For some reason, that makes me angrier than anything. Does Magpie realize how fucking hard it is to find spectacles that fit just right? Ugh. I pull them off and toss them aside, and as I do, I notice I’m lying atop another person.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

I scramble away as best I can—not easy considering that the room I have is less than the size of my clothing trunk—and try not to panic. Gwenna and Mereden are under Lark, who tried to protect them with her body. I roll Lark off of them and she groans, her clothing torn. We wake each person up as best we can. Gwenna has a bloody nose and Mereden is scratched up, her ankle swollen. Lark clutches her ribs but considering that we’ve just survived being buried in a cave-in, we’re doing amazing. “Is everyone all right?” I manage, wiping at a strand of blood trickling down my cheek. “No one trapped under anything?”

“I’m trapped under a shit ton of rock with four other people,” Lark jokes, and then winces, pressing a hand to her waist. “Oh, fuck, that hurts.”

“Let’s not think about the shit ton of rock, all right?” I offer. “Let’s think about how we can get out of here.”

“We can’t,” Gwenna states, holding a length of ripped sleeve under her nose to stem the bleeding. She hunkers down between myself and Mereden, and we’re all crammed in here like matchsticks in a tinderbox. “If we move something, we could collapse the entire tunnel on us and die for sure.”

“Well, we can’t stay here.” Already the rocks just overhead feel oppressive. I want to stretch my legs and stand upright, and the longer I can’t do it, the more I feel the intense need to do so. I focus on Kipp and his tiny candle, already burning down to nothing. “Let’s think. Where are our supply bags?”

“Buried,” Mereden says in a small voice. “Just like us. I can examine everyone but I don’t have anything to treat you with.”

“It’s fine. We’re fine.” I keep a bright smile on my face. “I’m good, but look over the others.”

Mereden does a quick check, but there’s nothing to be done for Gwenna’s busted nose or Lark’s ribs. They need a guild healer.

“I’m good,” Lark says. “Had worse in a bar fight.”

“I just want out,” Gwenna moans.

“We’re working on it.” Gwenna whimpers with distress at my reassurance, and I reach over and grab her hand, holding it tightly. “Kipp. What else do you have in your house? Anything we can use for light?”

He scrambles up to his shell again and digs into the side, squirming his way under a broken piece and tossing out a few more bits. There’s a bag full of stale cookies, a bundle of string, a handful of nuts, and one more tiny candle. We have no water to drink, very little food, and I’m trying hard not to think about how much rock could possibly be over us.

“Thank you,” I tell Kipp, and hand the cookies to Mereden and Gwenna, because they’re both looking shaky. “You two eat these.”

I expect Lark to complain, but she doesn’t. Even clutching her ribs, she seems more settled than both Gwenna and Mereden, who look like they might fall apart at any moment.

I keep talking in order to seem like I have everything under control. “I think with the nuts and a bit of ripped fabric, we might be able to make a candle that will burn longer. In Prell, they used nut oil in their candles and that’s why it left greasy smears on a lot of the paint in the ruins—well, it isn’t important. The important thing is that we’re not going to run out of light, all right? We’ll figure something out.”

Lark nods. “Once I catch my breath I can try to see if any of the rocks are loose.”

“No, you stay where you are. Kipp, are there any cracks in the rocks that you can squeeze through?” I shift my weight, nearly hitting my head on the oppressively low ceiling again. “If so, see if you can figure out the best way out. If not, just let me know. We’ve got options.”

“Options?” Gwenna lets out a hysterical bark of laughter. “What fucking options do we have? Die fast or die slow?”

“No,” I say firmly. “First of all, if we can’t find a solution out of the…rubble, then we wait here.” I don’t use the words cave-in or buried alive even though it’s the first thing that comes to mind. Since Gwenna is still panicky, I decide to go further with my lies. “There was a team about thirty years ago that lived in the tunnels for a month before they were rescued. They ate moss and drank trickles of water that came in through the rock. We’ll be fine. People survive in the ruins all the time. We can wait for rescue.”

It’s not true, of course. I’m certain teams are rescued from dire cave-ins regularly but after a certain amount of time passes, it’s generally assumed that all are lost. I’ve read plenty of dramatic stories about such tragedies but I keep that to myself.

Kipp nods and points at the rocks, then heads into the jumble, squeezing between a few precariously perched stones even as the stub of the candle flickers and wavers. The rope around him slithers, and Lark hastily unties it from her waist, wincing the entire time. He’s a hero, Kipp. When we get out of here, I’m making sure that everyone knows how amazing he is. He’s kept his cool all this time, and I need to do the same. So I take the flickering stub of the candle and light the taller one. “Everyone untie and give Kipp some slack to explore. Gwenna?”

“Yes?” Her voice sounds shaky even as she unties the rope at her waist.

“Do you think you can dowse for us if Kipp isn’t successful?”

She makes another hysterical sound in her throat. “Dowse for what?”

“For whatever tugs you,” I say, keeping my tone even and soothing. “If you can dowse for a way out, that’s perfect. If not, just dowse for an artifact and we’ll see where that takes us. We’re just considering our options.”

“Options. Right. Okay.” She sniffs and another line of blood drips from her nose. “Shit.”

“You’re all right. We’re all a mess right now.” I reach over and give her hand a squeeze.

The rope at my waist jumps. I’ve been so busy coaching the others that I’ve forgotten to untie myself. “Sorry Kipp,” I call out. “Hang on!”

It jerks out of my hands and snags against the rocks. Pebbles rain down on us. Gwenna screams and holds on to me, and just then, the entire ceiling overhead seems to shift and groan.

Oh, Lady Asteria, we’re going to die. “Under the shield,” I call out. “Everyone, try to get your head under the shield—”

The largest of rocks sinks inward, tumbling down, and I scream, waiting for the rest of Old Prell to collapse over us. Instead, Kipp bounces down and brushes dust and pebbles out of my hair, and I look up into a yawning cavern of darkness.

We’re out.

Sort of.

THIRTY-SEVEN HAWK

The Conquest Moon

Outside, I can see the rounded body of the Conquest Moon looming in the early dawn skies. The hand of the god will be fully upon me tonight. There’s no more time to waste. I need to find Aspeth and prepare her for our mating. There’s still time for me to get a charm for her, still time to find a cream to ease my way into her tight, virginal body….

But when I find Magpie seated in the dormitory kitchen, sharing drinks with a well-dressed stranger, all logic vanishes. I think of the frustrating night I just spent digging in a tunnel, and for some mucking reason, it looks like she’s celebrating.