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Hazel stepped back from the griffin. “It is not my bond to work out.”

“You have no instruction to offer?” Talwyn gritted out.

“Spend time with him.”

“What do you think I have been doing?”

“Bonding with a griffin is not done sitting in the dirt,” Hazel said curtly.

She glared at the High Witch. “Why are you down here? Did you need something?”

Likely not the smartest move to speak to the High Witch in such a manner, but after three hours of battling wills with a griffin, she had about as many fucks to give as Thorne did.

Hazel’s eyes flicked over Talwyn’s shoulder at the same time Thorne lifted his head and clicked his beak. It was answered by the cry of a hawk.

“She has news from the west,” came a lilting voice.

Talwyn turned to find Ashtine behind them, Nasima soaring above her and circling in the sky. Talwyn frowned at her appearance. She still looked unwell, despite everything. Still pale. Still exhausted.

“You should not be out here yet, your Highness,” Hazel said. “The mornings are cold in these lands, even in the warm months.”

Ashtine had her cloak clutched tightly around her, the hood up and her hands shoved deep in the pockets. She wore silk shoes that could not possibly be keeping her feet warm. With a weak smile, she said, “They remind me of my home. High in the cliffs.”

“Can you take Thorne back to the aerie?” Talwyn asked Hazel. “I will escort Ashtine back.”

“The winds summoned me,” Ashtine said, moving closer to the griffin. “What news do you carry, Lady?”

“I received word last night that Scarlett visited the Southern Islands two days ago as planned,” Hazel answered, stepping back more to give Ashtine room to pet Thorne.

“Did she find what she was seeking?” Ashtine asked.

“I do not know that, but I do know she left the cliffs in ruins.”

Talwyn couldn’t contain her small gasp. The power it would have taken to desecrate those cliffs would have been astronomical.

“She had a trap set. Most of Alaric’s forces that had accompanied him were inside the cliffs when she destroyed them. He returned to the continent upset.”

“That is nothing new,” Talwyn muttered.

“He retaliated,” Ashtine said softly.

Talwyn stilled because she was right. When Scarlett had tricked Alaric by trading him a powerless once-queen, he had retaliated by coming after Ashtine. He would have retaliated out of fury again.

“What did he do?” Talwyn asked.

Hazel’s keen gaze was on Ashtine, whose own eyes were fixed on the feathers she was smoothing down on Thorne’s neck. The beast bent his head, shuffling closer to her.

“It was reported that mortal rebel camps were discovered near the Wind Court border in Toreall. They were attacked, and some Wind Court Fae crossed to defend them. They were all killed, but he now plans to attack the Court. To solidify his holding there,” Hazel said.

Ashtine’s hand had stopped, fingers curling into Thorne’s feathers. She was trying to hide her trembling, but Talwyn could see it.

“Ashtine?” she asked tentatively.

She could already see all the progress the princess had made since coming here beginning to drain away at this news. The winds were picking up, piles of dirt swirling in the gusts. Nasima let out a disgruntled cry, shooting higher into the sky.

“Ashtine,” Talwyn tried again. “Ashtine, let us walk a bit.”

Hazel had taken Thorne’s lead, urging him to back up.