The cold, paralyzing terror that had locked my muscles dissolved into a gasp of pure, shuddering relief as the thick shadows of the Alberta brush finally parted. It wasn't Garm returning to finish his treason, nor was it the remnants of the dark courts seeking a final blood sacrifice.
It was Ivy.
She was running so fast her breath hitched in her throat, her boots skidding wildly against the blood-slicked gravel. She was clutching a massive mountain of clean, white linen cloths to her chest like a shield. Right behind her, Delphina came sprinting through the freezing mist, her face forzen with exhaustion but her hands remarkably steady as she balanced a steaming brass basin of hot water.
Chloe and Melanie followed close behind them, their heavy winter cloaks billowing in the wind, their arms laden with thick, protective swaddling blankets woven from the finest northern wool. Trailing at the very rear was Dominic.
