Chapter Eight
IT WAS FRANCEN WHO led us across the hall and into the noisy room beyond. I’d expected an inn common room. What I saw took my breath away.
A long table was laid across the entire room with long benches on either side and behind each person seated on the bench were a cluster of others. Across the surface of the table, maps, candles, small tokens, and lists with quill and ink were spread almost haphazardly. It only took a glance to confirm that these were maps of the Far Stones and lists of required items for the Single Wing. The one nearest me listed food supplies and the quantities along with the final sum along the column were enough to make my stomach do flips.
The people seated, arguing, around the benches were clearly leaders of the Single Wing. There were more than a dozen, grim-looking men and women, some grizzled, some fresh. Some whole and some with grievous wounds. Together, they looked up from their disagreement at the entry of Wing Essena.
Wing Essena cleared her throat, her pale owl popping into existence and perching on her shoulder – a mark of her authority. The arguments and murmurs began to fade out she spoke over the last hurried conversations. And as she spoke, my eyes roved along the edge of the waiting people. The man nearest me had his coat cut in the way of the eastern miners, another – a silkie fisherman – still was wearing his fishing rig. The next had a face I could have sworn I recognized. And the next ...
Abghar stood up so suddenly that his bench nearly toppled. The look on his face was relief tinged with joy – I knew that because I felt the same way myself and felt it even more strongly as my eyes – noting that he was strong even if he was worn and gaunt – strayed behind him to glance at my brothers and sisters waiting patiently there.
My breath caught, tears welling up so suddenly that I couldn’t blink them back. When I’d seen Alect I knew there would be more of them here but seeing my family right in front of me was almost too much joy to bear.
Helissa’s eyes lit with happiness and Oska dropped something he was holding – a tin mug? – with a clatter. I could hardly even distinguish the other faces now through my fast-flowing tears. I thought that maybe Helissa was striding toward me, but I could barely see a thing.
Joy – powerful and rich – bowled me over more intensely than if I’d been knocked off my feet. I thought I might never see them again. I thought that some might be dead before I ever could and now here they were within inches of me being able to touch them.
I took an involuntary step forward.
Wing Essena stepped between us with a piercing shout of, “Hold! Hold, all of you! Someone keep House Shrike back.”
“What’s the meaning of this?” Aghar bellowed and still, I was blinking too many tears away to see.
“This child is a traitor to the Far Stones and the Single Wing. You all know this by the report I delivered to you this morning. She has been wed to Le Majest of the Winged Empire and he is hotly in pursuit of her. Just having her here endangers us all – but worse yet, she is his wife and bound to him. Whether she has family here or not, she is our enemy now by bond and blood.”
“You’re mad if you think – ” that was Anfrea – always so protective. I blinked away tears as Wing Essena spoke over her and I barely even heard the Wing as I drank in their faces – most of them had their eyes on me, ignoring the Wing and I saw the sympathy and worry and deep delight echoed in every face and shared with me. Oh, it was good to be home with them – even if we weren’t home at all. Home was where they were, and I was here with them. Home, home, home. My bees buzzed in happy sympathy.
And then I heard what Essena was saying, “... which is why we can’t allow the feelings of one family to damage what we are here to achieve. This is for all the Far Stones. This is for all our families and all our hopes and dreams. We must not allow a traitor – a spy! – here in our midst.”
“You can’t even know that the rumors you heard are true,” Helissa said, her voice trembling like she was trying so hard to keep calm. And my heart leapt at the expressions on all my siblings’ faces – they’d all morphed into something I recognized from my own mirror. Their mouths were firm lines. Their eyes burned. Stray curls sprang out from their hair, as if even those curls were desperate to put distance between themselves and all that fury.
“And yet I do know,” Wing Essena said. “And I can prove it.”
She tugged my shirt open so suddenly that I couldn’t stop her. I gasped as the single feather – glowing moonlight silver – showed through my skin.
There was a gasp from around the room and I saw enough to realize that every other face around that table had a look on it somewhere close to terror. If that frightened them, then I supposed they should be glad they didn’t know more. The truth of what they were up against was a lot worse than a teenage girl with a glowing feather in her chest.
But my siblings – oh my siblings – their faces never changed. What did change was the sound of steel drawing from their blades. They were all there – Abghar, Oska, Anfrea, Adigale, Helissa, Raquella – Royn and Fawren, my brothers-in-law – Gressa my sister-in-law. But not Awet or Retger and Zayana, thank the stars and skies, and not the children. Because House Shrike only drew steel for a reason and now blades drew all around the table – blades pointed at my family.
“There’s no need for violence here,” Wing Essena said placidly, as if she hadn’t started all of this. “No need to fight family against family. We need every sword we can muster. We can’t afford to spare any on squabbles. Not when the traitor will go quietly. And she’s agreed to do that, haven’t you girl? We’ll walk her to the edge of camp and let her make her way through the Forbidding. For the Forbidding gives and the Forbidding takes away and all justice is served eventually.”
“Don’t do it,” Abghar said. “Don’t let her cow you, sister. We are House Shrike.”
“We are relentless,” Raquella said from behind him, her sword tip wavering with nerves as she found her place defending her brother’s back. They were forming a porcupine – a tried and true formation for fighting the Forbidding. I’d been in one before when things were particularly grim and every hand needed to hold a blade.
“We can’t afford a traitor here,” a bluff man from the other side of the table said, head shaking sadly as if he felt bad for what he was suggesting. Around him, others agreed with similar sober nods.
“Aye, Chandres, we can’t allow a traitor. We must trust Wing Essena.”
“Stand down, House Shrike. We bid you remain calm,” Chandres – the bluff man – reiterated.
“Don’t spill their blood needlessly, girl,” Wing Essena warned. “You know you deserve what comes next. Don’t jeopardize your family with your lies.”
And maybe I would have been cowed a few months ago. But I was watching my siblings’ hard faces and I knew something now – I knew I couldn’t protect them if I bowed to evil people. I knew that sometimes accepting the lesser of two evils was still accepting an evil. They were willing to risk everything to stand with me. I wouldn’t take that from them.
I felt the bees buzzing in me, building their power – but this time it was not a wild, angered buzzing – it was a buzzing made of righteous fury – the need to set things right.