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

If anything was off about Meerkat, Phox didn't notice. He was, of course, delighted to see her, and their embrace was a heartfelt one. Phox didn't have much time to recover before Maegi was speaking.

Your children. Phox's ears shifted forward, expecting to hear of a sighting of them. Of Niamh. His heart leapt, but Phox became confused at what she was saying. He realized it was a correction, not new information. But Niamh, she...

What? he blurted, wondering if he had misheard her. That couldn't be right. Peregrine, Prevost, Blueberry, and Vesper were Maegi and Mou's children, not his. Not Niamh's. Because Niamh wasn't here, and she'd taken the children with her. She had gone away, but she was coming back.

The last two words rang in his ears over and over again.

Niamh died.

No, she... she visited Yuelong... I—I don't understand.

His ears continued to ring. Buzz, in fact. Phox blinked at the bigger of the two puppies at Mou's feet, then returned his gaze to Maegi. Confusion was written all over his expression.