Page 116 of Bull Moon Rising

“The guild needs all Taurians in the city to report to the Everbelow,” the first one says. “There’s been a terrible accident.”

THIRTY-FIVE

ASPETH

“There’s no accident,”Magpie announces after Hawk sets off with the guild messengers. She’s got five packed bags on the table in front of her, weapons laid out. “Or there was, but it was by design. Had to say something to get him to head out.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, distinctly aware of the wetness between my thighs. I want to go into our quarters and clean up and change, but Magpie and the others seem determined to talk right now. “What’s the accident? Who was hurt?”

“No one should be hurt,” Lark explains, casting a frustrated look toward her aunt. “We just knew that Hawk wasn’t going to leave your side for a regular retrieval. So we talked to the right people and they staged a cave-in at a tunnel far away from Drop Thirteen.”

“But no one washurt,” I emphasize. “Right?”

Lark looks over at Magpie.

Magpie shrugs.

I’m appalled. “So not only did we collapse a tunnel that might have precious artifacts and historical findings, but there might have been someone in there?”

“Do you want to do this or not?” Magpie demands. “Because if you want to wait for Hawk to come back and try to explain that you’re stealing from the guild to save your own neck, be my guest. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

She says it in a way that makes it very clear that Hawk would not, in fact, understand.

My heart sinks.

Gwenna moves to my side. “We talked this over with Magpie’scontact,” she says, voice soothing and even as she pats my shoulder. “The tunnel we collapsed is a training tunnel, and no one’s utilizing it at the moment because they’re all in the regular tunnels.”

“And Magpie’s friend planted a team flag in the rubble so it’ll look like someone was there, which means Hawk will be busy trying to dig them out, but it’ll be discovered later that it was a clerical error and oops, no one was ever actually down there.” Mereden offers me a wavering smile.

“It’s a good plan,” Magpie says, voice brusque. “Don’t weasel out on me now.”

I can’t believethisis the grand plan. Collapse a tunnel? Sneak away in the dark while Hawk is off saving people? Things feel as if they’re spinning out of control rapidly. “I thought we were supposed to get a counterfeit pass. Pretend like everything had been approved.”

“My contact suggested this instead. Do you want to go down or not?” Magpie’s impatience is evident. “The sooner we head into the Everbelow, the sooner we get back before Hawk suspects anything. He doesn’t have to know about stolen rings or anything we find. In fact, it’s best you don’t tell him at all. The moment he knows you’re a thief, he’s going to turn you in to the guild and then we’llallbe stripped of any rank and kicked out the door.” She gestures at me. “And then your father still won’t have anything to protect his hold.”

“Right. Of course.” The old anxiety returns, a tight ball of dread in my stomach. I’m out of choices. “It’s just that the timing is rotten. I can’t go. Tomorrow is the Conquest Moon.”

Magpie shakes her head. “It’s not a problem. We’ll be back before dawn.”

“How is that possible?” I think of the hours we walked last time just to get to our level. We know the area the ring will be in, but that doesn’t mean we’ll find it right away. There are no absolutes. “The timing—”

“I have a way to get us in and out quickly,” Magpie says, her gaze sharp. “We can be down in the tunnels within the hour. If we don’t have the ring before dawn, we’ll come back and try again.”

“It’s cutting it too close,” I protest, even as I’m filled with desperate yearning. Goddess, if this could work, it would fix all my problems….

“We’ll be back before dawn,” Magpie repeats. “I swear it on Lark’s life.”

“Hey!” Lark cries.

“Now, are we doing this?” The guild master straightens, her shoulders going back. “Or is it all for nothing?”

Her words make my innards clench with anxiety.All for nothingechoes in my head. What if she’s right? What if we can get there and back before dawn? Hawk will never know, and I’ll be here for the Conquest Moon. It can all line up perfectly.

“Tell me how we’re going to get down there,” I insist. “Because the path takes hours to walk.”

“An artifact. I can’t tell you more without getting someone else in trouble.”

Strangely enough, hearing that fills me with confidence. An artifact. Of course it’s an artifact. That’s how she’s going to get us in and out quickly. Even though it’s risky, I have to do this. I have to. Even if I hate it. Even if it makes me anxious about the timing. We know where the ring was found. We can locate the other, bring it back prior to morning, and return before Hawk suspects anything. “I promised Hawk I’d be here for the Conquest Moon,” I say to Magpie. “No later than dawn.”

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