That was too close.

Jittery from the man's mind games and the magic, I make my way through the house as nonchalantly as possible. Leavi's quick steps patter close behind.

She went to the roof. This morning, she's told she'll fall if she goes, and hours later—

What possesses a person to go where they've been explicitly told is dangerous? My lips twist as I walk. I suppose the same thing that possesses her to steal materials in order to practice a dangerous art she doesn't believe in. This girl is trouble.

And afraid. She doesn't understand, yet she insists on not making me deal with the man by myself. I can't turn my back on her just because she's trouble; after all, she was also my rescue. She is reckless—but maybe that's not always bad.

I turn the handle of the living room door. My feet whisper across the porch, and Leavi crunches behind me. As we turn the corner of the house, she softly says, "What are you going to do with him?"

"The first thing to do when detaining a caster is eliminate their ability—tie them up and take their materials."

"And then what? We can't let him go back to Lady Veradeaux."

"No," I gravely agree. "No, he won't get back to Veradeaux."

She shoots me an alarmed look. "You're not going to—"

I glance at her. "No." Her almost-accusation stirs unease within me, but I continue. "We'll keep him tied up until I can leave for Morineaux. I'll take him with me."

"So then you're not coming with us? Sean's not going to let someone else come, and," she says, searching for the word, "certainly not someone dangerous like that man. And I don't... disagree with him."

"He can't do anything if restrained. And it's easier and safer to travel in a group, especially when on foot." A cold feeling rises in my stomach, and I pull my cloak tighter. I don't want to go by myself again.

Leavi shivers, a thin blanket she grabbed her only protection from the cold. "I'm more worried about what he can do when he's not restrained."

"He won't ever be."

Her lips press into a thin line, but she doesn't say anything else.

We break into the forest, and I gesture for her to stay here. Then I move through the trees, cat-footing behind where the illusionist should be. Tense, I watch for his form beneath the branch. Despite my exhaustion, my heart beats in double-time. Surely he can't have recovered and escaped already.

An edge of his robe peeks out, and I relax, moving to get a better view. He's still unconscious, pinned face-down by the wood. I hesitantly heave the branch off and kneel beside him, pulling twine from my cloak.

"You're going to tie him up with string?"

I startle, glancing up at Leavi. "You were supposed to stay back there," I whisper, returning to my work.

"I can't help if I'm back there." She crouches beside me.

Not needing assistance, I say nothing and pinch the man's fingers together. I wrap the twine around them and do the same with the other hand.

"What does that do?" Leavi asks.

"It's so he can't cast. No fingers, no spell." Ideally. I bind his wrists together.

The man moans. Leavi shoots up, and I hasten my work. As I move to his ankles, Leavi goes to stand at his head, a small but thick branch in hand.

"I don't think that's necessary." I tie the last knot. "He can't do anything to us now." I start searching his robe for casting materials.

"I'd prefer to be too ready than not ready enough. I'm fine here."

A slight smile slips onto my face, and I turn back to my search. It's strange that he's in a robe rather than a cloak. I've never seen a wizard wear a garment like this. It doesn't even have enough pockets in it to hold half the materials a decent magician would want on their person.

Confused, I stare at the man. What pockets he does have are empty. He possesses no materials, yet casts like an experienced magician. My mind flips through years of books and lessons.

I glance up at Leavi. "What did you call him earlier?"

"The Man from the East," she says uneasily.

My eyes snap back to his form, dread filtering through me. You're a shaman. A Kadranian wielder of dark power, unbound by materials and phrases, and self-proclaimed anti-magician. No one in Morineaux knows where they get their ability from, all only theorizing with myths and legends—they sell their sanity for skill, they kill people to absorb their power, they draw on the souls of the dead...

"What's wrong?" Leavi asks, tightening her grip on the branch.

I look up, pausing for a moment too long. "Nothing. I just realized what kind of caster he is, that's all."

Her eyes study me warily. Voice tight, she asks, "And what kind of caster is he?"

I shrug. "They're called shamans." Even as unsettled as we both are, at least she believes me now when I say something about magic. "They're powerful but not indestructible."

