When Moffitt awoke the next morning, the first thing he noticed was the open window. He hadn't noticed it the previous morning. This time of year, it really wasn't something to be thinking about too deeply. It was nice to hear the birds and feel a gentle breeze upon waking up. He stared at the window for a moment, thinking about how he had to remind himself to close it that coming night. That night, the ravens would leave, and the war with the magpies would continue when the sun came up the next morning.

For now, he would enjoy the open window.

His worried about the magpies disappeared when he felt Vanora snuggle up to him and drape her arm over him. She kissed his cheek and whispered directly in his ear, "Good morning, love."

"Good morning, darling," Moffitt whispered back. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept alright. How about you?"

"Quite well, actually." Moffitt turned to face his wife. "So, are we ready to start the day, or shall we stay here and cuddle for a little while longer?"

Vanora moved to kiss Moffitt again when Jules could be heard shouting outside, "Bloody hell, Troy, you're going to scare the horses with those blooming jackals!"

Moffitt drew in a breath. "We've created a monster."

"Well, close the window and come snuggle. I'm sure Dietrich will handle it."

"Alright." Moffitt stood, and made the mistake of looking out the window. His jaw dropped at seeing five—five—jackals running amok in his yard. He stuck his head out the window and hollered, "Troy! Those blasted fleabags had better not be digging in my yard!"

"Nobody's digging, Moffitt!" Troy called back. He jogged over to the window. "Good morning, by the way."

"Don't you ever sleep? Has it ever occurred to you that normal people like a nice, quiet morning with a good cup of tea?"

"No, most normal people like a nice, quiet morning with a good cup of coffee."

"Whatever. Normal people like a nice, quiet morning. Nobody likes a man with jackals running around like wild children in their yard!"

"Jack, close the window and come back to bed," Vanora said. "You're getting grumpy and you haven't even been awake ten minutes."

"Blame him!" Moffitt pointed to Troy. He shut the window and closed the curtains, sighing heavily. "You know this is another reason I'm looking forward to ending this disaster with the magpies—we can send Troy home and he can stop waking us up at abysmal hours."

"Eight o'clock is not abysmal, love."

"Any hour is abysmal when I've not had my tea."

"No, your mood is abysmal when you've not had your tea."

Moffitt opened his dresser to pull out a set of clothes for the day. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Yes, you are. That period of time between you actually getting out of bed and having your first sip of tea is just you grumbling about everything."

"Except you. I don't grumble about you, because I love you." Moffitt gave Vanora a kiss on her forehead before putting a shirt on. Once he was dressed, he picked up his scarf from his nightstand, revealing Anah underneath. Her eyes brightened and she lifted her head from her black coils. Moffitt tied his scarf around his neck before picking the cobra up and gently draping her around his shoulders. "And how are you this morning, Anah?"

"Awake," Anah said.

"Well, you can go back to sleep if you want. I'll take care of breakfast for everyone." Moffitt opened the bedroom door to find Dietrich was in the kitchen, pouring coffee into one of the large mugs typically reserved for Christmas hot chocolate. "Dietrich, you need to go outside and take care of Troy. He's letting jackals run around my yard."

"Sorry, Moffitt. I am unavailable today," Dietrich replied. "I have dealt with Troy quite enough over the last two days, and I would like to enjoy today, as it is the last day the ravens are watching over us. Tomorrow, you and Jules and Anah will be heading to the island, therefore I will be completely alone in managing Troy's insanity."

"Actually, I have something better in mind for you. I talked with Vanora last night and she's agreed to this idea. How would you like to accompany her to the university tomorrow?"

"Accompany her? Why?"

"So we can avoid another gargoyle situation."

"Alright. I like the sound of it. More time away from Troy." Dietrich put the oversized mug to his lips.

"You're really not going to go deal with him?"

"Nope."

"But the jackals—"

"Are not real. They are not going to damage your yard. Please, stop complaining about them."

"Dietrich—"

"Currently unavailable. Refrain from asking me anything until after I have finished my coffee."

Moffitt sighed heavily before getting started on his tea.

Anah nuzzled his chin. "What should we do after your breakfast? I think we should make the most of today."

