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“Until now?” Cora asked. “That’s bad luck.”

Timmons stood. “No more bad luck. I’m pitching this off the side of the mountain.”

“Wait!” Ren grabbed her friend’s elbow before she could wind up and throw it. “That might be useful. It’s our only measure of proximity to Kathor. We could hear the music, but it was a weak connection. The closer we get to the city, the stronger it will sound. We might need that earring if we’re going to use my waxway candle to portal back.”

Timmons nodded but tossed the earring on the ground next to Ren.

“You keep it. I can’t stand the thought that I almost got him killed.”

Ren nodded her understanding. She slid the earring into a small pocket on the front of her satchel. The three of them sat in silence for a moment. Theo was groaning a little in his sleep.

“I’ll sit with him,” Ren offered. “Do you think it’s safe to build a fire?”

Timmons nodded. “I’ll gather wood.”

“We should eat,” Cora said, still breathing thick and slow. “I’m exhausted.”

“I’m not sure we should go hunting out there. Not with the wyvern nearby.”

But the girl nodded to the nest in the corner of the cliff they’d chosen. “Eggs. Rich in protein. I count four.”

Ren lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t you think that will piss off the mother?”

“So? This time we’re higher in the food chain.” Cora started walking over to collect the eggs. “And besides, we have magic.”

26

The mother bird wasn’t happy, but the eggs were delicious.

Ren wiped her mouth, watching as the falcon winged in frantic circles outside their wards. She let out a mournful call. Ren would have felt guilty if they hadn’t needed every advantage to make it through the next few days alive. Theo’s surgery had cost Cora more than half of her magic. Ren was draining her own ockleys to create the wards and keep them all safe and comfortable. All while Theo tossed and turned, too fever-ridden to do more than occasionally sip from Avy’s canteen.

Their panicked departure had felt like the course of an hour. As the fog lifted, Ren saw they’d cleared the wyvern’s nest by only a thousand paces or so. Still well within its hunting range. She just had to hope that the spell she’d hit it with had caused enough damage to weaken it for a few more days. Otherwise, they’d be hunted before long.

“Should we try to start the next leg with him like this?” Ren asked the following morning. “We could use a levitation spell again.”

“As we climb, the air will get thinner,” Cora pointed out. “Corporeal magic at that height is subject to a lot of variance. You might end up launching him into the sky.”

Ren nodded. “You’re right. I forgot about Veeley’s atmospheric proof. One wrong step and we lose him. How long before you think he’ll be ready?”

Cora shrugged. “A day. The magic exacts a price. If he isn’t going to feel pain, it will make him feel something else. Exhaustion is demanded. At least he won’t be climbing a mountain with a shredded abdomen. We’d never make it through the pass with him in that state.”

They encouraged one another to catch up on rest and sleep. Ren sat with Theo on the first watch. Several times he’d whisper and turn, but it was never more than muttering.

Cora risked setting a trap outside their cave and got lucky. Rabbit meat was spitted and cooked over the fire—seasoned by some mountain flowers that Cora had salvaged. The girl had even roasted some roots into a far more palatable form. It was by far the best meal they’d had, and Theo managed to choke down a few bites before slipping back into a fitful sleep. Ren found the way he curled up against her boot pathetic, though she did begrudgingly admit that he had made two separate efforts to save them from the wyvern, even if the last had been tragically foolish.

“What were you going to do?” she whispered to him. “Punch the thing?”

He shifted restlessly in his sleep. When they were awake, Timmons and Cora got along well. That didn’t surprise Ren. Timmons got on well with everyone. It was approaching night when Timmons nudged Theo’s bag with her foot.

“I’ve held out for a while, but I’ve got to take the edge off.”

Ren laughed. “Seriously? We’re sleeping on the edge of a cliff and you want to get high?”

“Right,” Timmons said. “As if you haven’t warded the whole ledge?”

She snatched Ren’s bag and tossed it into thin air. Cora gasped, but the bag hit the invisible barrier and rebounded safely back into the cave. The same spell that kept the mother bird away from her nest was also keeping them sealed safely within. Ren grinned at Timmons.

“Awfully trusting of you.”