“And how lucky you fell on this side of the border! Yes, that was extremely lucky!” Jyx was shouting extra loud. Circling around them, she waved in Zek and Ferro. “We brought a net, which we did not steal.”

Both Zek and Ferro nodded vigorously. “We left a note,” Zek said.

“Students are supposed to help each other,” Ferro said solemnly.

Mina couldn’t help smiling at all of them. She’d never been more happy to see people. Babying her own injury, she helped them secure the net under Pixit, and she climbed in with him. It was coated in a layer of fire-resistant rubber.

Each holding a piece of the net, the three other beasts flew away from the cliff. Mina and Pixit were dragged off the ledge and then into the open air. For an instant they all sank, and Mina almost screamed. Pixit did yelp.

“Up, up, up!” Jyx cried. “Flap like you mean it!”

They flew steadily on to the school.

Ferro began talking. “I broke my arm once. Three years old, and I was running toward the house, really excited because I’d seen this butterfly—”

“You were excited over a butterfly?” Zek asked.

“It was a cool one. Fuzzy antennae.”

“You’re joking.”

“Never seen one before. Three years old, remember? And there are butterflies worth running for. Imagine if you saw a butterfly that spat fire—”

Jyx jumped in. “That would be awesome.”

“And impossible,” Zek said.

“It was a hypothetical example!”

“You’re a hypothetical example,” Jyx told him.

“Nice timing on the insult,” Zek said, “but that doesn’t actually make sense.”

They continued talking and teasing one another, and the words flowed around Mina. But instead of making her feel anxious or like she wanted to hide from all the talking, they made her feel safe. Their babble felt like a cradle, keeping her from falling.

It felt like family.

All the bulbs were still blazing when they reached the school. Mina peered through the holes in the net, trying to see which teacher would catch them and how much trouble they were in. «Are we going to be expelled?»

Of course not! Why would you think that? Besides, as far as anyone knows, we didn’t do anything wrong. She tried to put as much confidence into the thought as she could. After all, both Zek and Ferro and their beasts had only seen them on this side of the mountain, and not even Jyx knew that Mina had talked to outsiders. We’ll just have to keep that a secret.

She thought of how Eione had said she wasn’t going to help, and Mina felt a stab of guilt. Lying wasn’t the way to pay them back for what they’d done. If the outsiders hadn’t helped her and Pixit . . . Or we’ll keep it a secret for now, she amended.

«I’m good with secrets.»