An hour passed.

  Maybe two.

  I never stopped staring. I fear I might’ve given Timp a bruise from squeezing so hard, but sensed she was as nervous as me. Old girl took a shining to Rosa. Though—who wouldn’t?

  The full moon was now obscured, whether by clouds or dark smoke, I didn’t know. The fires from the ceremony had begun to dim. I couldn’t tell if the skinwalkers were getting tired or nearing an end after all this time, but the ruckus first quieted to a few howls and drum beats, then, silence.

  Night bugs chirped and rubbed wings.

  The leaves rustled. Bats fluttered.

  Timp was starting to get restless. Alright, fine. I was starting to get restless.

  “How long do I wait?” I asked her.

  She nickered and kicked back on her hind legs. I knew the signs. She wasn’t anxious, she was… afraid. Something was wrong, and I didn’t know what. And that scared me.

  I snatched her reins. “Calm down, girl. Timp, what is it?”

  A woman’s scream rang out, loud and full of terror. At the same time, all the firelights glowing around the Life Tree went out like candles to breath.

  “Rosa!” I ran toward the scream with not another thought, racing through the settlement until I reached the clearing.

  “Stay back, taibo!” The elder who had paid me no mind in Mukwooru’s medicine lodge moved to block my path. Another quickly joined him, and I looked between them.

  “You smart. You listen to Rowtag,” the other said, gesturing to his friend.

  Drums and fire basins were knocked over like a bear had gone rampaging through. People were on the ground, looking stunned. The very grass around the base of the tree was flattened in a circle, radiating from a spot where it had been completely vaporized.

  And there, standing in that void by an upturned leather table, was Rosa.

  She held Mukwooru by the throat with one arm, the hand on her other grasped a broken stick, the sharp end pressing into the old woman’s throat. Beyond that, I couldn’t see much in detail. Skinwalker archers aimed arrows at Rosa while others tended to their wounded, dragging them as far away as possible. Everyone everywhere barked orders and cursed in their language. I may not have understood it, but I got the gist.

  “Rosa!” I yelled again.

  The skinwalker elders blocked me again. The one who spoke was Rowtag, the elder who had it out for me. “You must leave!”

  “I ain’t going anywhere.”

  Another of their people stepped up to me, this time a warrior, a long spear aimed directly at me. As much as I appreciated their hospitality to this point, I grabbed the thing by the blade and bent it backward until the shaft snapped.

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  “You dare after we offer you home?” Rowtag hissed.

  He pulled his own weapon on me—a long knife that looked to be used for skinning—but Mutt arrived just in time to stay the man’s hand before I cut it off and stuffed it down his throat.

  Mutt shouted at him. Only word I understood was taibo, and after a heated exchange, Rowtag reluctantly backed down.

  I can’t say I did myself any favors with my reputation.

  “What happened?” I asked as Mutt led me through the crowd.

  “I do not know,” he said. “We nearly give up hope… then her eyes open. Everything knock over, like dynamite explosion. When I focus again, she had Mukwooru.”

  We stopped once Rosa was in clear view. Panic tightened around her like a corset. Her eyes were wild and dilated. Feral. I knew that face. She looked like she had all those years ago when Ace tried to have his way with her and her mother. Like she had with Phelps, the necromancer from Dead Acre we’d killed.

  Absolutely terrified.

  “What do we do?” Mutt asked.

  I stepped closer, holding my empty hands out plain for her to see. It wasn’t much different than breaking a wild mare. Fear had kicked her mind into survival mode, a place of pure instinct. Like she was back in that hellish tundra where Chekoketh tried to claim her. The last time she’d been awake and aware.

  “Rosa, you’re okay now,” I said, staring directly into her crazed eyes.

  She slowly shuffled back, tightening her grip on the stick. I could see her knuckles whitening. Mukwooru, to her credit, was calm as a clam at sea. Her eyes were clamped shut. Muscles relaxed, letting the winds of life take her. However, her people weren’t so controlled. Bowstrings stretched taut in response. Shouting echoed.

  All that did was stress Rosa out even more.

  “Lower your weapons, dammit!” I barked at them.

  Not smart, breaking focus on her. She pressed the stick until a trickle of blood ran down Mukwooru’s leathery neck.

  Mutt repeated my orders in their language. At least, I hoped that was what he was doing. He walked forward, arms raised in a placating gesture, spinning a tight circle. The concern was evident in his features. He knew just as well how easily this could all go sideways.

  “It’s me, Rosa,” I said, shifting my focus back to where it mattered most. “It’s James. You’re safe here. These are friends. She is a friend.”

  I inched closer again. Though Rosa didn’t move, her breathing quickened. I couldn’t imagine rousing after what she’d been through. Nothing awakens you to the weird of the world like being kidnapped by an honest-to-God demon lord. At least when I’d been reborn, getting shot in the heart just felt like a bad dream.

  “You’re back, Rosa.” I was close enough now to whisper. It was just me and her. “No demon will ever touch you again. I’m here.”

  Hearing a snort, I glanced to see Timp step up right beside me. She took no care to move slowly or treat Rosa like an injured bunny. No. Sometimes, in the end, it’s that pure innocence of animals that shows us the way things ought to be. Timp stomped right up to her, lowered her head, and nestled right into Rosa’s bosom.

  For a moment, nothing happened. I watched, hoping for any sign of recognition. Then, Rosa’s forehead lowered onto Timp’s and she rested there in that quiet comfort few creatures can provide. Horses don’t purr, but I swear, Timp did right then.

  Finally, Rosa blinked. Her eyes darted from side to side like she was coming out of a stupor. She looked down, realized she had Mukwooru by the throat, and let go in disgust as if she were holding something rotten. I don’t think that was how she felt about the old shaman as she fell to her knees. I think she was repulsed by her own actions. Mutt and a few other skinwalkers raced in, pulling Mukwooru to safety.

  Eventually, Rosa backed away in utter confusion. She butted up against Huupi Sokobi. It was then that her gaze shifted, locking in on mine.

  “James,” she said softly.

  Words caught in my throat. Luckily, she stole the need for them when she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around me. I could have stayed there until the sun came up to start a new day, except I had to check one last thing.

  I held her at arm’s length and stared straight into her lime-hued eyes. What a sight. Chekoketh had done his damage, but this was her. No possession or anything of the like. Just her.

  “James, you’re okay,” she said.

  “I’m okay?” My brow furrowed. “It’s you who needed saving this time, sweetheart.”

  The wash of confusion returned to her features. I’m pretty sure it only registered in her then that we weren’t in Crescent City or anything like it, but in a beautiful, nature-filled village surrounded by natives.

  “You missed a ton,” I said.

  “I need a drink,” she said at the same time.