“Too late,” Nos muttered.
The woman smiled, revealing teeth that were just a fraction too sharp to be human.
“Welcome.” Her voice was like honey. “We’ve been expecting you.” The woman’s smile never wavered as she glided toward them, barely seeming to touch the ground. “You look lost. Few find their way to our garden.”
“We’re not lost.” Well, not exactly, anyway. Ava instinctively clutched Book tighter against her side. “We’re just looking for something.”
“Aren’t we all?” The woman laughed, the sound like tinkling glass. “I am Liriene. And you are the new book bearer.” Her gaze dropped to Ava’s side where Book rested. “My condolences.”
Nos shifted slightly, positioning himself between Ava and the woman. “We seek passage.”
Wow. Was he defending her? No, probably not. Probably just trying to protect Ibin and himself. She was a side-effect.
Liriene’s eyes—a color somewhere between violet and midnight—flicked to Nos, then Ibin. Recognition dawned on her face. “The patchwork man and the war-touched lady. My, my. The garden hasn’t seen such distinguished guests in…centuries, I believe.”
“You know us?” Ibin asked, her voice carefully neutral.
“We see a great deal from here.” Liriene made a graceful gesture toward a path winding deeper into the garden. “Come. The Sisters will want to meet you.”
“Sisters?” Ava glanced at her companions.
Ibin’s face had gone very still. “Oh, no. It’s the Triad.”
“Third time I’m gonna say this. Not as helpful as you’d think. Is that good or bad?” Ava asked under her breath.
“Both.” It was Nos’s turn to be infuriatingly and unhelpfully cryptic. “Always both.”
“I need maybe, one of you, once, just once, to try giving me a straight answer. You might like it.”
“This way,” Liriene called, already moving down the path. “Don’t dawdle. The garden can be a bit temperamental with those who linger.”
As if to emphasize her point, the flowers nearest to them turned their blooms in unison to face the three of them. Ava could have sworn she heard them whispering.
“Lovely! Killer flowers.” Ava added it to her mental list of things she didn’t need to know existed, and followed after Liriene.
The garden seemed to stretch impossibly in all directions. It was like a dream—and it was astonishingly beautiful. Ava noticed the trees shifted when she wasn’t looking directly at them, rearranging themselves into new patterns. The sky overhead changed colors subtly—not like a normal sunset, but like someone was adjusting the saturation on reality.
After what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes—again—the path opened onto a wider area. In the center stood a cottage that looked like it had been plucked straight from a fairy tale—a thatched roof, climbing roses, and windows glowing with warm light.
Surrounding the cottage was something far more mundane—a farm. Neat rows of vegetables stretched in one direction, an orchard in another. Chickens pecked contentedly in a yard. A cow grazed in a small pasture.
“Quaint.” Ava wondered if it was all for show.
Liriene led them toward the cottage door, which opened before they reached it. In the doorway stood three women, arranged in a perfect tableau that made Ava think of old paintings she’d seen in museums.
The youngest couldn’t have been more than twenty, with flowing golden hair and a face of innocent beauty. The second was in her prime—perhaps forty, with auburn hair and an air of confident authority. The third was elderly, her silver hair braided elaborately in a bun, framing a face lined with age but bright with intelligence.
“The maiden, the mother, and the crone,” Ibin whispered.
“So…are they actually goddesses?” Ava studied them curiously.
“No.” Nos looked like an ink blot, dressed in dark colors against a serene, bucolic landscape. “But best not mention that to them.”
“Welcome, travelers,” the three women spoke in perfect unison, their voices blending in a way that sent shivers down Ava’s spine.
“Thank you for the invitation.” Ibin bowed smoothly. “We are honored by your hospitality.”
The youngest woman—the maiden—stepped forward, her movements fluid and graceful. “You must be tired from your journey. Please, come inside.”
