Above the treetops, Shimmer flew with the rest of the falcons that hadn’t been struck by freeze spells. They carried the empty hammock. Slowly their numbers grew as the spells they’d been hit with wore off. Those who hadn’t been injured, killed, or captured in the mansion battle rejoined the flock.

Fifer felt physically miserable, but she didn’t want to tax the birds so soon after they’d been traumatized, so she didn’t call for the hammock. Being hit by two heart attack spells had been one of the most painful experiences of her life. The effects lingered longer than with a single hit, which she’d experienced once before in warrior training. Each step she took sent pins and needles radiating through her. It had been such a close call, and her mind kept circling around the question: What if the third component hadn’t somehow missed her? Would she really have died?

Death was tough to think about. And while she was unfortunately familiar with the deaths of others by now, it didn’t seem real that Fifer herself could have actually been so close to it. Being extraordinarily magical, she felt invincible most of the time. Maybe it was foolish to feel that way. She’d had her share of near misses too.

She also wondered if it was Frieda Stubbs’s poor magic skills that had saved her. Fifer viewed the heart attack spell with a new reverence now, and she knew she’d be way more thoughtful in the future when launching that one at anyone who had a shred of goodness in them.

Slowly Fifer’s strength returned. She spotted the path she needed to take that would lead to the area where the rock lived. She picked up speed. What was she going to tell Florence and Sky? And poor Ava and Lukas, who would be waiting for their parents and Seth to return—how was she going to explain to little children what had happened?

This whole surprise attack had been a big mistake. They’d underestimated Frieda and the dissenters. And they’d gotten trapped on the stairs, which was so amateurish that Fifer didn’t even want to tell Florence that part. They’d made the false assumption that all of Frieda’s people were downstairs because of the meeting. Not one of Fifer’s team had thought to keep watch behind them, just in case—either that or they’d all thought someone else was doing it. Fifer muttered angrily under her breath and stomped the jungle path, bringing the pins-and-needles feeling back. She hated making mistakes. She wouldn’t make that one again.

The jungle grew shadier, and Fifer knew she had to be getting close. Florence and Sky would be so shocked to see that she was the only one who had escaped. She was pretty sure that all of their friends were trapped indefinitely, but at least they’d be able to get Simber out soon, now that they had the drawing. He would be a huge help. Their biggest hope. He had to be.