"I agree, but I'm not sure what we should do." Moffitt opened the tea cabinet to retrieve a bag of English breakfast tea. "Maybe just stay here and enjoy everyone's company."

"You know what? I like that idea. A quiet day in." He glanced over at the window when something jumped up at it, and gave a disgusted expression to the jackal putting its wet nose on the glass. "Well, mostly quiet."

Dietrich looked over at the scene from his coffee. "What makes this greatly amusing is that Troy said yesterday that he was not going to play with the jackals. Now look."

"He's realized that they annoy people, so now he's playing with them just to get reactions out of us."

"Indeed, so now we must accept that this is partly our doing and regret our actions."

"You're the one who got him to 'think positively' about his situation."

"I know, and I regret doing that, even though this is probably going to help us in the fight against the magpies."

Anah added in a quiet voice, "And we will need all the help we can get."

Almost as soon as everyone went back to their hotels for the night, Jules was being reminded by both parents to make sure his window was closed. It got a little annoying, but he understood why. He had planned on making sure the window was closed even without his parents reminding him.

Jules was the last of the family to get a shower that night, and he took advantage of the privacy of the bathroom to let his anxiety about the following day be written all over his face. Over the past three days, he had been mostly calm, trying not to let his worries about the magpies intrude on everything. This was it. The ravens would be gone by morning, and it was time to resume fighting. Finding the sword and sharpening stone, along with learning how to use a sword in general, was all that stood between them and stopping the magpies. Then it would all be over, and things could get back to normal.

The bathroom was full of steam when Jules turned the water off. It was still quite steamy after he dried off and put his nightclothes on. He sat on the lid of the toilet while remembering that this was the room where everything changed, where he had that awful nosebleed and heard the sound of a bird's wings flapping and the clacking of a bird's beak. On my own birthday, no less.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of someone knocking on the door, followed by his father saying, "Everything alright in there, Jules? I've got to change Anah's bandages."

"You can come in," Jules said.

Moffitt had a concerned look on his face when he entered the bathroom with Anah. "Almost had me worried you passed out in here again."

"I was just thinking about that, actually."

"Ah." Moffitt set Anah in the sink, carefully removing her bandages. "I take it you're nervous about tomorrow?"

Jules nodded.

"I'm nervous, too, but I'm glad we'll be doing this together. Things will work out."

"Did… Mum tell you why she'd been upset over the last few days?"

"She did. I won't deny that the idea of something terrible happening to you that winds up being permanent is a fear of mine. I worried about that even before you were born."

"You did?"

"Both of us hoped you would come out healthy, that's all. Fortunately, you did. Then there was making sure you would grow up healthy. I understand things happen. Accidents, illnesses. Being worried about that was never fun, and it probably took away from just enjoying time with you." Moffitt was quiet while looking over Anah's wounds and incision. "So far, you're healing nicely. Alright, time for a bath." He lifted the cobra to plug the sink, then started running warm water. As the sink filled, Moffitt looked back at Jules. "Even after we defeat the magpies, we're always going to worry about you, and then when you have children down the line, you'll understand why."

"I'm fourteen and already over six feet tall, but Mum said she'll always think of me as her baby. Can't say I'm thrilled with that."

"Like I said, you won't fully understand until you have children of your own." Moffitt put some liquid soap in his hands and gently rubbed them together before picking up Anah again, and running both hands down the length of her body to make sure her wounds were cleaned.

Jules was quiet as he thought, watching his father wash Anah from head to tail. He decided to change the topic. "Antheia and I have been talking about what we're going to do after this, and when we grow up. She wants to stay on Troy's ranch."

"Antheia's very bright, and I think she'll make a wonderful rancher if that's what she wants to do with her life. Things could change, though."

"That's what I said. She seems very bitter about her schooling, and wishes she could leave early."

"At her age, no. I wouldn't suggest it, not unless Troy decides to homeschool her. You're right, she's being bitter."

"I can't really blame her. She's bored and doesn't get along with anyone."

