The mummified shape of Foxpaw had fallen silent above them, but Twelve could feel the prickle of his eyes upon her. He had a name, a family, and, although A Magical Bestiary hadn’t exactly been full of information, it didn’t sound like moxies were dark, dangerous creatures. Again, the Ygrex lunged through her thoughts and fear shuddered inside her, but this time it galvanized her. She could almost hear Victory’s voice in her head. If she let fear stop her from doing what was right, she’d be no more than a coward.

“You fire the line, I’ll climb up,” she said decisively to Six. From her shoulder, Widge made a sound of despair. Dog began to pace and mutter.

“What?” Foxpaw’s voice was tiny.

“We’re going to try and get you down,” Twelve called up to him. “Do you think the web will hold my weight?”

For a moment, there was silence, and when Foxpaw spoke again he sounded stunned. “Aren’t you Hunters?”

“Huntlings only,” Six called as he carefully looped and tied a fine rope through the fletching of an arrow.

“Then you’re on the quest known as the Blooding?”

“No,” Twelve said. “Something else.”

There was a pause, then the moxie called, “The web will hold your weight, but it’s sticky. You should move quickly over it.”

Twelve nodded and turned back to the others.

“It should be me to climb,” Six said firmly, looking up from his knotting. “You’ve been through enough today already.”

“And you haven’t?” Twelve asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, I want to do this. I think maybe I even need to.”

Six nodded slowly, his gaze penetrating. “All right,” he said, allowing a grin to spread cheekily across his pale features. “I suppose I can always rescue you again if you get in trouble.”

A few hours ago, that would have enraged Twelve. Now she shot him the kind of superior look that Five would have been proud of. “I had it under control.”

“Uh-huh,” Six grinned. He nodded at Widge. “By the way, I think he’s eating your hair again.”

“Oh, Widge!” she said, pushing him off her. A small clump of hair fell into the snow beside him. “You have to stop doing that!” But he looked so worried that she had to forgive him straightaway.

Six took aim and fired the threaded arrow. It looped perfectly over the branch and fell back to the ground, carrying the rope with it.