It was still dark when they arrived at the fort at Blackstone. Donovan had never been to that fort before, but he knew it was more or less the same as any other, with grey stone walls, a large gate, and a courtyard.

The convoy pulled into the courtyard and Donovan saw Alec, the Duke, and Maren's parents waiting there. He knew they would be extremely anxious. He got out of the speeder as soon as it stopped and called, "She's all right," to them. That was the most pressing piece of information they wanted.

Donovan worried it wasn't true, though. He thought it likely that she had downplayed the extent of her injuries. He wasn't sure what had happened to her chest, but the burn looked horrible.

And she had said nothing about the baby. He didn't want to ask in front of the soldiers, and it hadn't seemed right to try to check while she was sleeping. He was worried, though. Donovan knew he would be terribly sad if that tiny buzz had disappeared, but he was sure that Maren would take it far worse than him, and he wasn't sure he could pull her back from that.

Donovan went around to the other side of the speeder to help her out. She wanted to walk, but he wanted to carry her. She won. He thought she needed to walk more than he needed to carry her. He did wish he had thought to bring a pair of shoes for her, though.

She didn't seem to mind and walked with her head held high. Even though she was an absolute mess, he thought she looked very regal. His Wielder Queen.

He breathed a sigh of relief for the thousandth time that he had gotten her away from Kieran.

Her parents hugged her, and she nodded to them that she was alright. Alec hugged her next, but then rapidly held her back apart from him and got a good look at her.

"Infirmary! Now!" he ordered.

Donovan expected that, but Maren apparently had not.

"I'm fine, did the other Wielders come with us? Just give me a minute with one of them, and I'll be fine."

Donovan wasn't sure, but Captain Beven nodded.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we weren't sure what else to do with them."

"Well they can meet you in the infirmary because even if you only have the injuries I can see, which I very much doubt, you need to be in bed immediately," Alec said sternly.

"I'm told I'm the Queen now, you can't speak to me that way," she said loftily.

He smirked but remained firm.

"Fine! I'll go. Probably the other women need a physician too, in any case," she said.

Donovan thought that was likely.

He made to go with her, but the Duke cleared his throat loudly and gave him a significant look.

Donovan nodded. He did need to speak with him immediately. He looked at Maren's mother and she nodded. She would go with her.

He kissed a clean and unmarred spot on Maren's temple and told her he'd be with her soon.

He followed the Duke into what appeared to be the commandant's office and sat down with a huge sigh.

The Duke looked at him expectantly but said nothing.

"He's still alive. We tried very hard to kill him, but...we couldn't. He just kept healing," Donovan said. He was not pleased with the situation. He knew how important it was for Kieran to die, and he felt like he had failed in his duty.

"I don't know what to say," the Duke said.

Donovan shook his head. "I don't know, I expect it's something to do with the powers he's been stealing, but the one thing I know is that you can't use your own Light to heal yourself."

"Hmmm...it's not his Light, though. Maybe that's it," the Duke suggested.

Donovan shrugged. It was certainly possible. But the why didn't matter.

"What do you want to do now?" the Duke asked.

Donovan had given this some thought while Maren had been sleeping. "We have to run. We're a danger to anyone we're with. I'm hoping that if you and Maren's parents lie low for a while, he'll leave you alone."

The Duke answered the question Donovan hadn't asked. "I'll look after them. We should all be fine at Worthingham. We'll be quiet and say the right things if asked."

"I thank you," he said.

"Are you going where I think you're going?" the Duke asked.

Donovan nodded, "It's the only thing I can think of."

"I'll send the men-her men-to escort you to Clifton. I'll have the fort there give you horses and supplies, and it's not far to the first peak. I believe we have a map or two that might help as well, I'll see what I can find."

"Kieran will expect us to go north, I think," Donovan said. It was his one misgiving about the notion.

"We'll have a few convoys, including mine, depart around the same time. Hopefully, it will confuse the search."

They fell silent.

"I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you wanted," Donovan said. He felt terrible.

"Gods, man! You did everything you could! It's just the wrong time. But I believe what you told the men in the courtyard, even if you didn't. Change has already started. And I believe you'll be back."

Donovan could only nod. He was very moved by the Duke's words.

"We're deeply grateful to you," he said instead. "I don't know that we can ever repay you for everything you've done."

The Duke smiled. "Actually, you can... I'll write you a letter before you go, give it to Margot if you find her."

Donovan could only nod in response.

The Duke rose from his chair. "Come, let's go check on your wife."

Donovan nodded and followed the Duke out, marveling at how fortunate he was that his father had once insisted that Maren marry a duke.

—

Maren knew she was being an uncooperative patient. She didn't care. She had allowed Alec to examine her, and he had agreed that her injuries were relatively minor.

Maren wanted Joan to heal her neck-the wound from the collar was too much like a noose for Maren to feel comfortable with it. Alec wanted to clean it first, but she told him that was silly because Joan could fix it as soon as the physician examining her was finished.