"The boredom I can understand. That was partly why you were moved to homeschooling, and why I was taken to North Africa when I was younger. Not getting along with anyone… I didn't really get along with anyone when I was both in my regular schooling and attending Cambridge. I sort of brought that on myself. I was picked on a bit when I was younger, then when we grew up, the teasing and such turned into isolation. Who wanted a scrawny kid like me playing football with them? Or talking endlessly about things no one else was interested in? Nobody. I was left out a lot, and, no, it wasn't fun, but I never took it out on anyone. Probably because I was a scrawny little thing that didn't have the gall to actually stand up for myself. Michael typically did." Moffitt smirked a little. "I still remember the day he caught some boys trying to make me pick up this huge snowball, about the size of a tire and three times as wide. They were telling me I wasn't going to be able to pick it up, so they weren't paying any attention to Michael. He packed a tight little snowball, and whipped it right into one of the boys' faces—knocked the sorry little brat to the ground." Moffitt was still smirking, but it was tinged with sadness. "Michael made a great cricket player with his throw when he was attending university."

Anah had been quiet up until then. She nuzzled Moffitt's hand. "Are you alright, dear?"

"I'll be alright. I'm… getting a bit distracted. I'm sorry. Anyway, I have noticed, based on what Troy's told me, is that Antheia can be a bit aggressive with her peers."

"I think she feels that she has to be, given how she had been treated in the orphanage," Jules said.

"It's not exactly something that'll win her friends."

"No, but there aren't many people where she lives. Word will spread fast about her, and even if she changes, what are the odds that people will give her another chance?"

"Well, if they don't give her a chance, that's their problem, not hers. I do think she needs some help in terms of how she handles things. She's a different person when she's around all of us—"

"Then maybe the problem isn't with her. We treat her well. We don't tease her or act like we're better than her."

"We're not going to be with her all the time. When she graduates and is on her own, people won't respond well to someone who tries to solve everything with a punch in the nose."

"That's probably why she wants to stay on the ranch. It's the only place where she doesn't feel so defensive all the time. I know it's not good for her, being scared all the time, and I want to help with that."

Moffitt pulled the plug out of the drain, then began rinsing Anah. "I think there's a bright future for you and Antheia. You were both raised by stubborn, loyal, and stubbornly loyal people." He grinned a little while looking at his son. "Just remember that stubbornness is a double-edged sword. There's a time to be stubborn and a time to give consideration to something someone else tells you." He made sure Anah was thoroughly rinsed before turning the faucet off. "So, what did you and Antheia discuss as far as what you want to do in life goes?"

"We talked about working with horses together. Nothing specific. She brought up that if we do work together, we'd have to choose where to live, either Wyoming or Britain."

"Well, it's good to have goals, and I certainly don't want to discourage you from having them. You'd make a wonderful horse trainer, and I think Antheia would, too. You are right, though, and moving from one country to another would be a huge change. However, you're both still growing. Give yourselves time to think about what you really want in life, and then revisit this in a few years."

"Okay."

"I really hope I don't sound like I'm dismissing you."

"You don't."

"Thanks. I really don't want to be the kind of father that crushes your dreams and tells you what to do when you finish your schooling."

"Like Troy's."

Moffitt nodded. "And mine, to a much more limited degree. I'm grateful things turned around with my father, and I've done my best to not repeat the mistakes he made with me. At least, I hope so."

"I don't think I'd be so willing to talk to you if you were making a lot of mistakes."

"Thanks. Could you hand me my bath towel, please?"

"Sure." Jules pulled a dark gray towel from a rack by the shower and handed it to his father.

"Thank you." Moffitt folded the towel, then set it on the sink. He set Anah on the towel, then began gently patting her dry. He was especially gentle with her wounds and incision, and inspected them like he did before. After a final pat-down, Moffitt folded the towel over Anah, letting her crawl through it to completely dry herself. "Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be able to get this type of spa treatment when we're on the island, Anah."

"That is not a problem," Anah said. "As long as you can provide something warm, that is all I care about."

"I'll do my best." Moffitt looked back at Jules while taking out rolls of bandages and gauze. "Try not to grow up too fast. I know with everything that's happened, that may not be possible, but when this is over, all I want you to do is rest and do the things you enjoy. Can you do that?"

"I'll try," Jules said.

