After we returned to the other bodies, I’d grabbed last intact crabstone, and Hinte’d placed both of the humans on my back for me. For a few steps, I thought I’d at long won our argument about carrying equal weights.


    think.”


    know,” she said. When she looked back to me, her teeth were visible, though her fangs had retracted. “It was… Call it superstition or intuition. Do not worry about it.”


    having dangers. There is glass and cliffs and maybe I would get burned or fall or something. But you never said anything about olms, rockwraiths, humans or any of this!” My wing moved to my neck, feeling the bandages over the knife wound. “I could have died. So many times.”


    her suit???—”


    did, after talking to Kinri like he asked. But the ashwit wouldn’t stop nagging my head off about slinking off on my own earlier. Got tired of hearing it.”


    Distract her, unbalance her. I didn’t want a fight. “Hey Hinte,”???—??she stopped, half-turned???—??“Don’t you sift alone too when I’m not here?”


    Walking home alone, friendless.


    her for today. Catch you on the wind.”


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    When I caught up to Hinte, she had taken out her compass, righting her path. I spoke before she did, “I’m sorry again. It’s kind of ashy for me to fault you for not telling me things when I did the same to you.”


    meant the apology; but a part of me couldn’t help but note just how well this move flew. She either had to forgive me for hiding things, or admit she shouldn’t have hid things from me.


    Anti-magical. Warping energies, disrupting or distorting enchantments.” She waved her wing around.


    mean?”


    snap, and it was twisted. Shimmering green crawled up the black knife, emanating from the once-white streaks on the blade.


    something???—??maybe a finger shifted, I couldn’t be sure???—??and then it hummed.


    focused and clearer in a way the others weren’t, without sounding pleasant at all.


    destroy me if I slipped up once.


    compass to do that?”


    sky-dweller, a House sky-dweller at that. We didn’t shun magic the same way Gwymr/Frina did.


    The Inquiry. Hinte spoke first. “A jewel cutter, Glyster, is our???—??my only client until the white season passes.”


    * * *