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have to go out. We can’t watch TV here, that’s for sure, and the cable hasn’t been hooked up at the Veil House yet.” Luna stood up, still looking weak, but her cheeks were beginning to glow rosy again. She was a yummanii bard; her magic was in her song. She’d come to us for advice and ended up staying.
    I glanced at her. “You okay? You can stand without help?”
    She nodded. “So where do we go? And yes, I’m doing better. The food and wine helped a lot. But…I never want to go through that again.”
    Peyton spoke up. “We can go over to Rex’s apartment. He’ll be fine with that.” Her father had rented an apartment in town not far from the Veil House. Anadey, her mother, was still lurking in the shadows, running her diner, but she hadn’t made another attempt to contact Peyton after she’d betrayed us.
    “Good, I can charge up my cell phone while I’m there without worrying that somebody up at the house is going to steal it.” Even though they were working for Regina, I didn’t trust the vamps fixing up the house. Regina had paid for the restorations, though we could have gotten a loan from the Consortium—the magical guild we now rather forcibly belonged to—but for some reason, the Emissary had insisted on footing the bill.
    “Soon enough, you must leave your toys and gadgets behind.” Lainule’s voice tripped lightly over the words and, at her melodic tongue, we turned. All of us rose, and Grieve and Chatter bowed, as Rhia and I dropped into deep curtseys.
    “Your Highness…” I hadn’t expected to see her. Lainule had been keeping to herself the past few days, except when she had called us in to instruct us in what would be expected.
    She looked tired. Regaining her heartstone had savedher life, but it also deposed her as Queen. However, Lainule seemed content to accept her destiny gracefully. The foliage around the Barrow was halfheartedly returning to its former glory. Once we crossed through the portals that cloaked the Marburry Barrow, though, Myst’s snows and ice came rampaging back with a fury. But here…here the trees were green again, though with a faint orange glow, like we were at the end of a long summer.
    And it truly was the end of summer. At least the end of the summer that had ruled here for who knew how many centuries. Lainule would preside over the initiation and coronation of Rhiannon and me, and then she and my father would leave, forever, back to the Golden Isle. Rhia and I would then be responsible for routing Myst and bringing the balance back to the world.
    But for now, she was still here, with us.
    She swept into the room and accepted a chair. “Regina contacted me. She warned me of what’s going on with Geoffrey and Leo, and the Blood Oracle. You must
all
be cautious until they are caught and Crawl is back under lock and key. Nothing can go amiss. You
must
undergo the initiation and coronation without delay.”
    As she sat there, it almost felt like she was one of us. Regal though she might be, the aura of her rule was fading. It made me want to cry.
    “We’ll watch out. I promise. I’m also asking the guards to keep an eye on the Veil House during the day to protect Peyton and the others. Regina promised guards at night.”
    “It heartens me to know you are taking this seriously. Myst must be destroyed. The balance must return. And you, Cicely, must finally visit the Court over which you will be ruling. It’s time to see your new home.”
    The Barrow here would become Rhiannon’s new home. When she married Chatter—Grieve’s best friend and now soon-to-be King of Summer—they would live here, in the warmth of eternal summer. My own home was destined to be colder, caught in the grips of the eternal winter.
    I sucked in a deep breath. The thought of living inperpetual snow and ice frightened me. “I wish…” But I stopped. There was no turning back, no walking away. Wishing for something that wasn’t meant to be wouldn’t make it