"That's not to say I'm not proud of you. I'm very proud of you. More than you might realize." Moffitt reached over to ruffle Jules's hair. "As much as I'd like to keep talking, we all need to go to bed. Anah, you're in charge of making sure we both remember breakfast."

"You are putting me in charge of that?" Anah said. "Does this mean I can be as annoying as I possibly can?"

"No, it doesn't. You may gently remind us. You're not going to take two spoons and bang them together again."

"Can I cook, then?"

"Not yet. Wait until Millington takes your stitches out."

"And how long will that be?"

"Ask him tomorrow."

Anah made a pouty sound. "You two are going to waste away before I get my stitches out."

"I doubt it."

"Well, I miss cooking for you."

"I know you do. Soon, alright? Just don't go bonkers and make too much."

"I make no promises."

"I do miss your full English breakfasts, Anah," Jules said.

"Then that is what I will make as soon as I get these stitches out."

"Scones and raspberry jam, too."

"Alright, let's not go planning a menu here," Moffitt said with a sigh. "Anah, you need to worry about recovering first, and then you can make everyone breakfast. Jules, off to bed."

"Right." Jules stood to leave the bathroom. "Good night, Dad, Anah."

"Good night, dear," Anah said.

Jules closed his bedroom door behind him, and immediately went over to the window to close and lock it. He hoped it wouldn't be too long before he could leave the window open without fear of magpies trying to break in. Or without fear of magpies in general. He looked around his room, taking notice of the fact that things were a bit less organized than they usually were. He couldn't recall deliberately neglecting to clean anything. I'll do it when this is over.

He doubled-checked the window before turning the light off and getting in bed. The curtains were closed, so nothing could look inside. He still faced away from the window as he tried to fall asleep, but sleep was taking its time. It was hard for Jules to think about anything other than the trip to the island. What would happen once he had the sword? Was he going to have to practice every hour? Not stop until he was confident he could use it? He doubted his father would allow that, not after what he went through growing up. Would the magpies ramp up their attacks, taunting them until they gave up and went to the castle, even if Jules wasn't ready?

Jules didn't even think a sword had much use against birds. Magpies weren't large. Then again, he didn't write the rules for this prophecy. He lay in bed with his eyes closed, trying hard to think about something else. He managed to turn his thoughts to Antheia. Things really had been fun the last few days, in spite of the circumstances that had permitted her to stay for so long. He was going to miss her when she and Troy went home. He knew he would see her again for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but those were both months away. If things go well and we can truly return to normal. He tried not to think about what his mother had told him the day prior. Things will work out. Don't overthink it.

He finally fell asleep after laying awake for some time, and awoke to someone knocking on his door.

"Jules? Are you up?" Moffitt asked.

Jules didn't respond right away. He groaned as he rubbed his face. A desire to continue sleeping had completely fogged over his brain. "I'm up, Dad," he said.

"Alright. Just making sure. Tea's just about ready."

"Thanks." Jules sat up, and looked at the clock on his nightstand. It's only seven. I should go take care of Nightrunner before tea. He got out of bed, grabbing whatever clothes he could find, along with the teal scarf similar to his father's that he had received for his tenth birthday.

It was strange going out and seeing all the windows shut. Dietrich was at the table with a cup of coffee and looking even less awake than Jules. Hitch and Tully were in the parlor with their coffee and their shotguns nearby. Vanora was dressed for work, and gently nudged Dietrich when she finished her coffee and breakfast. "There is plenty of coffee and tea in my office. You can have more when we get there."

Dietrich grunted in acknowledgement. He took a sip of his drink and tried his best to look somewhat more awake when Jules approached. "Best of luck out there," Dietrich said. "Listen to your father."

"I will," Jules said. "I know you'll watch over Mum."

"Of course I will. You and your father will have nothing to worry about." Dietrich stood and took his cup over to the sink. "Troy and Antheia are taking care of the horses for you."

"Tell them I said 'thanks.'"

"You can tell them yourself. I am sure Antheia would like a goodbye from you."

Jules nodded. He certainly wasn't leaving without saying anything to Antheia. His thoughts turned to his conversation with her a few days ago, when she asked him not to do something as crazy as running away again. He wasn't running away this time, but he was still doing something that carried a lot of risk.

