Lenora's POV
I rode hard and arrived at Rowan's settlement before midnight.
The house was intact. The door was locked. When I knocked, Rowan's voice came through the wood: "Who's there?"
"Lark. Open the door."
The bolt slid back. Rowan looked at me with the calm of a woman who had been expecting trouble and was not going to give it the satisfaction of appearing surprised.
"He came this afternoon," she said. "The soldier. He knocked and said he was there on council business."
"Did you let him in?"
"No." A pause. "I sent Mira out the back window first."
I let out a breath. "Where is she?"
"Neighbor's house. She's been there since this afternoon." Rowan stepped back and let me inside. "He didn't force entry. He just stood at the door and talked."
"What did he say?"
Rowan sat at the