Alec begrudgingly accepted that but protested that she should not be doing the magic required to heal Joan's neck. Maren put her foot down on that one. It was clear that Joan and the other women had never been taught anything about their powers-or at least not by anyone who knew anything about healing. Maren was not about to make them do magic without helping them in return.

She thought it likely that Alec needed to do something helpful, so she let him clean and bandage the cuts on her back from Kieran's belt buckle. Her mother made tutting noises-Maren supposed it was rather obvious what had happened, but fortunately, neither of them asked any questions.

Joan and the other women-it turned out only one of the remaining three was a Wielder-were a bit bruised, malnourished, and dehydrated, but not in any immediate danger. So, when Alec was done, Maren wrapped herself in one of the infirmary blankets in a very un-queenly way and went to the other side of the room where they were in bed.

"Hello Joan, can I give you some help with that neck?" she asked.

Joan looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you really the Queen?"

Maren couldn't help but laugh. "I assure you the title is purely ceremonial, Joan. The only thing I'm queen of currently is this infirmary. Call me Maren."

Joan still looked amazed. Now that Maren got a good look at her, she could see that Joan was a woman about her own age. She was filthy and she still seemed terrified. Maren hoped she would be alright. She'd have to ask Jonathan to look after her and the others.

Maren healed her neck in a few moments. Flesh wounds like that were simple. And then Maren coached Joan through healing her own neck.

"Do you want me to get that too?"

She gestured to the place on her chest where Kieran had branded her.

"You don't want to leave it, or it'll look like this," Joan said and shifted her own clothing to show her the same spot on her own chest. It had healed more or less completely into a scar.

It was about an inch tall and three inches long. The letters were bold and blocky: W-I-T-C-H.

Maren frowned at it and looked to the other Wielder. Maren hadn't gotten her name yet.

"You too?"

The woman nodded and showed Maren her own brand. "Hurt worse than the collar," she said.

"That it did. I'm afraid it's too healed, I can't make it go away," Maren told them.

"That's all right, let me do yours," Joan said.

Maren didn't fully understand what she said next, but she didn't question it.

"No, I'm keeping it. I want to match my sisters," Maren declared.

"Maren!" Alec hissed from across the room.

"Don't worry, Alec, I'll let you bandage it when I'm done," she called, and turned to the other Wielder.

Her name was Susan, and she was maybe ten or fifteen years older than Maren. She healed her neck too.

She looked at Joan and Susan thoughtfully. They, as well as the other two women who were not Wielders (it turns out their names were Abby and Marge), were still in poor shape. She knew she couldn't completely heal their dehydration and malnutrition, but perhaps she could take the edge off.

"Alright, let me see what I can do about the rest."

She placed her hand on Joan's chest-that had seemed to work for Donovan's invisible injury at least-and sent some of her Light into Joan, telling it to heal.

She wasn't sure it would work, she had never tried to heal anything along those lines, but she figured it was worth a try.

Maren only held on for ten or fifteen seconds and then let the Light go. She would have done more but needed to conserve her energy. She looked at Joan. It was difficult to tell if she had made a difference under all the dirt.

"How do you feel?" she asked Joan.

"Better," Joan said, sounding surprised.

Maren smiled. She was very pleased with herself.

"Excellent! Alright, your turn, Susan."

"Maren!" Alec called to her again. She knew he wanted her to stop. She would not.

"Not now, Alec, I'm busy," she said, and turned to Margie.

She heard Alec groan but ignored him. Instead, she repeated the procedure with Margie.

She had just started healing Abby when she heard the door of the infirmary open.

"Gods above, Maren, what are you doing?" Donovan cried.

Maren ignored him until she had finished with Abby. She went to Marge without looking at him but called, "I'm healing my people, darling! I'll be with you in a moment."

She found she actually liked behaving like a queen.

To his credit, Donovan only issued one of his growls and then waited for Maren to finish. Then he ushered her back to her bed on the other side of the room.

He frowned when he saw that the burn on her chest was still there.

"Would one of you ladies be so kind as to heal this for my wife?" he asked in the direction of the others.

"I'm keeping it," Maren stated. She glared at Donovan, daring him to question her.

"And why would you do such a thing?"

She did not have a good explanation for that. She knew only that she needed to do it.

"She said she wants to match the others," Alec said dryly.

Donovan looked at her. "Maren, what did that?"

She couldn't get a good look at her own burn, but she assumed it was too swollen to make out the brand.

"A brand," she said, pretending not to care about it.

Her mother gasped.

"And why, by the gods, do you want to keep a brand from him? I swear if it's his initials, I will hold you down while one of the others heals it!" Donovan said. He sounded appalled and angry.

"It is not. It says 'witch,'" she said.

Donovan looked like he might explode. Her mother and Alec made horrified sounds.

Maren sighed and looked at Donovan, "I don't have a good explanation for it, I just need to keep it."

"It's a mark of honor...and survival," the Duke said. Maren had not noticed his arrival, but she was grateful for his explanation. And it appeared he brought her father with him, which she also appreciated.

