Six gave a wordless shout of delight and grabbed Five by the shoulders, pulling him into a hug. Twelve rocked back on her heels, her relief so strong she felt light-headed. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Widge spun in a circle on her shoulder, tail flicking madly with delight.

When Six set Five back down, Twelve punched him gently on the arm. “It’s good to see you awake. Really good.” Her voice cracked a little and she swallowed. “You gave us quite a scare.” She scanned his face quickly. The whites of his eyes were back again and the terrible grayness was receding from his skin.

Five blinked at her, looking decidedly nervous. “Why are you talking like that?” He peered around, his expression becoming progressively more worried. “And where are we?”

“What do you remember?” Dog asked gently.

Five bit his lip and struggled to sit up. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Foxpaw bent over the fire. From yet another overall pocket, he’d produced a teapot that he was filling with snow and fragrant herbs.

“Uh . . . what in Ember is that?” Five whispered, lowering his voice.

“That’s Foxpaw,” Six grinned. “He’s the moxie we rescued from the deathspinner web. He’s the one who healed you.”

“The who that we rescued from the . . . ?” Five trailed off and shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

The smile faded from Six’s face.

“How much do you remember about what happened after we met the cliffcrawlers?” Twelve asked, echoing Dog.

“Cliffcrawlers,” Five murmured. He nodded. “Yes, I remember them. They killed Charger.” He shook his head slowly.

Twelve and Six exchanged a worried glance over Five’s head.

“What else?” Dog pressed.

“Ugh, it’s all fuzzy,” Five said, scrunching his eyes as he thought. “I remember Twelve telling me it was just a scratch,” he said eventually. There was accusation in his voice as he glared at her. “You were obviously lying!”

“Well, I didn’t want to scare you,” she admitted.

Five snorted. “How kind of you. Now will someone tell me where we are?”

The amazement on Five’s face grew as Six filled him in. He couldn’t believe that they were in the Frozen Forest or that they’d fought off an Ygrex and a deathspinner without him. Six didn’t mention that Five had attacked him, or the form the Ygrex had taken, and for that Twelve was infinitely grateful. The more Six spoke, the more worried Five looked, until Foxpaw came over with a cup of tea for him.

“Ginger and honey,” he said, his golden eyes scanning Five’s face and noting the improvement. “I’ve also added a pinch of dreamroot to sharpen your memories.”

“Thank you,” Five said uncertainly, taking the cup. “And, uh, thank you for healing me.”

Foxpaw inclined his head. “It was a debt owed and willingly paid. Your friends saved my life.”