Darsy had taken care of the cottage in her absence, but the garden showed the woman still had a brown thumb, and she was hopeless at keeping things in their proper place. It would be days before the place was restored to Leesha’s satisfaction, everything just so. Even so, simply being back in her mentor’s chair and shawl was an enormous comfort. Many times in recent weeks she had doubted she might ever see home again. Even now, it seemed almost surreal. But why shouldn’t it? She was home, but in countless ways things would never be the same. There was a Royal in the Hollow now, determined to throw out their old ways, and much of Leesha’s power in the process. Could Leesha stop him? Should she? There were Krasians building a tent city in her backyard, on land Bruna had entrusted to her. Would they help bring about the peace Leesha dreamed of, or be a cancer in the centre of the Hollow, as she saw in her nightmares? Arlen, whom she had thought would always keep the Hollow safe, had left them to fend for themselves, and come back a changed man.
