“Fine,” I muttered, handing my sheathed sword out. “Yeah, sure. Take it.”

The gate guard nodded, grabbing it away, and flipped a wooden tag my way. I caught it, scowling. Mersali had never made us check our weapons. Was this all because it was Linead, the capital, home to the nobles and royalty? Avira had some strong feelings about the whole “give up your sharp pointy things” rule, so changing this was definitely on our to-do list…but we hadn’t been able to make any headway yet.

So I didn’t really have a choice here. Giving the guard a tolerant-if-annoyed look—and relishing the sight of him nervously glancing at Nella, perched on my shoulder—I turned, leaving my precious weapon behind, and hurried deeper into Linead.

The Festival of Knives was over. Now, the city could breathe a little, and I didn’t have to fight my way through crowds of drunken hunters and merchants to get anywhere. No, just the usual drunken hunters, now. I swallowed a grin as I passed one canteen, seeing the roaring men already locked in a test of strength. “It’s barely after midday,” I whispered, rolling my eyes. Not that that had ever stopped anyone.

Drunks aside, the lack of Festival crowds meant that I’d finally had a bit of freedom to explore Linead and learn the paths. And now, even in just those few months, I’d gotten downright comfortable with the place. My steps as I plunged into the city’s heart were sure, Nella curling up happily around my neck to have a nap. My shoulders ached. She’d finally started to grow, I’d realized. I was excited, but also sore.

Through the gates of the Hunter’s Guild I went. There was just one hunter on duty there, a Linead wood-tag I couldn’t quite recognize yet. He glanced up at my approach—but upon catching sight of Nella, grinned, waving me through.

“Thanks,” I said wryly, ducking through. That was the other side of things. Not many hunters had a baby krytir riding their shoulders, which meant that even if I didn’t recognize them, they recognized me. All of them. Just another trial to put up with, I supposed.

Things cleared further once I entered the headquarters itself, breaking into a low jog as I wormed deeper into the hallways. The cloth-and-leather strip covering up my marks rubbed against my skin, but I gritted my teeth, enduring it. I couldn’t afford to have even a single accidental explosion inside the headquarters of the Hunter’s Guild, so wearing it was now the default. I didn’t like it, but I’d do it. It was for Avira, I told myself. Her, and her administration.

It was her door I wound up at, already cracked to let the air flow through. A breeze wafted from within, powerful enough I stopped with my hand outstretched. Nella chirped, stretching her wings through the pleasant flow, but I started to sweat. A wind like that meant one of two things. Either, one, Avira had opened a window and was lazing off instead of finishing her paperwork—and I’d have to get her back on task—or two, Avira was angry enough to be generating the wind all by her wraith-born self.

Neither was a good choice. I couldn’t possibly tell which I hoped for. But I took a deep breath, shaking my head, and headed in anyway.

The door swung open revealing the room beyond, bright and airy—through windows that were open, their curtains flapping in the wind. I rolled my eyes, striding toward Avira’s chair, carefully turned away from me. “Avira, I’m-”

The clack-clack of fingernails against wood rose sharp against my voice. I froze. Avira’s fingernails were long as claws, rapping steadily against the arm of her chair. That…wasn’t a good sign.

Lucky me. Out of two bad options, I’d somehow managed to get both of them.

“I’m back,” I said, striding up alongside her. Nella leaped from my shoulder, gliding to the open window, and flopped down in the beam of sunlight there. Smiling, I came to a stop, leaning against a counter. “Took that merchant’s guild guy out to take a look.”

Avira glanced up at me, but her lips were pursed. “And?”

I made a face. “Not good. It doesn’t look like they were wrong. There’s a whole big herd of issachi no more than an hour’s walk outside the gates. I…” I looked away, unable to watch the defeated gleam I’d seen spark in her eyes. “I counted eighteen, but I didn’t search the area for a complete tally. I figured-”

“No, you were quite right,” Avira said, looking back to the window. Her fingernails resumed that tap-tapping. “It’s better we know they’re there. The number will likely change over the next few days regardless.” She let out a low hiss, her nostrils flaring. “But what in the three hells are we going to do about it?”

I faltered, taking a half-step back. Something felt…different about this. Different from how I’d left her a few short hours before. She hadn’t been so frustrated before. Worse than that—angry.

