Blackfeather Woods you are only coming through in waves

"I'll always be here now, Maegi."

You say that now, she thought, and remembered a time when she never wanted to leave the forest—not even to accompany her brothers, her dying father. When she had planted her little paws in the soil and refused to leave, because she loved this place so damn much—

"We're safe here now."

No, Maegi blurted, and then shook her head. Sorry. . .no. You're safe here, Rowan, and you belong here. You'll build a home greater than my family ever could have dreamed. But I—

Her throat clenched suddenly, tightly, and a few swallows did nothing to loosen the viselike grip of grief around her throat. I can't stop hearing them, she whispered. I can't stop hearing the voices of the dead. My family. My children.

And anyone and everyone she'd ever let down, alive or not. It was a lengthy list.

I cannot stay here, she told him, unable to meet his gaze dead-on—crippled coward! Mou and I are cursed. We bring nothing but bad luck wherever we go.

All they had was each other. One day, maybe, they'd find a home. They had in Onyx Hollow before it had slipped so quickly from their grasp. 

But she couldn't put their burden upon Rowan. Weighed down by Maegi and Mou, he'd never swim. At best, he'd tread water. More likely, he'd drown.