“Good girl,” Gawain murmured. “That’s a help.”

She looked at the both of them. “But all he has to do is start thinking around the edges, and considering what Robin is capable of, and come up with a few more questions, and he will probably come out here to ask them. And if Isabeau finds out about me and orders him to do something like bring me to her for questioning, he made it very clear he would do it.” She frowned. “In fact, he said he must do it. It was almost like he was saying he would have no choice. Do you think—do you think she might have him under some sort of compulsion?”

Nikolas shook his head, rejecting that idea. “If Oberon ordered any of us to do something, we would be honor bound to do it too. And in any case, it’s beside the point whether or not Morgan is compelled or if he acts of his own volition. He will do it. He has always done it. He would tear Britain to pieces if Isabeau wanted him to. That’s the relevant point.”

She sighed. “In that case, I think we need to expect he will come here and sooner rather than later. He’s not going to find Robin otherwise, which means he will retrace his steps and look everywhere more thoroughly.”

As she spoke, the monkey climbed into her lap, and she put her arms around him, hugging him tight.

“We need to consider our choices,” Nikolas said, looking at Gawain.

Gawain blew out a breath. “One choice is, we scatter more widely again. We don’t converge here, like we had planned. We take Robin with us, like we had originally planned, and Sophie denies everything.”

Nikolas shook his head. “Unacceptable. Our scents are all over this property, and there’s no telling what Isabeau might order Morgan to do once she finds out about Sophie.”

“Yeah, I didn’t like that one either,” Sophie muttered. She put her face in the monkey’s fur while Robin slipped a skinny arm around her neck.

“Second choice,” Gawain said, giving her and the puck a troubled look. “We scatter, we don’t converge, and we take both Sophie and Robin with us. Lass, I’m sorry, but I think we’re past the point where separating will be of any benefit to you. I think you would be in more danger if we left you alone.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “I knew that the moment Morgan showed up and called me by name.”

“Taking both Sophie and Robin is a better option,” Nikolas said. “But it’s still not good enough. That won’t allow us to explore what the house might have to offer. If it can give us a way to access Lyonesse, we need to take that choice, no matter what the risk.”

“Agreed,” Gawain said.

Nikolas looked at Sophie. He told her, “I can still bargain with a Djinn, and Gawain can take you and Robin somewhere safe.”

She straightened. “Not acceptable. You don’t know what the Djinn might demand of you in return, whereas the worst thing that will happen with me is a bill for services, and you already agreed to pay that.”

That wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. She could be hurt. She could die. The better man he had used to be was trying to resurrect himself. He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t like the danger for you.”

She told him in a gentle, firm voice, “Nik, I’m not your pet. I’m not your property. I can assess the relative dangers for myself and make my own decisions.”

He looked over his hand at her. He said, “That doesn’t make it easier for us old-timey folk.”

Her expression lit with smiling warmth. Was that approval? Wonders never ceased. “I have faith in you,” she said. “I know you can handle it.”

She had more faith in him than he had in himself, because he knew if something happened to her, he wouldn’t handle it. Turning his back, he scowled at the view out the kitchen window.

That house. That ugly, monstrous, broken-down house. He was going to throw everything at it in the most insane gamble of his life. “We go in the house,” he said. “And we barricade ourselves in. Morgan can’t get inside, and we have reason to hope he can’t damage it either.”

“If he can do some damage,” Gawain said, “you and the lass are going to need help. We call the others in, and we converge, like we had planned—only we don’t space it out. They need to get here as quickly as possible, tonight.”

“Yes.” Nikolas turned back to them. He said to Sophie, “Thank you.”

“It’ll be the dirtiest, most unhygienic sleepover ever,” she told them with a lopsided grin. “It’ll be fun.”

Out of nowhere, humor bubbled up. It felt good to let it out in a laugh. “When we get inside, the first order of business will be to locate the privy chambers and hope there’s an internal water source, like a well. Chances are, it will have dried out long ago, so we’ll have to dig to hit water again. Failing that, pray there’s a courtyard. With the lake situated so close, I’m going to bet we can hit water somehow.”

Gawain dug out his phone. “I’ll contact the others and tell them to get here as soon as possible and prepare for a siege.”

“Tell Gareth and Cael to focus on weapons,” Nikolas said. “We need longbows and crossbows, and a good supply of arrows. We won’t be able to fire guns from the house.”

“Will do,” Gawain said. “Braden was going to gather camping gear. The rest can concentrate on food and fuel. We need as many supplies as they can lay their hands on. And firewood. Stacks and stacks of firewood.”