Leaving had felt like a bit like tearing himself in two. There was no reason to think that Lucifer would come after the Merry Men, it was only Clio he'd shown a sick interest in, but even still, a nagging guilt at the back of Will's head told him he was taking the coward's route, fleeing to safety while the boys held down the fort. But Robin had insisted, and Clio had asked, and if he'd been inclined to argue with Rob, there wasn't a chance he'd say no to Clio. She'd be safe on her own in Elaine's cottage, but she felt safer with him there, and after all she'd had taken from her, Will wanted to give her every scrap of security he could offer.
He'd thought this place would be weirder. There was a certain uncanniness about it, even leaving aside the fact that they'd arrived here via a magical wardrobe that he'd built. Where the real world was sinking into autumn, Elaine's cottage seemed to be suspended in late spring, and everything in the garden had come into season at once, winter and summer veggies ripening side-by-side. But the goat and the chickens didn't talk (or at least if they did, they were keeping it well to themselves), and Elaine's cat Shadow didn't seem to possess any proclivity for dressing up in boots, and after the first night Will had found a strange ease stealing over him.
He thought he could understand a little what Marian had meant about the cottage, why it had been exactly what she'd needed when she'd slipped through last year. It was like a place out of time, somewhere the real world couldn't touch. And... maybe he and Clio had both needed a touch of that just now as well.
Now, in the kitchen, Will reached out an arm and pulled Clio into a side-hug. "You're asking a forest lad if he wants to stroll through the trees, now?" He grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Sounds grand."