Just before dusk settled in, the slope of the mountain eased, and they managed to climb to the top. There, they found Moss, who had waited like a loyal dog and came bounding toward them with just as much enthusiasm. He pulled Cody into an almost bone-crushing hug.

"I can’t believe you waited here the whole time," Cody choked out, and the ogre quickly pulled away.

"I’m sorry." Moss bowed his head. "I didn’t dare go down. As you know, I’m not good at climbing, and I was afraid I’d only make things worse if you had to come scrape me off the rocks."

"That’s not what I meant," Cody said quickly. "You could’ve gone back to the house until we returned. Or back to the other ogres."

"And miss out on your budding romance?" Moss shook his head with such indignation that it wobbled dangerously on his shoulders. "I was quite entertained." He narrowed his eyes at Cody. "Though I could’ve been more entertained. You sure like dragging things out."

"Tell me about it," Orion said with a crooked grin.

Though it was too dark to see the color of Cody’s cheeks, Orion was certain they’d turned another shade of red.

"Maybe you could teach me a thing or two about courtship," the ogre said to Orion. "Apparently, you made such an impression on Cody that not even a spell could stand a chance."

"Moss, stop," Cody groaned.

"Why? Don’t I deserve love too? Oh, if only Bast would look at me the way you two look at each other…" He let out a wistful sigh that ruffled Orion’s hair.

"You could start by going to talk to her," Cody muttered. "That might help."

"And leave you and your mission behind?" Moss crossed his broad arms. "Biggest turnoff I can think of!"

Orion clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You’re shaping up to be quite the hero, though. If you hadn’t come to warn me, today would’ve ended badly."

Suddenly, silver motes swirled around them, forming into the silhouette of a cat standing on two legs, wearing a cloak.

"Merlin!"

Though the cat couldn’t hear him—he was merely a messenger spell—Orion instinctively dropped to his knees to meet his friend’s eyes.

"Orion, we’ve found your sister. She’s being held in the Valley of Men." A heavy silence followed, one that made the hairs on Orion’s hands stand up. "Luther has also captured Astoria. He demands a meeting. We’re heading back home now. As difficult as it is that that monster has Astoria and your sister, we do not believe it wise to respond blindly to his demands."

The silhouette burst apart into thousands of glittering lights, small as dust, then faded all at once.

Orion ran a hand down his face. Luther. As if a jealous, murderous forest spirit wasn’t enough—now he had to deal with a bitter ex as well.

. . .

Orion’s shoulders sank, as if Merlin’s news had added a mountain’s weight to them.

"What do you think he wants?" Cody asked cautiously.

They were walking again, following the cliffside trail back to Orion’s house. Night had fully fallen, though glowing plants and mushrooms offered patches of soft light. Even so, Cody kept well away from the edge. Nobody knew where Locke was—he could leap from the shadows and shove him over again at any moment.

A shiver slid down his spine at the thought. Instinctively, he reached for Orion’s hand and held it tightly.

"Hmm?" The touch seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.

"What could Luther want from you? He told me you’d lost your mind. That you were dead."

Orion looked straight ahead and sighed deeply. "You know how he is. He probably crossed paths with my sister and saw an opportunity to exploit."

A memory flashed through Cody’s mind, squeezing his gut. "I told him. I asked if Nova was in that village. I—I’m sorry. That must’ve been what made him go looking for her."

Orion’s shoulders didn’t tense. There was no sign that he blamed Cody.

"Maybe he already wanted leverage over you," Cody mused. "He tried to lure me inside too. If Basil hadn’t stepped in, maybe he would’ve succeeded. Though… I can’t imagine he knew I, um, well… meant something to you."

Orion kicked something out of his way—a fallen fruit, maybe. "He definitely knew."

"Oh." Cody flushed again. "I… you used to live in that village too, right? Did he force you to leave? Since you two… never really got along?"

Orion laughed, but it was a humorless sound. "I was lonely. Had no idea what to do in the wild on my own with a sick cat. When I stumbled across the Valley of Men, I didn’t hesitate. Not even when I saw Luther. I always liked riling him up a bit—I never hated him. He just needed someone to push back now and then. Burn off steam. We became friends. More than that, even," he admitted under his breath.

