My head is still foggy when I wake and I'm not sure how much time has passed since Ren and I reached the palace—maybe hours, maybe days?—but I do know one thing for certain.

The wizard approaches.

Mama is true to her word and this time I'm locked away for real. She and Papa took the key and posted a guard in case I try to pick the lock. Fear has swallowed my parents up, leaving only empty husks behind, and now my room with a view is a prison.

Ren told them everything. As his reward, he's forbidden to ever come near me again. Even Delia won't speak to me.

Ren may not be allowed to see me anymore, but the guard has taken pity on him, and lets him slip notes under my door, keeping me apprised of the events taking place outside my chambers, and bits of conversations he has overheard. Mama and Papa have secured the key to the hidden library in the depths of the palace vault. While it was a shock to Mama, it seems Papa already knew. The room is an unpleasant responsibility that has been passed down for generations. My grandfather made Papa swear a blood oath to keep the existence of the books secret and to protect them from falling into the wrong hands, just like every other ruler before him. Moving or destroying them is too dangerous. Though Papa loathes magic, he hates the thought of those books, that knowledge, being in the hands of wizards even more. The key had been lost long before he was born, so he hardly gave it any thought. Until Ren and I discovered it.

The guards we left behind haven't returned. The forest we brought to life spreads slowly like a disease over the mountains and woods. Those who once lived outside Bryre's protective walls have come back to the fold. Strange lights and terrible keening in the woods and hills frighten Bryre's citizens day and night. The living forest hasn't reached Bryre yet, but it will soon.

It is no longer randomly chasing people in all directions—someone directs it toward our city. There is only one who could hope to control the magic we released: the wizard.

All my hopes to find a way to break the curse, to free us from the promise Mama and Papa made long ago, have been in vain. Instead of freeing my family, I caught the wizard's attention. Any chance of another way to save us vanished with Old Mae and the books Mama and Papa will never let me see again. The image of Old Mae in death is burned on my brain, and it flares up again every time I close my eyes. When I sleep, my dreams are haunted by strange creatures, bloodied bodies, and the horrible rustling of walking trees.

Now, all I can do is watch and wait. They say the wizard can't enter the city. That the wards he put into place to protect us from Belladoma's greedy king still hold. No one intending Bryre harm can enter.

But how long can one spell last? The wizard set those wards years ago. What if they start to degrade? He'll squeeze through any chink in our armor he can find.

And with the menacing forest, I fear he intends to do his best to weaken them.

City guards patrol the perimeter at all hours of the day. The ones attacked by the wizard are still frozen solid, and it does not seem likely they will ever recover. Mama and Papa consult with their council debating what to do if the wizard breaches the walls.

And here I sit, waiting for my world to explode while others prepare to lay down their lives to keep me safe. All because of a foolish bargain.

They should have known better than to make a deal with a wizard. Too many people pay the price. I'm not worth such a sacrifice.

The effects of using magic haven't completely worn off, but I pry myself off my bed and make my way to the window on wobbly legs. Even that's locked up tight. Outside my tower, the city is on edge. The streets are empty. Only the guards on the ramparts and gates move and remain busy, no doubt terrified of the monstrous man who approaches.

He's coming for me.

As I turn from the window, something else catches my eye. Movement in the forest. From here everything looks miniature. I peer more intensely at the north gate, where it originates. Does the wizard shake the trees with his power? Or does the very earth tremble at the thought of him drawing near?

Watching the foliage makes me long for my garden hidden in the maze. How will those flowers grow without me to tend them? Who else will coddle the empty plot where the Crown-of-Roses seeds are sown, hoping to coax them from the ground at last?

My breath catches. The trees aren't shaking after all.

They're moving. The entire forest shuffles closer and closer to Bryre, one horrifying step at a time. It is almost here.

My breath returns in panting gasps. Is there no end to this terror we've unleashed with our spell? I fear the wizard has seen an opportunity to finish, for his own malicious ends, what we began. I must warn Mama and Papa. They must go to ground, use one of the escape routes and get out of the city. I have nowhere to hide, but they can. I run to the door and pound and scream.

"Mama! Papa! Come quick!"

I scream for five full minutes, but no one comes. I rush back to the window. The forest creeps closer. Thick trees press together in stark lines, forming a circular net around the city walls. This is different, more organized than the wild, haphazard life we gave them, just like Ren told me. It must be the wizard in control now. Even from here there's no mistaking the confused, frightened glances that the guards on the ramparts exchange. The trees are right up to the main gate, blocking the road out of the city. More approach every few minutes, forming row after row of enchanted woods.

The wizard weaves a tight net, and we have no chance of escaping from it. Even if he can't come in, we can't leave. Not without risking the wilds of the woods. I can no longer see between the trunks. All that remains is a looming dark green of waving branches.

The air in the room seems to thin. I slump onto my bed, filled with awful, dizzying certainty.

I will not leave this palace alive.