“You can’t kill her,” I insisted, speaking lower now, as a deceptive calm settled through me. I recognized my father’s influence in my bearing and voice, and that surprised me as much as the determination now steeling my spine, fortifying my nerve. Kaci was depending on me. The whole Pride was, though they didn’t know it yet. I would not let them down. “You swore to Malone that you’d try to keep our tabbies safe. I’m thinking killing Kaci would be a pretty heinous violation of that promise.”

There was another long pause while the thunderbirds conferred wordlessly. Wings flapped and feathers ruffled at my back as more birds dropped from their overhead perches. And finally, Kaci and I had to turn again to meet the gaze of the latest speaker.

“Your statement and Calvin Malone’s statement are mutually exclusive—both cannot be true. Therefore, we conclude that a werecat’s word cannot be accepted without proof. Calvin Malone provided no proof, thus our vow to him is null. You and the child are at our mercy.”

Well, that certainly backfired.

Chill bumps popped up all over my body, and Kaci shuffled even closer to me. I opened my mouth to argue with the latest avian proclamation, but before I could, another bird spoke up.

“We would kill neither of you without cause. If you return in two days with proof, as instructed, we will give the child to you, unharmed. If you do not return on time, or return without acceptable evidence, the child will die, and our fight for vengeance against your people will resume.”

I sucked in a deep, silent breath, trying to absorb the latest twist in thunderbird logic with decorum, though my temper raged inside me.

“Go now, Faythe Sanders. You are wasting time—yours, ours, and hers.” The old woman-bird’s gaze flicked to Kaci, who shook visibly in my arms.

They wouldn’t hurt her if I kept up my end of the bargain. She’d be fine. Unless something went wrong.

What if I got hurt and couldn’t make it back? What if I couldn’t find proof, now that Brett was dead? What if I got caught sneaking around Malone’s territory? Kaci would be dead before anyone else had an opportunity to negotiate for her life. If that was even a possibility.

And even if I made it back on time, with irrefutable proof, what would Kaci suffer while she waited? She wasn’t in any physical danger—the birds would stand by their word, unless I gave them reason not to—but she was already emotionally fragile. Two days as the prisoner of a hostile foreign species—whose members were practically counting the hours until her execution—would do nothing for her mental health. She’d seen what they’d done to Charlie and Owen, and she had a great imagination. She knew what would happen to her if I didn’t make it.

“No.” My mind was made up.

“What’s that?” a voice asked from my left, but my gaze stayed glued to the old woman.

“I’m not leaving her. Turn us over to Malone.” At least he wouldn’t kill us, and we stood a better chance of getting away from him than from the birds, if only because Malone lived on the ground.

“That is no longer an option. We want true vengeance for Finn, and you are our best hope of finding it. We believe you will do whatever is necessary to keep the child alive. You may stay or go, as you like, but if we have no proof in two days, the child will die.”

Shit, shit, shit!

Wait a minute… “What about a trade? Kai for Kaci. Did you know he was captured?”

Several half-bird faces looked surprised, and several Shifted into human form, apparently just for that ability. But no one looked particularly upset. “The child is not a hostage. Her release is not negotiable.”

“Why not?” I glanced from face to face, truly baffled. “Is his life worth less than Finn’s?”

“Of course not,” said a young man with fully formed wings, then a man whose feathers had begun to gray with age took over.

“But Kai volunteered to fight, and he knew the risks. To die in war is to die with honor. Finn was murdered. His death must be avenged.”

For a moment, I could only stare, clutching Kaci to my side. They were serious. They were not going to let Kaci leave without proof of Malone’s guilt.

As if to underline that fact, a bustle of movement drew my gaze to four of the largest thunderbirds as they moved to block the front door, the only exit I’d yet seen. None of the birds was over five foot two, but they were all powerfully built from the waist up, even without talons and wing-claws.

Kaci was dead, if I couldn’t come through. Or at least come back with reinforcements.

I stood straighter. “How soon can you call a ceasefire?”

“We will dispatch a messenger immediately.”

“In person?” They could not be serious. “Where’s my cell? Somebody give me back my phone.” One arm around Kaci, I glanced around the room until movement drew my attention to a mostly human woman—the only fully dressed person in the room, other than me and Kaci. She was pregnant, and evidently about to pop.

Please let her have a baby in there, and not a giant egg.…

The woman slid her hand into the pocket of her maternity pants and pulled out my phone, then stepped forward to hand it to me.

“Anybody know how this works?” I held the phone up in my left hand, while my casted arm slid back around Kaci. A few of the younger birds nodded—likely those who conducted the Flight’s few interactions with human society.

“Good. I’m going to call my dad—he’s our Alpha, the one in charge—and fill him in. Then he’s going to toss his phone to one of your birds, and I’m going to give mine to one of you guys. You call a ceasefire, then give me back my phone.” I wasn’t willing to negotiate on that part. Without some way to communicate with my Pride, I’d never get to the Appalachian territory in two days, much less find the necessary evidence and make it back to…wherever the Flight lived.