Tufani scowled at me from across her hut. I did my best to scowl back while Ressia finished treating my wounds. Because of course the Black Handed Healer was one of the ones sent to help the Rookery once the Seedling Palace was made aware of what had happened. Ressia had winked at me when she said that she made it a point to get sent on any missions away from the Palace.

Between Mishtaw, Juniper, and me we were able to support each other enough to follow the storm bird to a clearing and climb on. Storm bird saddles weren’t made for three people, especially one with a crippling fear of heights, but Mishtaw had us sit upright and tied us in place so we didn’t have to hang on. She didn’t really direct the bird either other than giving the signal for ‘go home’. It made for an uncomfortable journey but it was better than going after the storming kidnapper again.

I could tell Mishtaw had wanted to keep up the chase, but between her injuries, and Juniper and me, she had decided the best choice of action was to regroup at the Rookery first. Which meant I had the dubious honor of explaining to her and Tufani what exactly my plan had been and where it had all gone wrong while Ressia listened in.

They didn’t interrupt as I spun the story in the best light and to the point as possible. They didn’t need to know all of the extra bits.

“Why would you think taking a pack of Sprouts after an unknown kidnapper in the middle of the cold season without anyway to make fire would be a good idea?” Tufani pressed.

I started to cross my arms but had to stop when my bludgeoned arm protested. “You would have stopped us. Someone needed to go after Juniper.”

“And I would have sent fliers. Huntresses. People who wouldn’t have to worry about freezing to death as they slept because they could make a fire.”

“You took two days to figure out we were gone. You wouldn’t have had anyone to spare.”

Tufani thumped her cane. “There would have been, had I known they were needed to retrieve a Sprout.”

“But—”

“Gimley.” That was Mishtaw.

I shut up. She was bruised all over too and in no mood for back talk. Luckily she only had to one knife wound down her forearm—she had taken a gamble and thrown the kidnapper’s unwieldy blade into the woods after he blinded us. That way she didn’t risk him taking the weapon back from her or accidentally killing him while she couldn’t see and trying to use an unfamiliar weapon. He could have gone after it but the kidnapper had opted for fighting her barehanded and knocking her out instead before going after Juniper again.

Mishtaw loomed large as she stood next to where Tufani at her table. “You have a habit of running around on your own and causing trouble.”

“I brought others th—”

“And you abandoned them.” Mishtaw glowered down at me. “Insubordination. Risking your fellow cohort’s lives and then abandoning them to run off on your own. None of this can stand if you want to become a whisper woman.”

As if I have much choice. I couldn’t say the bitter thought out loud but the tone still coated what burst out of my mouth next, “I was trying to save Juniper!”

Mishtaw gave me a look that said she knew that wasn’t only thing I was trying to do.

Tufani said, “And you went about it in the most idiotic way possible. Like a hatchling thinking it can fly simply by spreading its wings.”

I wanted to keep arguing, could feel the words building up on my tongue, but nothing I said was helping my case. It only dug me deeper into their ire. So I clenched my jaw and refused to give them any more bait.

They seemed to take that as me accepting my fate. Mishtaw gestured to the hut’s entrance with her chin. “Go. We’ll decide your punishment and if you don’t stay in the Rookery—where you can be easily found—I’ll triple it.”

I left the hut, stiff and slow but without any help, and Ressia followed me out. She stretched as soon as we reached the open air. “Tense enough to cut in there.”

I didn’t want to go back the hut we had been given, but I needed to speak with Prevna and I wasn’t sure where else I could go in the Rookery that wouldn’t look like I was trying to hide away. The feathered tree maybe, or Tufani’s hut if I hadn’t just been kicked out of it.

A squawk sounded from in front of me and I couldn’t dodge before a giant beak descended and plucked me off the ground. Anore seemed quite pleased with herself as she carried me back to a nest and gently tucked me against her chest after she settled into it.

“No, I need to—Anore, I can’t stay here.”

The bird didn’t seem to care. Despite my pathetic struggles to climb out of the nest, she’d just nudge me back where she wanted me and I didn’t have the strength to force myself free.

Ressia climbed the nest and took in the sight with a smile. “Cozy?”

I glared up at her.