"Yes that's it exactly, thank you, Jonathan," she said. She looked at Donovan when she spoke. She didn't need him to understand, but she needed him to accept her decision.

He sighed. "You've become rather tyrannical since becoming Queen," he said, but without anger.

She smiled. "I'm enjoying my reign while it lasts."

Then she nodded to Alec, who set about slathering the burn in some sort of ointment and carefully bandaging it.

"I'll make up a package of bandages and such to take with you. And I expect you'll need some pills for pain?" he asked when he was done.

Maren nodded. She was still in pain from the various beatings, but her spirits were improved. She knew it was lightly a temporary high, but she welcomed it while it lasted.

"You're leaving? Where are you going?" her mother cried.

She and Donovan had not discussed it, but she thought she knew.

"It's better that you don't know," Donovan said grimly.

Her mother looked crushed. Maren hated to do it to her.

"Mama, we're a danger to everyone we're with. We don't have a choice," she explained gently.

Her mother nodded but began to cry. Her father came to comfort her, which made Maren smile. She liked to see their love for each other.

"I'd like you both to go with the Duke back to Worthingham," Donovan said to them. Maren liked that idea.

"You are very welcome, and I think it will be safer for you than being so isolated at your estate for the time being," Jonathan said.

Maren's father nodded grimly. Maren was relieved, though. She would worry about them less.

"Jonathan, a word?" she said and gestured for him to come closer to her. She did not want the other women to overhear in case he said no to taking them. She didn't think he would but felt it best to be delicate.

He came close to her, so she could speak quietly.

"The other prisoners-" she began.

"Will be completely safe under my protection. Don't worry, I'll see they're taken care of."

Maren smiled at him, "Thank you. I knew you would. Let's go speak to them."

She got up from the bed, again wrapped in the blanket to maintain some form of modesty, and went over to the other women with Jonathan.

"Ladies, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine," she said.

-

After introducing the Duke to the other prisoners, Maren came back to her bed and gave Donovan a significant look. He was fairly certain he knew what that meant.

"Could we have a few minutes alone?" Maren asked her parents.

They looked somewhat surprised, but nodded and left.

Alec stayed though and drew the privacy curtain around the bed. He also knew what this was about.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, there's just no way to know."

"Ah, actually, we have a way," Maren said.

Alec looked baffled.

Donovan shrugged. "Magic."

"Well, that's interesting. I'll take your word for it."

"Mostly, I'm concerned that if -" Maren stopped short, unable to finish the thought.

Donovan squeezed her hand. He knew what she was thinking. He could do this for her.

"We have to travel. As soon as we can. It'll be speeders first, but then...it won't be easy," he explained.

Alec frowned. "Well, in either condition it won't be easy if you're doing what I think you're doing - no, don't tell me. But you should be able to travel. There's no physical reason as far as I can tell for things to have gone wrong."

Maren looked to Donovan. He nodded.

"There may be some magical reasons."

Magic had obviously played some key role in conceiving the child and between the collar and Kieran's attempt to steal her power, Maren's magic had been significantly disrupted. Neither of them were sure how that would impact the baby.

Alec nodded. "All right, why don't you do whatever it is you do to see what's going on, and then we'll go from there."

Maren nodded and Alec left them alone.

"I haven't checked," she said. "I was too afraid."

"That's alright, love, I understand," he said. "Do you want me to do it?"

She nodded and he smiled. He could do that for her too.

"I promise I'm not being overly forward with you, but I do feel like I need to touch your skin for this," he said.

She chuckled. "Heaven forbid my husband be forward with me."

"I think that's the first time you called me your husband. I like it very much," he said.

She smiled and said, "Me too." She rucked up the thoroughly disreputable night dress over her hips and lay back in the bed.

"I need new clothes," she said. "I want to burn this thing as soon as someone gives me something else to wear."

"I'm sure His Majesty's military can provide you-and me too, come to think of it-with some suitable clothing," he said.

She smiled at that and then nodded. She was ready.

He took her hand and squeezed it.

"Whatever the case, we will get through it together," he said.

She nodded grimly. He thought it likely she had tried to prepare herself for the worst. Donovan had as well.

Donovan let go of her hand and tried to clear his mind. He put his hand on her abdomen in just the same spot he had felt the tiny buzz before.

He tried to think of nothing and only notice the things he felt. He felt Maren's soft skin under his hand. He felt warmth that was ever so slightly warmer than another person. He focused on that. And breathed.

He waited for what felt like a very long time. He pushed aside all worries and doubts and focused on just breathing.

And there it was. That tiny buzzing spark, still there.

He smiled and looked at her. Her eyes were closed.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "It's there."

Her eyes popped open.

"Really?" she breathed.

"Yes, love, I'm sure of it," he said.

She closed her eyes, and he could see she was crying. He pulled her into his arms and made shushing sounds and patted her. He knew she had been through a lot. He had been through a lot. He thought it likely they both had very deep invisible wounds. But he was overjoyed they had that tiny buzz to keep them company.

—

A/N: We're getting close to the end! Hope you're as excited as I am!