Travelling via the shadows for a second time was surprisingly less unpleasant than the first time she had experienced, though Seraphina had to admit that the initial experience had been spoiled by the fact that she’d been at death’s door at the time and it is very difficult to have a good time while actively bleeding from your lungs.
Instead of warping directly into the witch coven's territory as Seraphina had expected, Alios deposited them at the border of a small town on the outskirts, tucked against the craggy shadows of a small tree-covered hill. The town was little more than a collection of small brick and stone homes, and first words that came to the princess’s mind were ‘quaint’ and ‘rustic’, but she tried to put the uncharitable thoughts from her mind. Yes it was a small village,