"Obviously." She gestures at the frozen branch.

I chuckle grimly and roll him over. No fingers, no spell, I remind myself. Somehow, that doesn't quite settle the nerves in my stomach. The back of my hand pats his cheek. "Wake up."

"What are you doing?" Leavi exclaims, still in a whisper.

"Talking to him." My hand moves from his cheek to shake his shoulder. "Wake up," I repeat, more sharply.

He moans. I shake him again, and his eyes snap open.

"Who are you?" I demand.

He spits at me.

I straighten, wiping the spittle from my cheek. "Fine." I set my foot on his shoulder. "Let's try this again. Who are you?"

His gaze moves up to Leavi. "Hello, child." A sly smile slips across his face. Against his bright teeth, his pink lips look like blood on snow.

My boot nudges his cheek, pushing his head to the side. "Wrong answer."

He turns his smug smile on me, pressing his lips tightly closed.

The cold raises goosebumps on my arms. Silence is his best defense, just like it was mine. I need to find some way to get him to talk.

I crouch down, voice low. "Who are you working for?" The wind's moan through the trees is the only response. "The Kadranian army?"

Humor twitches his lips up.

"Lady Veradeaux?" I press. He barks a laugh, and I jump on the reaction, shaking my head. "No, that's it, isn't it? You're the magician who—"

Snarling, he twists up to headbutt me, but Leavi's branch thumps him in the skull. He falls back against the snow as I let out a low breath. I suppose they really do hate magicians.

After that, everything I ask only meets silence and the glare of a thousand funeral pyres.

"Fine," I say finally. "If that's how you want it." I drag him propped against a tree. Using more twine, I tie his wrist bindings to the trunk. With his hands bound behind him as they are, his arms will fall asleep in minutes, and the snow and freezing temperatures can drive a man mad. Three feet away, I light a fire so he won't die of the cold, but the night will be a miserable one. "We'll talk in the morning."

Leavi catches up to me as I stalk away. "You're just going to leave him there?"

I glance at her. "What would you have me do?"

"He could freeze to death!"

I shake my head. "He's got the fire. He'll be fine, just very uncomfortable come morning."

Her footsteps pause. Then she starts back toward the forest.

I catch her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

She shrugs me off and keeps walking. "I'll be right back."

"Leavi!" She glances back, and I repeat, "He'll be fine."

She slips into the forest, and I drag a hand down my face. There's no need to mess with him further. I need him to want to talk in the morning. It's like she still thinks I'm going to kill him.

I head toward the forest after her. The sun has finished setting as I break through the treeline and see her in the gloom, coming back toward me.

Her blanket's gone. I run a hand through my hair.

"Let's go," she says. "It's dark."

I drop my hand. "Yeah. Come on." We head back toward the house.

When we reach the porch, I say, "Leavi." She pauses, looking up at me. Bare armed, she trembles in the cold, and I worry. Can a girl who sacrifices a blanket to the same man she bashes with a tree branch have the mettle for this? I bite my lip. "We need to do something about Veradeaux."

"Do something? What do you mean?"

"We need to stop her. She's going to track us down." The first stars of the night reflect off the snow, and the darkness makes her skin look like it's glowing. "She'll almost certainly kill us."

Fear spreads across her face, but she keeps it out of her voice. "But what can we do?"

I look out over the winterswept clearing, thinking. "She's wanted in Morineaux. I can take her back with me, too." But to transport two prisoners, I would need to be traveling with the others. There are too many ways that could go wrong otherwise.

If Sean would ever agree.

She presses her lips together. "Let's go upstairs. It's cold out here."

I nod, and she opens the door. The house is quiet, everyone in their rooms, even if awake. She pads upstairs to hers. As I enter behind her, she closes and locks the door. She settles onto her bed, and I sit on her foot chest.

"If you want," she says, fingering her necklace, "to take Veradeaux with you—" She breaks off, looking away. "What exactly are you suggesting we do, Aster?"

I take a deep breath. "I'm suggesting we kidnap her."