After breakfast and tea, Jules went out to the stable with his father and Anah. He noticed Troy had a bit of a sad expression on his face while cleaning out old hay.

"What's got you so upset?" Moffitt asked. "Someone convince you not to put jackals in my stable?"

"Just thinking about how much more difficult this would've been with Snowstripe," Troy said.

Moffitt looked like he was punched in the stomach. "Oh… right. Yes… yes, Snowstripe would've made a mess of things with you in here."

Jules touched his father's shoulder, unsure of what to say that would help.

"It's weird without him here," Troy added. "I don't think I've actually worked in your stable since… you know… we were cleaning his stall out."

"It's too quiet," Moffitt said.

"Yeah." Troy tossed some of the hay into a wheelbarrow. "Sorry for ruining the mood. You guys are heading off to the island?"

"We are. We're going to the university to get some supplies and pick up Millington, and then we're off."

"Okay." Troy looked toward the tack room. "Antheia! Jules is leaving."

Antheia came running out, not hesitating to jump up and grab Jules in a hug. They squeezed each other tightly, neither wanting to let go. They let go at about the same time, with Jules lowering Antheia until her boots touched the ground.

"Please be careful," Antheia said. "Come back quickly."

"Not sure that's a promise we can make," Jules replied.

"But we will try," Moffitt said. He gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Antheia. I'll bring him back."

Antheia nodded, then stood on her toes to kiss Jules's cheek. He responded with a kiss on her forehead. "Bye," he said. "We'll be back." He let go reluctantly, then turned to follow his father out to the Land Rover. He looked over his shoulder occasionally, noticing Antheia standing in the stable entrance and watching him. She didn't turn away until the vehicle was turned on and pulling out of the driveway.

"We'll be back," Moffitt said. "Everything will be alright."

Jules didn't respond right away.

Moffitt's smile faded, and he reached over to squeeze his son's shoulder. He said nothing, doing his best to focus on both Jules and driving.

Things were quiet even after they arrived at the university. It was still quite early in the day, so there weren't many people around. Some early-morning lectures could be heard from out in the hallway, but the most audible sound was the buzzing of the light panels in the ceiling above them as Moffitt, Jules, and Anah made their way to the snake laboratory. The huge room lined with glass tanks was quiet aside from the buzzing of the light panels, and the room's inhabitants were waking up and warming up. Some were moving slowly out of their sleeping boxes, while others seemed very excited to see Moffitt.

Jules jumped when he heard the sound of something thumping against glass, and turned to his left to see Mahlah with a small log in his mouth, ready to strike it against the glass. The black mamba set the log down as soon as Moffitt turned to him.

"Good morning. How are you?" Moffitt knelt to unlock Mahlah's tank and let the slender, gray snake slither out and coil around his arm. He stood and headed toward the back of the laboratory. "Millington! Are you in?"

"I'm in the incubation room!" Millington called back.

"Is everything alright?"

"Never been better! Purslane finally laid her eggs!"

"Oh, wonderful! How many?"

"Twelve. I'm just getting them set up in the incubator, and then I will be ready to go." Millington slid a container of eggs into the large incubator before turning to Moffitt. He sighed when he saw Mahlah wrapped around Moffitt's arm. "See, this is why we wouldn't be able to release you back into the wild even if we wanted to. You seem to have forgotten how to be the snake that everyone in sub-Saharan Africa is afraid of."

"He still did a number on that gargoyle." Moffitt lifted his arm to get a better look at the mamba. "I'm afraid you can't come with us, though, as much as I'd like to bring you."

"Yes, unfortunately, Mahlah has to stay here."

Jules had started wandering around and looking at the rows upon rows of different snake eggs. He had listened to his father long enough to know some of the terminology that went into the care and breeding of snakes, so he didn't feel completely lost when looking through some documents detailing the various genealogies and current pairings in the laboratory. While his father and Millington talked, Jules ventured out into the lab, looking around at the massive tanks.

The residents were looking at him curiously. Jules approached Zeresh's tank. The spitting cobra raised her head from her branch, and studied Jules for a few moments before putting her head back down. He wondered if they could recognize that he looked like his father, but he wasn't actually his father.

