cascade | kotlc

"What's happening?" June interrupted as Calla and Sophie passed by, looking worried. "Did something bad happen?"

They glanced over. "Yes."

"I'm coming with you," she said immediately. "Wait-" she stared at Calla. "You're back. That means-"

Lur, Mitya, and Sior had the plague.

"No! They couldn't have, they have to be fine-" She tore her hands through her hair. "God, no. I'm definitely coming with you."

They nodded gravely.

Keefe rushed after them. "Me too."

"I don't know where you're going," Dex said as they entered the boys' main room, where he sat on the floor, surrounded by Twiggler supplies. "But you're not going without me."

"Biana, you coming too?" June asked the corner.

"Ugh, I was trying to hide from Calla," she said as she appeared. "But yep, I'm in. Where are we going?"

"It didn't work," Calla told her.

Sophie caught everyone up. She was right.

Lur, Mitya, and Sior had the plague.

Dex looked devastated. "We have to help them," he whispered. "They saved us, Sophie. Lur and Mitya."

"I know," June whispered. "Which makes it so much worse."

Biana rushed to give Calla a hug. "Are you sure it's safe for you to leave Alluveterre? The plague seems to be popping up everywhere."

"We'll travel deeper than normal, and I'll steer clear of the Neutral Territories," Calla promised, heading outside and down the winding stairs.

"That really worries me, though," June said, frowning. "Why hasn't the plague, if the ogres really were behind it, affected the Lost Cities yet?"

"That would be a declaration of war," Calla told her.

"Yes, but the ogres-" she stopped suddenly, tilting her head to think. "The Neverseen's probably behind it. And it would benefit them... unless... something else was planned?"

They reached ground level, and Calla sang a deep, earthy song to create a tunnel and tangled the roots around them. The journey was faster and more claustrophobic than ever, so fast June was sure she lost her stomach several times. But it was worth the nausea and the fear when they arrived at the Stone House after only a few minutes of journeying.

June gasped, inhaling fresh air and clearing her mind, removing the dark, cramped tunnel from her mind. The walls still seemed to enclose her, squeezing tighter and tighter.

"Oh, god," Sophie murmured, checking the now twilight sky. The cottage's door was closed shut, but the lights inside were on.

"Should we knock?" Biana asked as they crept toward the cottage's door.

"No need," Blur said, phasing through the wall and making them all (except June) scream. "But you need to explain what on earth you're doing here. How..."

"What on earth, indeed," June murmured as he let them in after seeing Calla. "This plague brings bad omens."

They all squeezed into the room, and June felt the sinking tightness again. She felt something stinging in her chest, and she bent down slightly, massaging the pain. It felt like someone was driving needles into her.

Prentice was lying in the same place he always was. He also had guests.

"Magnate Leto?" Keefe asked, sounding equally confused to seeing Foxfire's principal in a Black Swan hideout. Next to him stood Tiergan, and his adopted son, Wylie.