She chuckled. “Enjoy it while you can. The Relic Seeker can’t let a relic get stolen that easily. Now that your her apprentice, you might have to go harrying off after that guy who gave you all those injuries.”

My eyebrows drew together. “Relic Seeker?”

She nodded. “If something old and odd gets found or goes missing, she’s the one that gets called in.”

“But Mishtaw was in charge of a squad when we fought at the shore.”

Ressia shrugged. “I don’t know the full story but sometimes she gets special privileges like that when it comes to the Peacekeepers.” She leaned closer like she was sharing a secret while Anore kept a careful eye on her. “Word is that she might have trained with the Peacekeepers first before switching to the Seekers. Or that Eliss refuses to be in charge of a squad if Mishtaw is involved with an operation.”

It was difficult to imagine anyone but Mishtaw could be in charge of that group of four and it wouldn’t surprise me if they often got placed together with how well they worked together. Though I also didn’t think that the sects would be so willing to work together and lose some of their resources to another sect just so partners could work together.

“So she’s here for the harp?”

Ressia’s expression softened. “I’m sure she appreciates seeing her apprentice too.”

Right. I’m sure I’d see some of that appreciation soon after she decided what punishment I deserved for making her life difficult and making it even harder to retrieve the harp she was responsible for. Of course she wouldn’t disappear and leave me behind immediately like she had right after being named my mentor and a hurried shadow walking lesson.

Ressia noticed my mood and let me be after that. I snuggled into Anore’s chest feathers and tried to wait the bird out after the healer disappeared from view. I needed to speak with Prevna but unless she found me it didn’t seem like that would be happening any time soon.

From what I had been told when we arrived back in the Rookery, Barra was awake now, though she had been found asleep on top of the statue by the flier sent out to retrieve her. She was the one who finally got word out to the Seedling Palace, who then sent three healers to help the Rookery and contacted Mishtaw to hunt after the missing harp. My stunt had disrupted that whole plan because instead of focusing on the harp they then had to focus on retrieving most of the cohort. Never mind that Juniper’s idiotic plan to camp out in hidey hole had already led to her capture at that point or that they had sent out one whisper woman to go after a kidnapper who apparently had at least half a dozen different magical tricks up his sleeve. Not that he was smart enough to wear sleeves.

Things that I had never seen before nor a method that made sense. All he had to do was touch a piece of jewelry and then he’d suddenly have incredible strength or clarity when he should have been on his knees from a head wound and a concussion. A sudden blinding flash that turned the whole fight in his favor.

We only got a single blessing and it was like he had as many as he wanted. If every single piece of jewelry he wore had a blessing inside…I swallowed. Then we wouldn’t have stood a chance if he had thought to use them all.

There had to be a limit to it. Something that stopped him from using every single hidden blessing he had. Otherwise, if he was from beyond the goddess’s territory, I didn’t see how we weren’t overrun by kidnappers and relic thieves. Except for pure, understandable fear of the goddess Herself. She wouldn’t tolerate a horde of people invading her territory.

Awhile later Anore let out a whistling call and I heard someone deftly climbing up the side of the nest. Prevna. She gave me a once over while her lips pressed together. Then she dropped down into the nest next to me and leaned back against Anore’s feathers. No knowing smiles or mischievous comments. No bump against the shoulder.

Just, “Did you solve everything?”

I couldn’t look at her. Didn’t want to say anything either unless I dug myself another hole like I had with Tufani and Mishtaw, but she didn’t seem to be in the mood to wait through one of my silences and if this was my one chance to make sure everything had cracked completely, then I had to try.

But my answer might be just as bad as the silence.

“No.”

“But you got Juniper back. Like you said you would.”

“We barely fought the kidnapper off.”

Prevna tipped her head and rubbed her face with her hands. “You look like it too.”

I couldn’t deny that. It had been a rough fight.

She sighed and dropped her hands back down to her sides. “You left me behind after you said you weren’t going to next time.”

I wanted to apologize but I couldn’t make the word form. It didn’t feel adequate, especially when we both knew that I might do it again.

“Just…tell me that you regret it.”

“I do,” my voice was a hoarse whisper.

“Okay.”

We sat in the nest, quiet and cozy, for a while longer before Prevna climbed back out. Anore picked me up by the collar and set me down outside the nest next to her. Things weren’t perfect, but at least they weren’t completely broken.