He held still so she could boost herself up on his leg. She stretched, reaching for a crack or bulge or anything—​but there was no place to grab, nothing to hold. She heard multiple voices now, calling to one another frantically. Two women had joined the man.

“Stay where you are, child!” a woman called. “It isn’t safe!”

Terror shot through her like a lightning strike, and she scratched at the rock, trying to find some way up, away, now! Her fear poured out of her into Pixit, and he screeched, spreading his wings. His thoughts were frantic, tumbling over one another, amplifying her fear, which then fed right back into him.

«We must escape!»

You can’t fly!

«Grab hold!»

Mina wrapped her arms around his neck, and he lifted up. She felt him strain, and his wing folded when they were only a few feet up. They fell down, hitting the rocks, and tumbled together, his wings wrapped around her.

She blacked out.

When she blinked her eyes open again, she saw brightness—​a blob of searing orange. Her eyes watered, and she threw her arm in front of her face. Voices were talking, soothingly, with an accent she’d never heard before. “Shh, you’ll be okay. Lie still. You fell. But you’re all right. No broken bones.”

“Pixit?” she croaked.

“Is that your beast’s name? He’ll be all right too. We’re patching him up now. Rest. That’s a good girl. Here, drink this. It will make you feel better.” She felt a cool mug pressed to her lips and liquid sloshed against her mouth. She swallowed. Bitter warmth flowed down her throat and spread through her lungs.

She didn’t want to drink anything. She wanted to make sure Pixit was all right! She tried to struggle. Pixit! Are you okay?

She felt only fuzziness where his thoughts should be. “Pixit!”

“Poor dear, let her see him. She’ll upset herself.” She heard shuffling. Someone’s hands were behind her back, helping her sit up, and the amber light—​a lantern, she realized, though with a steady glow, not a flame—​was shifted. She saw Pixit, lying on a blanket. A man and a girl about Mina’s age were wrapping bandages around his wing, while an older woman was beside Mina.

Outsiders, she thought. She’d never seen clothes like theirs, bulky coats with zippers and buttons all over. And the woman’s accent! She didn’t sound like anyone in Alorria.

“You’re helping? But . . .”