Moffitt's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "You alright, Jules?"

"Yeah," Jules said. "Do they… see that I look like you but I'm not you?"

"Who? The snakes?" Moffitt knelt down to put Mahlah back in his tank. "They do." He closed and locked the tank. "They're more intelligent than most people would think."

"Mahlah still recognizes that you saved his life, and it's been how many years?"

"Four years. Amazing, isn't it?"

Jules noticed something missing from Moffitt's shoulders. "Where's Anah?"

"Millington's looking over her, making sure she's healing alright." Moffitt stepped back from the wall of tanks, and sat at a table in the center of the room. He was only there for about a minute before standing and approaching a tank where a small Indian cobra was sitting by the glass. He unlocked the tank and let the cobra crawl onto his shoulders before heading back to the egg room.

Jules couldn't quite tell what was going on, but he sat and waited patiently for his father to come back. Eventually, he did, putting the snake back in its tank before sitting by Jules.

"What was that about?" Jules asked.

"Oh, Cinnamon was wondering where her eggs went," Moffitt replied. "I showed them to her."

"You don't let snakes incubate their own eggs?"

"With some, we do. This was Cinnamon's first clutch and it's a very big clutch for a cobra her size, especially since she was the runt of her own clutch. Putting them in incubation helps with keeping a closer eye on them. I've seen so many eggs hatch, but it's always something special, especially when they hatch right in your hand."

"Watching the Siamese spitters hatch a while back was fun."

"Well, in about three months, I can bring you back, and we'll watch Cinnamon's eggs hatch."

Jules tried to maintain a smile. "It's nice to think about… you know, months from now, but I'm still worried about what'll happen when we confront the magpies."

"I keep telling myself that we're going to pull through this alright, but, yes, I'm worried, too. That hasn't stopped me from holding out hope, which is something you should do, too, in any situation that seems dire." Moffitt was quiet, looking like he was thinking. "What you were telling me last night, about how you and Antheia want to work with horses when you're older—use that as your glimmer of hope."

"I thought you said we should wait a few years before thinking about that again."

"I did, but I also said that you shouldn't banish it completely. There's nothing wrong with thinking about it."

"Okay."

"Even thinking about Antheia in general. Something or someone that makes you happy. Think about the first thing you want to do when all this is over. What is it?"

"I want to take a nice, long horseback ride, but I can't decide if I want to go with you or Antheia."

"Well, if you choose Antheia, I won't be hurt."

"And I do still want to spend time on Troy's ranch, if that's okay."

"Of course. Anah needs to focus on resting and recovering anyway, so if you're out of the house, she won't be tempted to teach you. She can drive me and your mum crazy." Moffitt glanced at one of the doors in the back when it opened. "Speaking of crazy."

Millington came into the room, holding Anah and a few black bags marked with medical and biohazard symbols. He handed Anah to Moffitt, saying, "She's on a good track with healing. I can take the stitches out in three weeks."

"Three weeks? That long?" Anah sounded disappointed.

"Well, I could take them out now, but there are serious consequences with that. Improper healing, infection, potential evisceration—"

"Alright, alright." Anah sighed.

"He knows what he's talking about," Moffitt said, stroking Anah's head. He stood and turned to Millington. "You have everything?"

"I do. Just in case, I've brought a few vials of antivenom formulated for European adders. I have a feeling I won't need it, but you never know. I've got a first-aid kit for snakes, some sterilization fluid for any sort of field surgery, extra stitches, everything. Except an actual operating room."

"It'd be quite useful to just carry one around in your pocket."

"Indeed it would."

Moffitt turned to Jules. "Alright. Island of Blue Adders, here we come."

Jules trailed his father and Millington out of the university, his heart pounding and an anxious fluttering in his stomach. It would be a long drive to the western coast of Scotland, to reach a small village where they would take a boat out to the long-forgotten island. Jules felt like he had discussed being worried far too many times at this point. He needed something else, but he wasn't sure what. He watched the British countryside rush by as they drove out of Cambridge, and closed his eyes, trying to picture himself and someone he cared about—whether it was his father or Antheia—taking a long ride on horses over the grassy hills, without a care in the world.