Though there was neither night nor day here in the Enchanted Forest that Mab had made for them, they had fallen into a regular pattern of waking and sleeping and performing simple homely tasks. Neither of them realized that each time they slept it was for a longer period, until one day soon they would sleep without wakening. Nimue stirred the porridge for their morning meal and stared into the flames, alone with her thoughts. They did not make for pleasant company. With each passing day, Nimue’s secret guilt grew harder to bear. Certainly Merlin had come to the Enchanted Forest of his own free will, but he had also come because she was here. Though he said that Arthur had no further need of him, Nimue knew that did not mean that Merlin’s work in the world was done. His purpose was as it had always been: to defeat Mab. And if Mab still feared Merlin so much that she would construct such an elaborate trap for him, then he must be very near to succeeding.
