Hecouldntarguewiththat。
KhasarcrouchedbesidethemandcarefullycheckedSuyuansdition。"youmove?"
"Myanklehurts。"
"youstand?"
Suyuantriedandthemomentsheshiftedherweight,painshotthroughherlegandsheimmediatelystopped。
"No。"
Khasarremovedhisoutercloakandeditaroundhershoulders。Hethencarefullytookthepupfromherarms。Suyuanfrowned"Becareful。"
"Iam。"Thepupdisappearedsafelybehhiscloak。Tarkanlookedtowardthefallenwolf。"Itmusthavediedprotegtheden。"
Suyuanwasquietforamoment。"Thentakethepupwithus。""Wewill。"
TarkancarefullyliftedSuyuanintohisarms,shestiffenedimmediately。
"Iwalk。"
"No,yout。"
Suyuangavehimanannoyedlook,Tarkanigandcarriedhertowardthewaitingrope。Khasarfollowedcloselybehindwiththepup。Whentheyreachedthetopoftheslope,Ayaonearlycriedfromrelief。
"Miss!"
Suyuanlookedather。
"Imfine。"
Ayaostaredathermuddyclothes,paleface,andinjuredankle。
"Youareabsolutelynotfine。"
Suyuansiderthis"thenImmostlyfine。"
Ayaoalmostlaugheddespiteherself。Thegroupbegantheirjourneybackdownthemountain。Behindthem,thelastlightdisappearedbeyondthetrees。
Andinthequietdarkness,thethreethingsthathadbeenlostthatdayhadfinallybeenfound—themissingprincess,theabandonedwolfpup,andperhapsthebeginningofsomethingnoneofthemyetuood。