Blacktail Deer Plateau i told you i didn't want to go to this dinner

You lied?

The quiet voice of her daughter—of the heart, at least, even if not by blood—floated up to her, and with it, a small and absurd glimmer of hope. 

Blackfeather children were not only allowed to lie, but encouraged to do so. Lie and steal and kill. That Vesper felt otherwise was a testament to how far she'd left her own childhood behind. . . that maybe she was leaving a legacy worth something, after all. 

Mou saw to her, apologizing, and Maegi gave her a lingering tender look before returning her attention to Phox. She was having a very hard time believing that this even-keeled man was somehow related to the Redhawks who'd attacked her, invaded her home, slaughtered her family members. . .

Across the river, Vesper said, she replied. If we hurry, we might be able to catch them up before they get into too much trouble. They can't have gone far.

And yet, she thought, staring grimly across the plateau, it only took a momentary slip of attention for them to vanish, seemingly out of thin air. But she would not and could not dwell on the past now.