Chapters 19 and 20 Summary

Briar and Daja go downstairs. The entire household is asleep. They head to the stables, but encounter something like living jello. Quen brags that his spells are layered and some are even reversed. Then Briar remembers Rosethorn teaching him not to try to break another power but to use his own. Daja follows suit and soon they are free, and Quen is confined to a cage of thorns, vines and living metal. Part of his power linked to Sandry, and without its hold, she wakes. Shan's voice brags about potions and spell patterns Quen gave him to keep Sandry docile. They are just stopping to water the horses when she hears Daja's voice. Soon Sandry has the entire party strung up in cocoons made from their own clothing, rewoven to keep them safe until someone finds them. The Empress has already...