Being warm was such an odd sensation.

Not that I had been cold, or that I couldn't have started a fire when I wanted to. But since leaving the desert and crossing back into the Wyldes, we had only been in the unclaimed lands or in Autumn territory and neither one was as lusciously warm as the Summer lands.

I stretched out, sleeping under the shade of one of Spaulder's wings with only a few spaces to peek out around me in the hawthorn grove. Our people surrounded us. Exhausted Autumn creatures that fled the city with us so many days ago. Mixed among them were Summer court soldiers, Aithne taking charge as some sort of authority in this area.

Puko napped on Spaulder's neck, a place he had taken to perching more often than not. It warmed my hear to see the bird I had known my whole life take a liking to my triquetram. I just wish he wasn't such a pest sometimes. But Puko's newfound affection for the dragon did give me a reprieve from waking up each day with a hungry peck on the nose.

The chance to sleep after such a long stretch of marching, coupled with the warmth of the Summer lands and the comfort of laying by my triquetram made me more comfortable than I had been in a long time.

Which was all the more reason I was so upset to be woken up.

Smack. Something tiny but very solid hit me smack in the forehead. I startled awake, my eyes popping open to the sight of the warm sun shining through the membrane of Spaulder's glorious wing. My hand flew to my forehead where a small spot was still tender, assuring me that I hadn't been dreaming.

I sat up slowly, not hearing sounds of conflict. No shouting, no running. We clearly weren't under attack.

So, what hit me?

'Spaulder,' I reached out with my mind. 'Spaulder, did you throw something at me?'

But Spaulder didn't answer. He just made a series of sleepy grumbles and shifted a bit in his sleep. Schula slept on his other side, and there's no way she could have done anything to me from there.

I looked down at the grass around me. At first, nothing stood out, but when I moved my hand and got poked by an acorn, I realized there shouldn't be any acorns in a grove of hawthorn trees.

I picked it up and crawled out from under Spaulder's wing, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

The grove was quiet. a few patrols of the Summer court idled as they watched over us. Clearly they didn't suspect us of any tricks. Aithne was probably to thank for that, at least her strange code of honor could help us with that.

But with none of the Summer court looking my way, all of our refugees asleep, and my own triquetram asleep, who threw an acorn at me? It was no accident it made its way toward my head, it had to be thrown through a narrow gap under Spaulder's wing.

The Summer lands kept tall grass meadows, and the one outside the hawthorn grove was no exception. Anything could be in there, but you wouldn't suspect it the way the Summer guard handled themselves. 

Very confident within their own borders, considering what could have come in on our heels. I glanced back. Aithne was nowhere in sight. She should be resting like the rest of us, but I guess she could also be patrolling. Or even giving a report to her queen. But then I spotted the two males she kept close by and wrote it off. There's no way either of them would have let her go far on her own.

I began to stand, but then I thought better of it. Whoever got my attention could have done more serious damage if they meant harm. And if they woke me in that manner it was probably because they wanted me and me alone.

Of course it could be a trap, but it could also be something else. And I had the added secret of communicating with Spaulder, provided he wasn't too far away.

I crouched down low and took off my boots. Just like when I would hunt in the mountains. With the control my feet in nothing but stockings gave me, I was able to get around silently. Slowly, but silently. I crept in the grass, moving forward for a bit and then sitting on my heels.

I closed my eyes, listening. Waiting. If someone had wanted my attention, they were watching. I couldn't tell much about the direction they were in, so going out any deeper was futile.

As I sat, I listened. Wind, distant birds, insects. But nothing that told me someone was out here. I looked down in my hand, I was still carrying the acorn. 

Acorn... oak tree. My eyes shot back up again. Where were the nearest oaks? The meadow was big, but I could see where we had entered the Summer lands. Where the kiss of warm summer ends and the unclaimed Wyldes begin, that's where the closest oak trees were.

Crawling forward again, I headed for them. Surely someone couldn't have thrown this from that far, which meant they were still here.