“How have things been here?” I said, unmoving. “Is…Is everything-”

“Same as you left it,” Avira said, picking her pen up roughly. “Thanks for confirming that alert, lad. If you’ve got nothing left this afternoon, we just got a whole mess of little jobs that need a quick resolution. They’re beneath your rank, but-”

“Did something happen?” I said, risking life and limb by cutting her off. Avira wasn’t the mean sort, but when she got off on a tirade, well…I preferred to steer clear. This was too important, though. I knew her well enough to know when something had set her off. “We’re booked full, it’s true, and I can handle those contracts after this. But-”

“Sorry,” Avira mumbled. She dropped her pen, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I don’t mean to snap. None of this is your fault.”

“You didn’t snap,” I said, my voice mild. “But…us being busy isn’t new.” I shrugged helplessly, gesturing toward the window. “Even if it’s getting worse. You seem…annoyed. What happened?” I raised an eyebrow, a tiny, sardonic smile on my lips. “What new happened?”

Avira froze for a moment, trying to hold her composure, then let out a huff. “Fine,” she muttered. The wooden legs of her chair scraped as she pushed herself back from the desk, rising. She launched herself forward, pacing across the room.

“You’ve seen how the contracts are coming in,” Avira said, clenching a hand tight by her side. “Every day, it’s something else. A pack of merchants saw a herd of issachi outside Linead. A convoy heading east spotted a pair of namari, flying down over the plains when they should be high on the mountain peaks. None of it makes an ounce of sense—and now the hunters are taking two or three times as many contracts as before. They’re exhausted. I’ve got to keep them going somehow, so the rates are skyrocketing. Without the added coin, they’d stop entirely, and then we’d get nothing done.”

She thrust a hand out to one side, missing my nose by inches. I skittered back, sweating, but didn’t bother trying to stop her.

A good thing, because she didn’t even slow. “And, of course, when the merchants and travelers come to place their contracts, they’re already angered at the unusual fiend activity. They’ve all lost money from their own contracts that were ruined. They want a deal, not to be handed a fee that’s three times the usual rate. None of them are happy. And somehow I’m supposed to magic up a solution for this.”

I nodded slowly, chewing on what she’d said. “Right,” I said at last. “But…You knew this job wouldn’t be simple, Avira. And you’ve never been one to let a bunch of merchants walk all over you!” The second bit was hastily added as Avira whirled around to face me, her white hair flying past her shoulders. I held a hand up, smiling nervously. “So…What’s the gem on top of the pile?”

She let out a groan, pressing her palms into her eyes. “Myra take this damned town,” I heard her mutter under her breath. And then she took a sheet of parchment from her desk, holding it out toward me.

I took it, my brow furrowing. A letter? And a formal one, penned in brilliant blue ink with an expert’s hand. I looked down, starting to read.

“It’s from the palace, of course,” Avira said, throwing her hand wide again. “They’ve noted the strain we’re under. Their words. And they have such concern for our plight.”

She let out a hollow laugh, stopping, and learned on her desk. Her hair fell forward, swathing her face. “But have no fear,” she said, eyeing me from beneath the snowy strands. “They are committed to helping us. They want to lighten our load, see us through this moment.” She smacked the back of the letter, sending it rippling in my hands. “Soldiers on fiend patrol. Hunters leading them, directing them in the attacks.” She shook her head, her eyes smoldering. “And they want to fund the overtime our hunters are having to put in. To pay to keep contract pricing flat.”

“Wow,” I whispered, giving the letter one last, shocked look. “That…I mean, I know that’s a lot, Avira. But…” I gulped. In for a pinch, in for a pint. “Wouldn’t that be good for the whole city? If the contracts are lower, then people can afford to-”

“It’s not that simple,” Avira said, balling up her hands into fists. The desk thumped as she kicked one of the legs. “If we allow that, then it isn’t about the crown easing our burden. It’s now the crown bankrolling the guild.”

My eyes went round. “Wait. You don’t think they’d-” I shook my head. “It would just be a temporary measure though. Right? Just until-”

“How long will it be until this lets up?” Avira said, still staring down at the desk. “What if it doesn’t, lad? And how much ground will they gain on us in the meantime?” She shook her head, sitting down heavily. “If we take a step like that, then I can’t assume they’ll give it up again so readily.”

