“Can you see them?” I asked, studying her.
She looked like she was heavily weighing things that I hadn’t even thought about yet.
Ardetia hesitated, which was never comforting.
“Many,” she said carefully. “I walked along her perimeter. It’s concerning.”
“More importantly, when did you do this?” Twobble asked, tossing a crouton in his mouth.
She looked at Twobble. “I went when the orcs first arrived. I wanted to see if I could pick up any residue to ensure that none of the orcs had come from the Priestess’ compound.”
“You shouldn’t have gone alone.” Stella shook her head.
Ardetia forged ahead. “The outer edge is bound shadowcraft. It can be felt everywhere.” She glanced at Nova. “The inner circle is bloodline magic.”
Twobble and Skonk traded worried glances.
“That tracks with Maeve’s mom being there. She’s able to manipulate magic purely off the proximity of her daughter,” Caleb said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“What about the center? The heart of the compound,” my dad asked.
“The center…” Ardetia’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “The center feels wrong.”
“Wrong how?” Caleb asked.
Ardetia didn’t pace or sigh. She straightened and brought her gaze to mine. “Hungry.”
The word settled deep in my bones as my fingers went to the butterfly pendant hanging around my neck.
“That’s where my mom is,” I whispered.
Nova met my eyes. “Possibly.”
“Please don’t use seer words with me right now.” I shook my head. “No vagueness. The dungeons are in the center of her compound. When I went to rescue Gideon, I saw enough of the layout to know that much.”
Her lips curved, but there was no humor in them. “Likely.”
My dad took a step toward me. “Then I’ll go in.”
“No,” I said immediately.
His brows lifted in surprise.
I recognized that look. I’d seen it on the bulldog’s face plenty of times, usually right before he ignored me and waddled toward a pastry he had no business eating. But now he was a man…my dad.
“You are not bulldog-stubborning your way into this,” I said. “You can’t just knock on the front door and expect to survive.”
“I can distract.”
I shook my head. “I'm not trading one parent for the other. We can't be reckless.”
“I’m your father.” He winked at me.
“And I’m your daughter,” I said. “Which means I inherited the stubbornness that you display so proudly, and I have improved upon it.”
Twobble sucked in a breath. “Bold claim.”
“Accurate claim,” Stella murmured, and I shot her a glance.
