Retrieving the ladle and the feathers was easy enough. He squeeze-grabbed one after the other and flung them out over the rim. Then he was left with the problem of himself.

For a while, Yu stood and stared and thought and braced, but none of it was convincing enough to fling himself onto that edge again. Instead of climbing out, he knelt down. He dropped into a crouch, not wanting to sit on the wet floor, and propped himself there by leaning forward against his knees and wrapping his wings around them. He would not have called this comfortable, but fina could lock their legs like this for long stretches of time, so it was good enough.

There he knelt, in this circular stone pit, staring at the wall in front of him with that sort of unfocused gaze that crept in when there was either nothing to focus on, or far too much.

             Well …

     So …

                      Had he decided not to tell about the human?
                                                     Not to tell Bubs,
                                                          or the other guards?

                   Yu was not sure.

                      But it seemed so.
                       For now, at least.

                                    Should he tell someone else?

                               Maybe Imbiad?
                                    Just so … someone knew?

Yu still did not know whether he could trust Imbiad any more than the others, but given the animosity between wizards and witches, he believed that Imbiad – and Fallem as well – would be the last to sacrifice a human to the Shaira.

                     Unless.

               Unless Fallem would go that far to trade her for his brother —
                                                                           if that brother even existed.

       But suppose he did.
          Suppose the witches truly held him captive.

                 Then …

                could this be …

                                 Fallem’s strategy?

        It would be far more plausible than an open confrontation.
          Yes.   Infinitely more plausible.
    A million times more plausible than infiltrating the mountain or fighting the coven.

Retrieving the ladle and the feathers was easy enough. He squeeze-grabbed one after the other and flung them out over the rim. Then he was left with the problem of himself.

For a while, Yu stood and stared and thought and braced, but none of it was convincing enough to fling himself onto that edge again. Instead of climbing out, he knelt down. He dropped into a crouch, not wanting to sit on the wet floor, and propped himself there by leaning forward against his knees and wrapping his wings around them. He would not have called this comfortable, but fina could lock their legs like this for long stretches of time, so it was good enough.

There he knelt, in this circular stone pit, staring at the wall in front of him with that sort of unfocused gaze that crept in when there was either nothing to focus on, or far too much.

             Well …

     So …

             Had he decided
    not to tell about the human?
       Not to tell Bubs,
            or the other guards?

      Yu was not sure.

     But it seemed so.
                   For now, at least.

 Should he tell               
someone else?                         

          Maybe Imbiad?
                  Just so …
                      someone knew?

Yu still did not know whether he could trust Imbiad any more than the others, but given the animosity between wizards and witches, he believed that Imbiad – and Fallem as well – would be the last to sacrifice a human to the Shaira.

       Unless.

      Unless Fallem
  would go that far
     to trade her for his brother —
                       if that brother
                      even existed.

     But suppose he did.
         Suppose the witches
      truly held him captive.

      Then …
          could this be …

            Fallem’s strategy?

      It would be far more plausible than an open confrontation.
   Yes.   Infinitely more plausible.
    A million times
  more plausible
    than infiltrating the mountain
     or fighting the coven.

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