Blackfeather Woods in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock

She hadn't really understood the logistics of whatever Relmyna and Wintersbane had planned to do with the Redhawks. All she knew was that the situation with the girl, at least, had been fixed. And who had fixed it? I handled it, Maegi shot back, feeling a little hot under the collar. I went to the Redhawks myself and explained the situation—well, as delicately as I could, anyway. She'd lied about some of it, but whatever. Then I reunited her with her brother. It's done.

And then he gave her a lecture, which she tried to withstand, but every other word was slipping away from her as she tried to formulate what she'd say next. Maegi was usually a great listener, but something had come over her, in this moment. The old stubbornness of youth gone by, perhaps.

I'm weary, too, she responded. You don't have to tell me that leaving was a bad choice; trust me, I've beaten myself up about it already, more times than I can count. I made a mistake. But I'm back, now, and I'm not planning on leaving—and I wasn't planning on being a leader, either! It just kind of happened. You can't—

She exhaled hard, like an irritated bull, glancing away. Look, like I said, I've had to come to grips with this already. The things I've done wrong, they keep me up at night. Don't think I just came back thinking that everything was fine, because I know it's not. I came back so I could fix things. Not just about the woods, but about myself. And it's been really hard so far, honestly—but I'll have to be dragged out of here dead and rotting before I leave again.

Maegi looked at Wintersbane, jaw tight, but eyes. . .understanding, now. Whatever. She trusted him; she knew he spoke truth. Things won't be like they once were, she said. I can't promise that problems might not arise, but I can promise you that I'll do everything to make sure that the mistakes I made, the mistakes my family made, won't happen again.