“Can you do that, little bee?” I whispered to the one sad, lone bee who landed beside me on the cage floor. “Have you been taking my pain and speeding my healing?”
The places where I’d been beaten by Juste’s guards ached now to the point where it hurt to move. So did the ankle I’d twisted as I ran through Karkatua and a slash in the skin of my arm. I couldn’t even remember where I’d gotten that.
My head was swimming with so much pain that I leaned over and let myself fall to the cage floor, feeling a little relief at the cold of the metal against my aching head. I wanted to lie here and cry. I wanted to give up. But I didn’t dare. There had to be some way out. There just had to be. And then I’d find my brother and get him out, too.
I closed my eyes – just for a moment. I still needed to put that dress on, so they didn’t hurt Abghar. Darkness – a welcome escape – flooded over me and I clung to it, wishing I knew what to do next. I had to escape if I was going to help anyone, and yet I could hardly seem to lift my own head.
A vision buzzed into my head – fainter than usual so that I couldn’t make out fine details. It was Alect. He had a nasty cut on his cheek. Blood flowed down his face. My heart lurched at the sight of it – but his face was alight with joy. His hand formed a fist, clutched above his head. My bee started to pull back and drift upward and I could see he was on top of a tower. Beside him, a Claw I didn’t recognize threw off his blue jacket, tossing it over the side of the tower. He reached for the banners hanging from the tower’s edge – banners showing the white swan of the Imperial House. He began to slice them neatly so that they fell to the ground. They’d won.
The bee drew a little higher still and that’s when I saw Royn’s body slumped at the top of the stairs. Dead or alive? I wondered, and then my bee went dark.
I blinked my eyes open and saw there were two bees in front of me on the cage floor – as if one had somehow transported right from one place to the other. But that made no sense. I was delirious. That was all. Broken by pain and exhaustion.
The bees began a strange circling dance.
I closed my eyes again.
When the next vision came, it startled me out of sleep, so that I didn’t know if I was dreaming or seeing something.
Retger stood on the top of a wide staircase, face tight with some emotion I couldn’t read. He looked deeply troubled, but he raised his voice as he looked out over a crowd of people.
“Citizens of Portua Town. The Single Wing has taken your city on behalf of all men and women who wish freedom from the Winged Empire. We are taking all of Far Stones. If your allegiance is still to the Winged Empire, you may make your way to the docks before nightfall tomorrow and every person who requests passage will be loaded on the ships there to return to the continent. You have our word. It’s more of a chance than you ever gave us.”
He blinked back tears, his face contorting for a moment before he continued.
“I have just come from the cellars of this house. I have seen what was done to the people here who spoke their minds. Who kept weapons to defend their families and were caught. Who wanted freedom. We will not treat you in such a barbarous way. But we will remember.”
“Far Stones!” Someone in the crowd called and the cheer was taken up. Retger made the sign of the bird, but he looked exhausted – wrung out by what he’d seen.
Out of nowhere, a dark shape surged from a pillar at the side of the entrance, a knife in his hand. I cried out a warning, but Retger couldn’t hear me. The man was closer, closer – I wanted to shut my eyes, but I didn’t dare look away, my breath caught in my lungs. Notice him! Notice him!
Scarlet seared across my vision and Flame burst between Retger and the man with the knife. Retger stumbled, falling to one knee and my heart lurched again. Flame extended his claws, and the spirit-bird shoved the attacker back, screeching as he attacked. He had grown again. He was nearly the size of an eagle. Zayana stepped out from where she’d been standing in the crowd, arms crossed and fury on her usually calm face.
“This Wing stands with Far Stones. This spirit bird stands with Retger of House Shrike.”
As if to punctuate her words, the bird lunged, pecking at the attacker’s eyes and driving him to his knees. There was a scuffling sound and then people were surging onto the spot, surrounding the would-be assassin and looking to Zayana who lifted a hand to Flame. He shot back up in the air, circling her protectively as she stood beside Retger.
“I saw a sign today – two beetles fighting on a stone. The smaller beetle ate the head of the larger beetle. So, it is with the Far Stones. We will eat the head of the Winged Empire.”
My mind was spinning so much that I almost wondered if these signs she saw actually meant something.
Retger surged to his feet. “Stand with us! Stand for Far Stones!”
And then my vision winked out and I blinked awake again. I now had three bees doing their strange dance before me. And their dance had morphed into something agitated. What in the world were they doing?
I managed to lift my head – finally – and I twisted to get my arms under me and push me up to all fours. I had to pause there to catch my breath, wincing in pain from all my injuries. They stole my breath away. I took in long, slow gasps of air for a minute, and then I eased myself into a sitting position. There was one thing I could do to help my family right now. I could put on this dress.
Changing my clothes was an agonizingly slow process that left me sweaty and gasping. When I was done, I slumped back on the floor, my head cradled on the ball of clothing I’d been wearing.
The dress that Juste had provided was a gossamer golden creation with a high lace neck and puff-topped court sleeves that ended in lace points over my hands. The skirt was full enough for movement but narrow in profile. It looked like a wedding dress. The thought that it might very well be one, turned my stomach.
At least Abghar wouldn’t be beaten for my disobedience. I’d managed that much. My boots, I kept. I also kept my belt and short sword in the scabbard. Oddly, my captors hadn’t bothered to take it from me. Perhaps they thought I couldn’t do anything with it anyway. There was no point in declawing a dead cat.
I stared at the sword for a long time, wondering what I should do. I had a few options, even in a cage.
I could try to draw the sword and kill Juste the next time he was close, but he was wary enough that I’d be unlikely to get the opportunity. After all, he had only come close to me when his snake had me in its grasp.
I could fall on this sword and take my life. I did not want to do that. My mind shied away from even considering it beyond just listing it. I desperately wanted to see how everything turned out and I still couldn’t shake the hope that somehow, we could survive all this – that we could succeed.
I already knew that Alect and the Single Wing had succeeded at the towers, seizing at least one of them. I knew that Retger and the Single Wing had successfully taken Portua Town. But what about the rest? What would happen? Could we win? There were too many questions that made me long for answers.
I could also use the sword to stab myself in the chest and send one of my bees in to burn out the Forbidding in me and rescue me from my tie to Juste. I could do that. My hands shook at the thought of harming myself and I wondered if my magic would operate with me only half-conscious – or unconscious. There would be no friend to nurse me or help me get to safety. There would be no one to make sure I didn’t die from it. I wasn’t sure if I had the guts to try or not. And in either case, I didn’t have the energy just yet.