Evin looked back over his shoulder. Bet lifted up the edges of her robes with one hand so that she wouldn’t trip over them. She held out her other hand to steady herself as they climbed up the last steep stretch to the chimera’s nest and the circle of cages.

“It’s perfectly safe,” Evin said as he turned to look forward. He grabbed a branch ahead of him and made sure he had solid footing before hefting himself forward.

“I could have sworn I heard you screaming,” Bet said.

“I already told you,” Evin said without turning around, “that was one of the villagers. And the chimera was right there in its burrow, sleeping through it all, no gnolls in sight. Now is the perfect chance to sneak up on it.”

Evin held his breath as he hiked between the dark trees. He expected for Bet to call his bluff at any moment, but Bet just climbed silently behind him.

“I think we’re almost there,” Jorick whispered from ahead of Evin.

The boy had leaped ahead partway up the hill, eager and anxious to find out what was going on.

Evin reached out and found himself grabbing at the same sapling that had stopped him from falling down the hill earlier in the night. The young tree had been sliced cleanly in half, Evin noticed as he hefted himself forward. The chimera’s claws were ridiculously sharp, and he wondered again if he was doing the right thing.

She lied to us, Evin told himself. She stole my memories and she is making us go on some big monster hunt. Of course it’s the right thing.

Shaking any remaining doubts out of his head, Evin quickened his pace and joined Jorick ahead. Behind him, he heard Bet curse quietly as she stumbled over the underbrush.

“Remember,” Evin whispered to Jorick as they kneeled down in front of several bushes that lined the edge of the clearing, “keep as far away from Bet as possible once we get to the center of the clearing.”

“Why won’t you just tell me what the plan is?” Jorick whispered back.

“You’ll see,” Evin said. “Just keep away from her.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Bet asked in a hushed voice as she came to crouch beside them.

Evin saw that for the first time her shiny hair was disheveled, her robes splattered with mud. Her eyes flashed with some emotion—confusion? fear?—and for the first time, Evin realized that everything that had happened since he’d met her must have been planned. Only now that they were going against orders did Bet seem even the tiniest bit normal. Or, well, as normal as an elf could be.

“I was just reminding him to keep quiet and follow me,” Evin whispered. “And that the Practical Guide said we should spread out when facing a chimera.”

Bet nodded. “All right.”

“Let’s go,” Evin said.