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Before I could answer, Mab spoke "Pryce needs the Morfran to conduct his war Give us the time we need to destroy it"

"Why should I? What can you offer that will auntlet With it, you won’t need to break the falcon’s will"

The Night Hag bit her lip, see to consider "Perhaps I would take pleasure in the breaking"

"Perhaps Yet a strong, proud falcon bringsdidn’t reply, Mab pressed on "Pryce’s plans are ambitious, you know He intends to conquer not just the Ordinary, but the Darklands as well"

Mallt-y-Nos snorted, unimpressed "If Lord Arawn cannot protect his real to her skull Still, her smile was obvious "I like war Plenty of souls to chase No, I possess the falcon now The tiain short," I said "The fullto suauntlet in exchange for Kane’s release"

"You lie If you’d made that decision, why delay?"

"Because of the e’re doing here Once that’s finished, I have no use for the falcon Why wouldn’t I give him to you?" Sorry, Dad You know I don’twould believe ht In oneon the sa against invisible leashes

"A soul!" she shouted "The hunt is on!" She wheeled her horse to the right Holding it in check, she glared over her shoulder at me

"The hawk is mine, shapeshifter As is the hound You cheated me before, but I’ve won"

"You er To the hunt!" She blew a long, curved horn The hounds took off running Mab leapt forward, reaching for the net bag that hung fro at her Mab cried out and clutched her ar the falcon with her

Dad

We had to get him back

MAB WAS ON HER KNEES, BENT OVER AND HOLDING HER injured arht? Letwas fast and shallow "In a htly on her shoulder, willing her soth

After a dozen heartbeats, Mab knelt up and extended her ares black and curling "It burns," she gasped

"I’ll call an a it to her chest and ht the silver chain at her neck, and I realized she was rubbing the injury against her bloodstone pendant

The bloodstone that kept her youthful and strong

I waited Again Mab exa, and its color was better After another minute’s contact with the bloodstone, only faint white scars s had sunk in

"That will do," she said "Noe et Evan back We’ve not a auntlet?"

"Thathas put some kind of spell on that net to contain the falcon I atching He should have been able to tear a hole in the bag easily, but he couldn’t If the falcon were called by the gauntlet now, he would batter hi to escape"

My heart plummeted "What can we do?"

"Well, for a start you could open this daed from the darkness

"Dad?" I looked around "Where are you?"

"Right here" I squinted toward the direction of his voice and saw so I’d never in a ainst an obelisk, a net bag containing a falcon swinging from her hand

"Ta-da!" She waved her other hand in a flourish

She set the bag on the ground, opening it so the net lay flat The falcon strutted to its edge, hesitated, then stepped onto the grass He stretched his wings, folded the After circling over our heads a few times, he landed on a tree branch

"Feels safer up here," he coet hi those bird thingies I et in the way or anything Just be, like, an observatory"