When we finally emerged from our little cocoon, I was eager to explore the domed city and find out everything that had happened while I was away.

I also couldn’t wait to get to Cypress for the ritual today. Eloise and her daughters would soon be free. It was finally coming together. Hopefully, Lea and Aerden would be home soon, too, and we could all celebrate the death of another priestess and the joy of coming home.

As I walked down the stairs, though, I heard someone shouting from the streets. I moved faster, afraid of another attack so soon. We deserved some peace, and I wasn’t sure my heart could take more bad news.

“What is it?” Gregory asked, his voice ringing out through the throne room.

A guard came rushing up the steps of the castle, out of breath and wide-eyed with terror and confusion.

“What happened?” I asked.

Jackson ran to my side, the same fear of bad news reflected in his eyes.

“Someone’s at the front gate of the dome,” the young guard said. His mouth fell open, as if he couldn’t believe what he was about to say. “A woman in a red dress. She claims to be the ruby priestess. That can’t be true, can it?”

Gregory’s face drained of color. “Is she alone?” he asked.

“Yes, she’s all by herself, saying she wants to talk to Harper.”

“Why would she be here?” Jackson asked, stepping in front of me. Always my protector.

I placed a hand on his arm. “I think I know,” I said, surprise and confusion stirring in my heart. “I honestly didn’t think she’d honor her promise.”

“Promise?” Jackson asked, running after me as I walked down the steps and through the middle of the city toward the front gate. “What’s going on?”

“When she came to see me at Priestess Evers’ house the night of the fire, she told me that if I somehow managed to make it home alive, she would surrender herself to me,” I said. “I never in a million years thought she meant it.”

“Wait,” Jackson said, taking my arm and pulling me back. “We can’t trust her, Harper. She could be coming here to attack us.”

“What can she do to us here?” I asked, motioning to the dome above our heads. “She’s alone. As long as the dome is intact, no human witch can cast here in the city. Her magic will be useless.”

“I still don’t like the idea of inviting her in,” he said. “This is a priestess we’re talking about.”

“She warned me about the trap her sister set for you,” I said. “You wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for her. She was telling me the truth then. Maybe we should listen to what she has to say. I think she’s scared they’re really going to lose this war. If she’s willing to switch sides, she could give us valuable information. The location of the other priestesses. The identity of the High Priestess herself. This entire thing could be over in a matter of weeks with her help. We have to at least talk to her.”

Jackson ran a nervous hand through his hair and sighed.

“Okay, but we put her in the dungeons,” he said. “We have a guard stationed with her at all times. We bind her hands so that she can’t cast. We take every precaution.”

I nodded. “This could be a real turning point for us, Jackson,” I said, walking faster now that the woman in red was visible in the distance.

“I hope you’re right,” he mumbled.

When we reached her, the ruby priestess began to clap. She shook her head and smiled at me.

“Bravo, dear girl,” she said. “I knew the moment I first laid eyes on you that you were special. I never dreamed you’d really find your way home once that portal closed, but I made a promise to you that night that I intend to honor.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” I asked.

She shrugged. “How do we ever really know we can trust anyone?”

“That’s not an answer,” Jackson said.

Gregory joined us at the gate, his face still white as a sheet. This wasn’t the first priestess he’d encountered, and I was sure he didn’t exactly have fond memories of his torture at the hands of Priestess Winter.

“If you’ll give me the chance, I will prove my loyalty,” the priestess said. “I know that it will take time, but like I said, I never like to be on the losing side. I’d like to figure out a way to survive this war, and I’m not going to do it as your enemy.”

“You’ll have to live in the dungeons if you want to stay here,” Jackson said. “It won’t be comfortable for you after the life of luxury I’m sure you’re accustomed to back home.”

“I’m sure I’ll manage,” she said with a shrug. “Your dungeons are bound to be much nicer than the ones my sister Gladys would put me in if she found out I’d come here.”

Jackson looked at me, and I nodded.

Yes, we were taking a huge risk by bringing her into the city, but as long as we got her safely locked away in the dungeons, she would be powerless to make a move. She was, after all, trusting us not to rip her heart out for the sake of freeing the ruby gates. She’d come alone, bearing gifts that we simply couldn’t afford to refuse.

“Follow me, then,” I said, inviting her into the city.

The three of us escorted her up to the castle and then down several flights of stairs to the dungeons below. I was surprised to find so many of them full of witches. I raised a curious eye toward Jackson, and he shrugged.

“We have a lot to talk about,” he said. “Let’s take her to the lower dungeon. There’s no one else down there.”

The lower dungeons were hardly ever used, but they were just as secure. I couldn’t imagine she would be comfortable here, but maybe once she’d truly proven herself, we could figure out something better. A set of rooms with a special lock on the door or a barrier spell, maybe.

But first, she’d have to give us enough information to make it worth the risk.

I motioned for Gregory to open the first cell, and he nodded, taking out a set of keys and placing one in the lock. These cells were made of a special, imbued form of demon steel my father had commissioned from a powerful demon who was a genius at traps and prisons.

We’d imprisoned hunters and witches down here for years with no incidents, and I knew that once the priestess was safely locked inside, she was harmless.

When the door was open, the ruby priestess walked inside without hesitation. She ran her hand along the steel as she walked to the back of the cell and sat down on a wooden stool, the sole piece of furniture in the entire room.

Gregory shut the door of the cell, and I let out of sigh of relief.

I didn’t fully understand it, but if her presence here helped us end the Order, I didn’t need to understand it. If she didn’t prove useful in the next few days, or if she showed any signs of betraying us, we could have her killed.

“If you’ll excuse me, we have something else we need to do,” I said, anxious to get to Cypress. “We’ll be back tonight to talk through the terms of our agreement. Do any of your sisters know where you are?”

“I certainly hope not,” she said with a smile, smoothing out her skirt. “To be honest, I’m hoping I can give you whatever information will help you win this war while still keeping me alive, and then I can be on my way before anyone realizes I’m gone.”

“We’ll be back soon,” I said.

“Don’t let her out of your sight,” Jackson said to Gregory. “If you have to leave, make sure to send another guard to take your place immediately. And don’t open that cell under any circumstances.”

“Yes, sir,” Gregory said.

Jackson placed his hand on Gregory’s arm. “I’m counting on you.”

We made our way back up the stairs toward the portal of roses, our hearts full and the promise of peace on the horizon.