I nodded slowly, a sick feeling spreading in my gut. “Yeah. That…That makes sense. Then, you’ll tell them no?”

Avira made an irritated noise, though, running her fingers through her hair. “I’ll have to,” she muttered. “I don’t have much choice. But now it will be my fault that contracts are too expensive to post. It will be personal, instead of a faceless bogeyman.”

I grimaced. “Yeah. Probably.” I knew Avira would be fine—she could handle something like that—but it would make the pressure on the Hunter’s Guild all the more intense. “So we triple the recruitment drive,” I said, sitting down opposite her.

She looked up. “What?”

“You said it yourself,” I said, nodding to the papers stacked beside her desk—new contracts, all of them. I’d been doing this plenty long enough by now to recognize the forms. “We’ve got a mess of basic contracts that need doing. We start targeting more cities, more candidates. Older ones, maybe. I know, it’s not ideal,” I said, raising a hand to stop Avira as she started toward me. “But it’ll help take the pressure off. We get them to wood-tag, we pair them with a more experienced hunter, and set them to the simpler tasks. That can help the senior hunters stay focused on the actual big contracts that need upper-rank tags on them.”

Avira was nodding by then, if a bit begrudgingly. “The cities won’t like us stealing their youth from them,” she murmured.

I arched an eyebrow. “So we focus on towns that don’t have guild halls. Towns that haven’t had as many people run off to join the hunters yet.”

“And where the hells will I find enough hunters to-”

“Retired hunters,” I said, tapping my hand against the desktop. “Like my dad. Ones that know the lifestyle, but aren’t going to be taking contracts anytime soon. They can start spreading the word. If contract fees are that high, people will join up.” I chuckled, glancing back to where Nella lay sunning herself. “If you let me take Nella and poke around, I’m sure I could find a few people who’d like to learn more.”

“Trellin,” Avira said, sighing as she shot me an admonishing look. “You know the ministers already don’t like the idea of a fiend inside their walls. If you were to parade her around freely-”

Her words were cut off by a sharp rap of knuckles against wood. She stopped, looking toward the door, as did I. “Yes?” she called, sitting up a little straighter. “What is it?”

A man poked his head through the door, his hair soft brow and forcefully slicked down. Upon seeing us, he stepped through, bowing. “Guildmaster Avira. I am sorry to disturb you.”

Avira shook her head, folding her hands atop her desk. “You disturb nothing,” she said—and where I’d have expected a bit of exasperation, her voice was carefully neutral. “How may the guild assist the palace today?”

I flinched, taking a harder look at the well-dressed man. And now that I was really looking, I saw it too—the crest pinned to his collar. The one that bore the blue-and-white of Aradhen’s royal house.

“Your understanding is, as always, generous,” the man said, inclining his torso again. Avira didn’t even blink. “There is a matter of some import to be handled, requiring the particular skills of you and yours. Respectfully, your presence at the palace is requested.”

“I see,” Avira said. Her fingers tightened, her knuckles bright through her skin. “And when are we-”

“With your permission, ma’am, I am to escort you there directly,” the man said. He bowed again, rather more hurriedly. I rolled my eyes. Well, at least he recognized how bold a move this was.

Avira stared at him, her eyes glowing faintly. Her hands were wrapped tightly, her fingernails hidden, and her lips were pressed tightly shut—if she was a little less composed, would I see her jagged teeth start to jut out from beneath? I…couldn’t exactly blame her, right then.

She only stood, though, sweeping her coattails out straight. “As always, the guild stands ever-ready to assist our allies in Linead’s seat,” she said, her voice flatter than I’d ever heard. “Let us go.”

Her eyes flicked to me, though, and she gave an almost-imperceptible jerk of her head. Come.

I was already moving to fall in line behind her, whistling for Nella—who sprang aloft, landing hard on my shoulder again. Her tail wound about my neck for stability.

The courier turned a bit grey, but otherwise didn’t react. Not bad. “If you’ll follow me, then,” he mumbled, turning for the hallway.

Avira gave me one last look, her expression unreadable. I knew exactly what she was saying though. Hells, I agreed.

Whatever they wanted, this…wasn’t good.

Mute, we swept from the room after our escort.