Cody stopped, staring at him in disbelief. "What? He was… awful. A bully."

Orion shrugged. "You stop being picky about friends when you’re here long enough. And I didn’t have the cats yet—just Spekkie. He was still called Sammy then."

Cody said nothing. He couldn’t imagine it—and the idea of Luther and Orion together made his skin crawl.

"I was just lonely, I think. I didn’t love him. We fought a lot, but I was… scared to be alone. And he held a lot of sway in the Valley." He took a deep breath. "Yeah, it’s pathetic. Probably not how you pictured me, huh? The cheerful Orion who doesn’t care what anyone thinks. But being exiled hurt. Not being allowed to see my sister. Or you. Or the friends I had. Even my parents. No one protested, no one… fought for me."

The emotion still clinging to Orion’s voice made Cody’s throat tighten. "I thought you wanted to leave. You were doing experiments on animals. You—you knew that was forbidden, didn’t you?"

"Yeah." Orion’s fingers stiffened in his. "But I also knew Sammy would die if I didn’t."

The words stunned him. "What do you mean?" Cody had always thought Orion did it for fun—or to spite the rules.

"Sammy was sick. I saw him in pain every day. He barely ate. The doctor couldn’t figure it out. Not that it surprised me—he probably never treated a cat in his life. So I gave Sammy a voice. So he could tell me what hurt and I could fix it. Turned out it wasn’t anything major: an infected tooth root. In the Valley, I pulled the tooth and gave him herbs for the infection. But I only knew what to do because he could tell me it throbbed in his jaw and every bite hurt."

Something trembled inside Cody. A deep grief that Orion had been exiled for that—for caring about his cat, for trying to ease his pain. Something hotter stirred too. Anger. "Did you explain that to the Council?"

"I did." His voice was bitter. "Didn’t matter. 'Rules are rules.' No exceptions. I doubt they even believed me. Probably thought I wanted Sammy to spy for me. They were paranoid like that."

Cody bit his lip. It was so unfair. Worse still that Orion’s parents hadn’t spoken up for him. It must have felt like they were relieved he couldn’t bring them more shame. "And that’s when you ended up in the Valley. How long were you there?"

"Two and a half years, give or take. It wasn’t a bad place. Everyone kept to themselves. No one talked much. Speaking of Holtgaard was taboo. Asking why someone was exiled was taboo. Any personal question made people suspicious—like you were sticking your nose in their business. So it wasn’t easy to make friends. Or feel like you belonged."

"And Luther was the exception?" Cody still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Orion shrugged. "He liked hearing himself talk. Sometimes he listened too. As hard as it is to believe, he got me through that first year. After that, I started leaving the village more often. That’s when I found the other cats. They were drawn to me somehow. Basil said he could sense I had a magical bond with another cat. Before I knew it, five of them were following me everywhere. Things got better after that. Though Luther hated it. Hated animals in general. Didn’t want them in the house, not even in the shed where Sammy still slept at the time. The cats didn’t like him either. Not one bit."

"And that’s why you eventually left?"

Orion looked away.

Cody didn’t know if it was the berries he’d eaten, but he could feel Orion’s shame. "No. Not until Locke showed up. He pitted us against each other. At first, he only appeared to me—or maybe only I could see him, now that I know he was a forest spirit. Luther thought I was losing it."

"And clearly, he still does," Cody muttered.

Orion sighed deeply. "Yeah. But apparently, he thinks I’m sane enough to coerce."

"What do you think he wants from you?"

"I wish I knew. With him, you never can tell."

Silence fell between them. Not an unwelcome one—Cody needed a moment to process everything he’d learned.

After a while, he glanced back at Moss, who was trailing behind, probably afraid of interrupting. Cody slowed his pace until the ogre was beside him.

"Orion said you know a lot about tree spirits. More than we do, anyway. Do you think…"

"It’s better not to speak of it now." Moss looked around. "I’ve no doubt he’s nearby, listening to every word. Forest spirits can’t enter homes uninvited. There, we can talk safely."

Cody nodded. The thought of the forest spirit made his stomach clench again, and he tightened his grip on Orion’s hand.

He was probably still a target.

He couldn’t afford to forget that.

Still, it brought some comfort to know that at least in Orion’s home, he’d be safe.