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Yrra made a distraught sound in his throat, but he didn’t deny it.

“Well.” Luthri’s cordial tone cut through the mounting melancholy. “Though it hasn’t been long, it was a pleasure traveling in your company, Yeeralilly.”

He didn’t appear to notice Yrra’s wince at the butchering of his name.

“And knowing you, Daethie, has been a true honor,” Lu continued. “I will never forget your delightful company and sparkling conversation these past weeks.”

Daethie’s chest puffed at that.

“Are you sure about this?” I inquired, leaning over to place a hand on Yrra’s.

He was a grown man, more than capable of making his own decisions, but I’d watched him acclimate to his lanky adult frame, navigate unfamiliar feelings and new roads, and now face life-threatening trials.

Through all of that, he had become like a brother to me.

And I knew this world wasn’t made for people like him, people who were gentle and pure and good .

Beneath my palm, his hand rotated so that his long fingers could lock with mine. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Daethie and I have been looking for a place to belong for too long,” he said, soft and firm all at once. “I’ll miss you all, but I’ve dallied enough.”

His face fell. “I only wish I could have said a proper goodbye to the others. Ked expects me to return with you, and…”

“We’ll pass the message along,” I assured him, swallowing past the lump in my throat.

My hand slipped out of his to pick a loose hair from his shoulder and smooth the collar of his shirt, though it wasn’t truly out of place.

“This isn’t goodbye, anyway. A couple of days there, a couple of days back…

With some luck, we’ll see you again within the week.

Can’t wait to fill you in—you and Daethie will regret missing all the action, I bet. ”

“One of us, at least.” Yrra’s mouth twisted in a wry smile. He looked down at Daethie, who hopped onto his knee and beckoned me to come closer.

As I leaned in, Daethie put one of her braids between her lips.

Before I could tell what she was up to, she’d split off a chunk of her hair with a vicious twist of her head.

A fist was thrust at me in all sincerity.

I offered my palm and found myself the proud owner of a miniature tuft of loose gray hair not even two centimeters in length.

“Er… Thank you?”

Daethie sniffed, reaching up to push at my fingers until I closed my hand around her gift. “An Aminkinya ’s hair is worth an immeasurable favor among our people,” she explained, her voice gruffer than usual. “Consider that my thanks. For being a good friend.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” I protested, hand still outstretched. As she sniffed again and rubbed at her nose, my heart squeezed with emotion. “Are you crying?”

“I’m not,” Daethie denied with a jerk of her head. Her shoulders shook.

Seeing Daethie get emotional had me following suit, my vision blurring. My arm undulated in the air. I had no idea what I’d be able to do with a bit of loose fairy hair, but the depth of meaning behind her gift didn’t escape me. She wasn’t a sentimentalist.

“Allow me,” Luthri interjected, gently taking my hand. He plucked the hairs from their place and rubbed them between his thumb and forefinger with tender care. When he released my hand, I reared back to admire the thin woven ring encircling my pinky finger.

My eyes flicked up to meet his.

“I thought I saw a sign for a birdkeeper,” Vyrain murmured. “Should we get a letter sent to Jük and Vee before we set off? We’d have to be quick—it’s almost midday.”

“Yes! Let’s do that.” I scrambled to my feet.

Yrra paused long enough for Daethie to take to the air before he also stood. “Good luck,” he said, all business. Letting his expression soften, he added, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

My cheeks ached with the effort to maintain a straight face. “Well, considering that facing off against a pod of nykse , dragging two grown men through a swamp, and biting are all on that list now, I’m not sure that’s the best guide on what is and isn’t appropriate.”

“Biting can be a lot of fun depending on who else is involved,” Luthri remarked.

“Shush, you,” I told him as I stooped to collect our things from the ground. Vyrain and Hohem leapt into motion. As a group, we gathered the new supplies and bundled them onto the twins’ backs. Silver lining—I’d appreciate not having to lug a pack around all day.

Yrra and Daethie accompanied us to send a letter back to Vhalder.

We each wrote a paragraph for Vee, with Yrra adding in his happy news of finding a place to stay.

I filled in the rest and paid the birdkeeper, wincing as our purse lightened by another two tarn .

It being a necessary expense didn’t make the loss any less cutting.

Before we parted ways, Daethie made me promise I’d make sure she and Yrra got their cut of the reward money, because of course she wouldn’t let that go.

We negotiated a reduced percentage based on the distance they’d traveled.

She proclaimed, “It’ll do,” and reluctantly sealed the deal with a normal handshake after I stood my ground on a blood bond (the Aminkinya way) being out of the question. We said our final goodbyes.

As we made our way back to the dock to the boat that would take us to Munarzed, it felt as though a weight had been lifted. The path forward was clear for once. And a relaxing cruise across the wide blue channel sounded like just the thing to lift our spirits.