Page 42 of Bull Moon Rising

Aspeth looks at me with horror and betrayal in her eyes. I feel like an arse, because I know she’s looked up to Magpie all this time. I should have coordinated a meeting between them. Should have figured out a way to gently point out that Magpie prefers to spend her time soused instead of searching for adventure like she did when she was younger. That she’s not the same Magpie. Hasn’t been for years now.

“I really should get to bed,” Magpie says after a moment, straightening and wiping her mouth. “Got fledglings to train in the morning. Right after I get another drink.”

She wanders away, knocking one of the canned jars to the floor with a crash. Glass and sticky peaches spill all over the floor, and Magpie doesn’t seem to notice.

I bite back a sigh and pat Aspeth on the shoulder. “Go to bed. I’llclean this and make sure she ends up in her bed and not in a gutter somewhere.”

“She…You…” Aspeth’s gaze blinks from me back to the door Magpie pitched herself through a moment ago. “That was…”

“I know.” I give her shoulder a squeeze. “We’ll talk about it in the morning. Go sleep.”

“She’s…”

“A drunk. I know. And that’s why we’re in danger of losing everything. Now you know why you have to pass this year. If our class fails out, Magpie loses everything.”

And I do, too.

FOURTEEN

ASPETH

22 Days Before the Conquest Moon

My hands onmy hips, I stare up at Guild Master Crow, trying to pay attention. It’s difficult to be in the moment this morning, because in my head I’m still stuck on last night, watching my hero vomit at my feet.

Over and over again.

“The goal of this drill is to maneuver,” Crow is saying. He clasps his hands together, walking along a wooden beam high above the obstacle course. A thin rain drizzles down on us, turning the dirt course into mud.

I hate this. I hate Master Crow. I hate mud.

I hate that Hawk canceled on us this morning and instead of him training us, we’re with strangers as he goes on a retrieval mission.

Behind me, a man flicks the hanging edge of my fledgling sash, earning chortles from his teammates. I ignore him, but at my side, Larkgrowls in her throat. If Guild Master Crow notices anything, he doesn’t acknowledge it. Instead, he points at each section of the obstacle course designed to test our dexterity. “Tunnel. Then climb over the boulders. Tunnel again. Sprint past the falling rocks.” Point, point, point. “Belly-crawl under the fallen wall. Tunnel again. Grab a pack and then make it across the finish line before the hourglass runs out of grains of sand. If you don’t, you’ll have to do it all over again.”

“Not much of a challenge, boss,” calls one of the fledglings. “Maybe we should all be tied together again like yesterday?” He grins over at us, showing off a gap-toothed and evil grin.

“Monster,” Gwenna mutters. “I hope your dinner gives you the shits.”

“Excellent idea, Rosto,” Master Crow says, producing two long lengths of rope. “Master Magpie’s team, tie yourselves together. My team, you do the same. We’ll have you both on the course at the same time just to keep things interesting.”

“Oh, they’re interesting all right,” Lark mutters. She catches the rope when Crow throws it in our direction and moves toward me. I take it and loop the end through my belt, handing it wordlessly to Gwenna. She watches me with a curious look but says nothing. We all tie together—Mereden at the end and Kipp at the front, ahead of me.

Then we march to the starting line, and I squint at the muddy obstacle course as it rains down even harder upon us. The group of men at our side are nudging one another and smothering laughs, no doubt at our expense, but I ignore them.

I have to, or else I’m going to start screaming.

She’s a drunk.

“Go!” Master Crow shouts, flipping over the hourglass and setting it down on the beam next to him.

Kipp races ahead, his pull so strong that I stumble. The team of men alongside us today—Crow’s fledglings—push past us, sweeping Kipp off his feet and giving me a violent shove. I stumble and Gwenna catches my arm.

“What’s wrong with you, Aspeth?” she whispers. “You’re not yourself today.”

If our class fails out, Magpie loses everything.

Everything. Everything’s wrong.