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I’m doing this?” Gryphon groaned as he pushed up into a seated position. “Whoa.” Whatever smart remark he was about to make dissolved on his tongue as he stared out at the network of bridges connecting the thick forest of trees, bridges invisible from the ground below.
    The leader of the Raven Flock offered Gryphon a hand to help him stand. His grip was almost too firm, as though he’d rather yank him over the side of the platform than anything else. “We travel above ground the rest of the way. It’s the only way to reach the Nest.” He pulled Gryphon closer, glaring. “This is your last chance to turn back. I promise you, once we reach the Nest you will never be permitted to leave alive.”
    Gryphon considered climbing back down the tree. He’d warned the Raven. Why force his help upon people who’d likely kill him for trying? If he hurried, he might be able to track down Zander and Ajax. After exacting his revenge, he’d be free to seek out Joshua and the rest of the Nameless at the Allied Camp. He’d need to arm himself with more than a small dagger …
    Gryphon dropped his head, thinking about Zo. About her panic at hearing the Ram’s plans to attack the Raven. Leaving now would be giving up on her desperate drive for peace. He was the only one with Ram experience. If the Raven Chief didn’t take Gabe’s warning seriously, a massacre would ensue.
    Gryphon swore under his breath and met the Raven’s question with a firm nod of the head. “I came to help, Bird. I’ll finish the job.”
    The Raven appraised him once more. A few of the lines around his mouth smoothed and his grip on Gryphon’s hand loosened a fraction. “You’re a strange man, Gryphon. “ He clapped his back and gave orders for his men to move.
    Gryphon stepped out onto the first of many roped bridges. The planks shifted and groaned like ice beneath his feet. They weren’t built to carry someone his size. He closed his eyes and sighed. He’d do this for Zo, protect these people when he’d failed to protect her. Even in death, she made him a better man.
    But afterwards, when the Raven were safe, he’d have his revenge.
     
     

     
     
    The Nameless refugees had two full days’ head start on Zo and her small company of travelers. They gave the massive wall of the Ram a wide berth as they worked their way south to find the tracks of the Nameless.
    “Shouldn’t we be concerned about running into Ram scouts?” asked Joshua. He hadn’t stopped asking questions since waking up that morning. “I mean, don’t you think Barnabas will send a mess unit after the Nameless?”
    Tess looked between Joshua and Zo, biting down on her lower lip. Zo blinked away another dizzy spell and leaned on her walking stick like an old woman. “The Ram have been too busy fixing the Gate and preparing their attack on the Raven to bother with the Nameless,” said Zo. “Don’t you think so, Eva?” Zo eyed the Ram girl and encouraged her answer with a nod.
    Eva frowned. “Barnabas might not send a full mess, but I think it will be a miracle if we don’t come across one of his scouts. And let’s face it, this group,” she gestured at the four of them, “doesn’t stand a chance against a full Ram warrior.”
    Tess whimpered. Zo reached back and slugged Eva in the arm.
    “What?” said Eva. Her small mouth twisted and her eyes pinched as she narrowed her gaze. “Would you rather lie to the girl?”
    “To spare her needless fear? Yes, I would.”
    Eva let her long strides carry her in front of the others. She looked over her shoulder and a chunk of her butchered hair fell into her eyes—hair cut by the knife of her unwanted betrothed inside the Gate as part of an engagement ceremony. “There’s no such thing as needless fear. Without fear, you can’t be brave.”
    Zo shook her head and let her gaze drop to the tracks left by the Nameless under her feet. There was no use in explaining human decency to a Ram.
    Joshua snatched Tess’s hand