Warren huddles on his pallet, waiting for the sound of the key in the lock. The soldier who’d come to check his cell was bored, barely casting his eyes over the room before leaving again. The knitting needle Gerta hid remains undiscovered.
A crescent moon casts dim light on the stone floor. For a wondrous moment, Warren thinks maybe the i***t soldier has forgotten to lock his cell. But then there comes the scrape of a key. Warren’s heart sinks. Quietly, he lifts out the slat on his pallet and retrieves the needle. A part of him—quite a big part—is still angry with the old woman. It’s her strange knowledge that’s keeping the insects imprisoned. It’s she who tends the comatose Blaiz. Her skills give Maxen his power. But it was also Gerta who wandered into the wilderness after Solma lost he
