Weysh would be back soon to see how her demonstration had gone. She could get him to fly her into the city, where she could send the letter by what the Creshens called express post. According to Professor Rosé, some young dragons like Weysh flew mail and packages back and forth between Cresh and the Northern Sha Islands, the ones Cresh had claimed as colonies. From there her letter would be ferried to her home by ship.

She bit the edge of her lip. Even express post would take about ten days, and it would cost—Mothers and Fathers! She had no money!

Yenni groaned and rubbed her temples. One thing after another after another.

Maybe Dragon could fly her home. Would that anger the Sha? Ah, but Dragon was not a ship. He couldn’t fly nonstop straight across the ocean. He would need to stick to the coast, and rest at night. He might take just as long or longer. Besides, Mainard was still looking into the matter. What if the sickness wasn’t the wither-rot after all, but something else? She needed to remain at the academy so she could send any and all information back to her parents.

She could sell the necklace Weysh had given her.

No. No, she did not want to do that.

Very well, though it shamed her, she would instead ask his help to pay her postage and she’d return the money as soon as she received her stipend from Professor Devon. She nodded to herself. Surely the Sha could take no issue with that. She would mail the letter that day, and pray with everything she had that her father held on.

Yenni swiveled around to her writing nook and caught sight of the mess of letters and messages piled in front of her door, abandoned once she’d discovered Devon’s note. Sighing, she went over to gather them up, and froze when she noticed a roll of familiar deep-brown paper, made from the innards of the papua tree native to the Islands. A message from home? Grabbing the roll, she slipped free the fine golden thread that held it together.

She undid the roll and frowned in confusion. Instead of the familiar field sphinx with the wings spread wide that represented her home, the corner of the page was emblazoned with the Gunzu crest: a long shield crossed by a spear.

Bright and Sha-blessed Yenni Aja-Nifemi,