“You will seriously consider that a demon may be the cause of the wither-rot, and launch a full investigation.”

He was already red, but he somehow went redder with the effort of containing his anger.

“Do we have a deal?”

“It will be done,” he ground out. And he would do it, Yenni knew. For all his considerable flaws, Mainard was not a man who gave his word lightly.

Yenni smiled. “See that it is.” She placed her hands under her chin and bowed to him. “Have a blessed day, Professor.” She left him fuming at the front of his lecture hall.

The rest of the day went much the same, with half of Yenni’s classmates whispering about her from afar while the other half engaged her. It wasn’t as if she disliked it completely—some of them seemed to genuinely want to know about her and her homeland. But it had been a long while since she was the center of attention, and it soon became exhausting. It was with great relief that she climbed onto Weysh’s back at the end of the day and let him whisk her away to his townhouse.

As they passed over the city, which glowed with sunset, Yenni ran her hands along Weysh’s scales, tipped her head back, and prayed.

I love him, she told the Sha. I know it could bring war and ruin to my tribe, but I love him. Wise Father Ri and loving Mother Shu, all-knowing Mother-Father Ool . . . if you mean for me to marry Weh-sheh, please, please show me that it is so.

She stayed like that for some time, reveling in the secure safety of Weysh underneath her and the warmth of the last rays of the sun on her face, until Weysh let out an excited screech.

Yenni opened her eyes. “What—oh my!”

A group of fantastic creatures surrounded her—turtles that somehow glided on the air! At least, Yenni thought they were some sort of turtle; however, their hard shells flashed between green and gold in the waning sunlight. Yenni twisted and turned, counting them. Five in total, soaring along with their legs outstretched, no wings in sight.

“Mother Shu, Father Ri, is that you?” she whispered. Green and gold were Father Ri’s colors, and Mother Shu’s favorite number was five. One of the creatures floated up close enough to touch and watched her with an unblinking golden eye. Yenni reached out and stroked its shell. It let out a hoarse cry, and to Yenni’s astonishment, began to fade before her eyes. Glancing around, she saw the others slowly disappearing as well, until the sky was clear once more.

Shortly after Weysh swooped in on his home, touching down before the gate as always. Yenni slid from his back and he quickly changed.

“Yenni! Yenni did you see that?!”

“See what, Messer Nolan?” asked Georges, the gate boy.

“Great golden sky turtles!” shouted Weysh.