Frowning, I looked out over the meadow. I couldn't see where anyone would be, but if they were trying to stay out of sight than it was no surprise I couldn't find them.

'Wren?' Schula's sleepy voice got my attention.

'I'm in the meadow,' I told her. 'Is Spaulder awake?'

Even from here I couldn't miss the giant black dragon as he rolled on his side.

'I am now, since you're using my mind,' he grumbled.

'Sorry,' Schula mumbled. 'Wren, what are you doing out there?'

I looked out over the meadow one last time. Someone wanted me, but they didn't want anyone else to know about it. That wasn't necessarily a good thing, but for now they weren't going to approach with the crowd behind me. I sighed and stood up, turning back toward the grove with no more reason to hide.

'I'm just getting a moment to myself,' I answered. 'I'm coming back now.'

'Good, Aithne is asking for us,' Schula said.

Walking back to the hawthorn grove, I slipped back under Spaulder's wing but this time on the side Schula had been under. She was in a state of lazy half-dress in her tunic with no pants or boots.

'Someone is going to walk in on you,' I teased.

'Aithne already did.' She sat up, stretching. 'Nothing she hasn't seen before.'

My eyebrows raised. 'And that means what exactly?'

Schula shrugged. 'It means my legs are nothing she hasn't seen before. Help me tie my hair up.'

Deciding to press her for details later, I obliged in neatening her braids while she pulled on her leggings and laced up her boots. Spaulder grumbled at the disturbance the whole time, but eventually Schula was decent and Spaulder was irreversibly awake, so he folded his wings away and we were revealed to the rest of the grove.

"There you two are," Aithne spoke up, not being too loud so the ones that were still resting could remain that way.

She was dressed neatly. Her clothes and armor had been cleaned while she slept, if she slept. Not that I had seen her do it anyway. Her red patterned skin was more detailed now that I was seeing her closer and we weren't in combat. Her golden hair was neatly pinned up, and her stubborn chin was raised as she spoke to us.

"We're here, what did you want?" Schula asked, somewhat coldly.

Aithne's eyes settled on the icy fae for a moment, but if she had a comment she didn't say it. "My queen wishes to see you sooner rather than later. If you comply, it will look much better for your case."

I rolled my eyes. A case, so it was to be a trial no matter what.

Schula sighed, but I caught her looking out at the people around us.

'We can't cause a fuss until they're safe,' she said.

'Does eating the queen count as a fuss?' Spaulder asked, still appearing to the rest of the world as a sleeping dragon.

I snorted a laugh and immediately slapped my hand over my mouth.

Aithne gave me a sharp look, but Schula distracted her. 

"Alright, we can go when you're ready," she said.

Aithne turned her attention back to Schula. She gave a sharp nod. "Good, meet me on the east side of the grove when you've gathered your things."

She turned on her heel and walked away. I noticed her two male companions were now awake, sleepily packing what they could in a rush.

'Gather our things? I'm the only one with a bag and she knows it,' I said.

'Let's just play along until we know what's happening,' Schula said. 'Maybe with access to her castle we can hear word of Thanantholl's fate.'

I nodded. 'Good idea.'

'Must I get up?' Spaulder protested.

'You can meet us later if you'd like to sleep more,' Schula offered.

Spaulder sighed, rolling off his side and onto his feet. It garnered quite a bit of attention, but he didn't seem to notice.

'No, I must keep an eye on you two,' he said.

I smiled warmly at him. 'We love you too, Spaulder.'

He snorted a puff of air from his nose and began walking in the direction Aithne had indicated.

'Well,' Schula sighed, 'let's get this over with.'

We followed Spaulder, but my head was still elsewhere. I played with something in my pocket. Small, round, and hard. The acorn.

With one last glance behind me, I left the mystery for now. 

If Mila were here she would tell me that time would reveal the Mother's plans.

I just hoped they were plans for a better future.