ALTHEA KNEW SHE was dying. That wasn’t her problem. She couldn’t see properly out of her eyes anymore, and she couldn’t blink, which she had never fully appreciated until she’d lost the ability to do so. Someone had helped her with the ice spears. One of the other women, she was sure of it. She just would have liked to know who before she died.

Maybe Emeline. She deserves an awesome power like that.

She watched Rowan try to get her sister away, only to be dropped by Murdina. Dha finally pulled the spear out of his head and tried to use it on Rowan, but the druidess stopped him. She murmured something to him, and he grabbed the sisters and stalked out of sight.

No blood on the spear, Althea noticed. The famhair didn’t bleed, but from Dha’s reaction to the spear in the eye, they felt pain. She wished she understood what that meant. She wished her eyes were clear, so she could see Brennus one last time when he came for her.

He would come too. She never doubted it for a moment.

I never got to tell you that I love you. I wish I’d done that.

Little black flecks fell in front of her frozen face, and then the tree trunk behind her began to shake. She wondered if it would fall over and crush her under it. That would be a faster death than this. Her heart thudded sluggishly in her chest as she saw a leaf growing beside her face. It came with a new greenish-brown branch, which curled around her neck. She was pretty sure that her legs had frozen solid, but she could hear something going on down there too. More branches appeared around her, and roots spread out on the ground beneath her.

I hope they bury me here, under this miracle of a tree.

Althea smiled inside as she watched the roots creep out in all directions. She put together a wild theory. Somehow the dead oak had started growing new limbs, which were covering her like a cocoon of thatching, and was sinking new roots into the ground. She might have been afraid—roots hadn’t been her friends the last time she’d been here—but she had the strangest sense that she was being hugged, not attacked. As if the tree wanted to protect her.

You’re a little too late for that.

Her body thawed a little under the cover of the armor of wooden branches, but she still couldn’t feel anything. Her nerves had turned into ice, it seemed. She’d really done a number on herself by pouring her power out into the air like that.

It was really cool, though.

Giants came rushing out of the woods, their bodies impaled by the ice spears. They seemed to be in a big hurry. They grabbed Murdina and carried her off. Rowan and Perrin too.

Emeline stumbled toward her, and reached for the branches that were now sprouting thousands of new leaves. “Thank you, Althea. Thank you for trying. I’ll never forget you.”

She wouldn’t either, Althea thought, and felt her lips crack as she managed a final smile. Be good to yourself, Emeline—and stop dieting. You’re beautiful the way you are.

The nurse made it another couple of yards before one of the famhairean grabbed her and carried her off.

Althea heard the battle-cry of the Skaraven, and looked toward the sound. Brennus would be at the very front of the riders, leading the charge. This was why she had hung on as long as she had. His face was the last one she wanted to see.

“Not mine?”

Althea looked into her Uncle Gene’s eyes, the mirrors of her own, and felt her heart miss a beat. He was standing right in front of her, his Stetson pushed back on his head, his scuffed boots and faded jeans and plaid shirt exactly as she remembered. Only he hadn’t been like that the last time she’d seen him, hooked up to machines in a hospital bed, his body being eaten alive by a bacterial infection with no cure. He’d gotten it when he’d cut his hand repairing some wire fencing. Necrotizing fasciitis had taken only four days to kill him.

“Now don’t be like that, honey,” he drawled. “It was my time to go. I had a good run. Had you to be my little girl. I should have managed a wife in there, but I never was a ladies’ man.” He reached out and rubbed his thumb over the tears frozen to her eyelashes. “That made you the love of my life, I reckon.”

I’ve missed you so much, Uncle.

“You didn’t give up, though, and that made me so proud. I’ve been watching over you, Althea Rose. You saved so many lives while you were here. Babies, and old folks, mothers and fathers, and more to come when they use your research. You were right about those ferns, honey. They’re even going to squash that bug that did me in.” His lean face grew serious. “You got a lot more to do.”

But I’m dying.

“That’s true enough,” he said, nodding. “We all have to die. But our kind come back, Althea. We always come back.” He checked the big chunky watch on his wrist. “It’s my time now. I love you, honey.”

Althea watched him fade away, just as her heartbeat was doing now. She heard the thunderous beat of horse’s hooves, and saw through the leaves covering her face the first of the Skaraven burst out of the forest, driving dozens of giants back in a furious wave.

Brennus rode with his sword slicing through the air, through the famhairean falling away from him, their limbs severed. As dozens more rushed at him from the woods he wheeled about and roared, “Fire.”

A hail of flaming arrows flew from the trees, striking the giants and setting them alight. They clawed away the shafts but the burning points melted into them, and fire blazoned out of the wounds. One by one the famhairean began to fall to their knees as their bodies went up in flames.

Hendry appeared on the other side of the encampment, and shouted at the few giants who hadn’t been struck. “They use Pritani fire. We cannae fight them here. Leave with me, now.”

The giants who could move fled from the Skaraven, who still fought against those who burned with their unquenchable fire. From the charred remains that toppled, Althea saw the light of the giants’ souls drift up, dragging something along with them.

The chieftain fought his way to the oak tree, but two giants nearly consumed by flame tried to drag him from his horse. His sword flashed as he cut them down, and then he leapt from his saddle to land in front of her.

“Althea.”

Now she could go. I love you, I love you. “I love you.”

Her eyelids came down at last, and closed before the final beat of her heart.