ours will not be slighted in this way without punishment."

That drew downright cheers from the gathered warriors. Schula and I exchanged a look. 

"Does it feel like we're being used a bit?" I asked.

"That's an understatement," she muttered. "Let's just put up with it until we sort this all out with Baeleon."

I nodded silently as Uldur finished.

"Gather up, eyes on your group, and we move out." 

As Uldur finished, the fae went into action. 

"What did he mean our group?" I asked. 

Heyra and Yaz approached us. 

"That would be us," Yaz said. "We keep tabs on our groups, make sure no one goes missing."

Schula eyed the nymph carefully. 

"That's all I'll do," Yaz said, raising her hands. "I promise."

Schula sighed. I looked around and spotted Puko getting closer and closer. 

"Hey, Eberon," I said. "Can you feel him?"

Eberon stopped and looked to me, then to where I was watching the sky. He smiled. 

"Yes, he's close."

"Feel better?" Schula asked, nudging him with her elbow."

Eberon rolled his eyes and gently pushed away her arm. 

We began walking slowly, keeping to the back of the group until Thain could catch up. It was interesting to observe the Autumn warriors move so efficiently as we made our way into the trees. Everyone carried something of use. Everyone was keeping an eye on each other. Even conversation was quiet. Hushed, to allow for listening for sounds of other fae creatures in the woods. 

"Caw!" 

I grinned as I looked overhead. Puko was flapping down to land on my outstretched arm, and I smiled as he landed. 

"There you are," I said as I hugged him. "I was worried about you. Did you watch over Thain?"

Eberon stopped as a running figure came to the group from the back. Thain slowed to meet Eberon and the embraced, patting each other on the back before operating. 

Thain's eyes were wild from the hunt, still half a beast as he came off the fields and met with the rest of us. My heart pounded just looking at him. He was already putting his glamour back in place, but it would never truly hide who he was. 

"I would say the one being watched over was him," Thain nodded to Puko.

I smiled at the raven. "I think I can believe that. I hope you were good."

"Caw!" 

"What's the hold up back there?" Uldur called. "Less noise, more marching."

We exchanged looks with each other and I shrugged. We picked our pace back up to match the rest of the Autumn warriors around us.

"Welcome back," I heard Eberon whisper to Thain. 

And I smiled. Whatever awaited us in Thanantholl, at least we would be together. 

And that would have to be enough.