“The soul stones,” I whispered. “I heard the other stones in the tent the day you returned them.”
“You heard the Lion Soul and the Coyote Soul?” Dalsharan asked carefully.
“I heard one of them.” I held my mug with both hands, seeking its warmth. “I'm not sure which it was. I thought I was just remembering what they said to me when I saved you. All those things I couldn't hear, I thought they were coming back to me. But now, I'm not so sure.”
“Ravyn, what did the stones say to you?” Dalsharan asked slowly.
“It was just a whisper.” I clenched my jaw. “Just one word at first.”
“What word?!” The Hawk Lord was on the verge of losing his shit.
“Betrayal.”
“Fuck!” Dalsharan roared and surged to his feet. “Fuck!”
“What else did the soul stone say to you?” Greskal asked calmly.
“It said that they were betrayed,” I went on, casting a worried look at Dal as he continued to curse. “And then it asked... fuck.” I hung my head, feeling suddenly as if I had betrayed the stones. “It said, 'Help me.' Fuck, it asked for my help, and I ignored it.”
“Son of Farungal!” Dalsharan shouted. “I need to see the King. Grab some cookies, Ravyn. We're leaving.”
I widened my eyes at Greskal and grabbed a handful of cookies. “Thank you, Master Greskal.”
“I'll see you boys tomorrow,” he called after us as Dalsharan stormed out.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“What would you have me do?” King Avamael asked Dalsharan after he explained our suspicions.
“Allow me to lead an investigation,” Dal said.
“Into the Lion and Coyote Armies?” The King gaped at his warlord. “I have no authority to do so.”
“I'm not saying that we tell them we're investigating them.” Dal gave the King a heavy look.
“Espionage?” King Avamael gaped at Dal. “You want to spy on our fellow Sidhe armies?”
“Your Majesty, if the Farungal have somehow managed to get a fae or human soldier to turn traitor, it could risk every life in every army,” I said. “Now, I'm a new Hawk, but I've been a human for most of my life and I can tell you that there are ways to sway us. What if the Farungal abducted someone's wife or child? They could use them to force that soldier into betraying us.”
The King sat back in his seat and let out a sigh. “That's a lot of what-ifs with very little evidence.”
“Which is the point, Ava!” Dal growled. “We need to gather evidence.”
“And what will you do, Dal?” King Avamael shot back. “Are you going to supervise this spy mission yourself?”
The Hawk Lord straightened and looked at me.
“Yes, you have your consort now. You can't go running off to your army and leave him here.”
“You were gonna leave me here?” I gaped at Dalsharan.
“You can't leave Kestria until you're trained,” Dal said. “But no, I wasn't going to leave if I didn't have to. I thought I could arrange it from here. I will choose members of my guard to serve as spies and send them into the Coyote and Lion camps.”
The King considered this.
“Sire, the stones asked Ravyn for help. Have you ever heard of such a thing?” Dalsharan looked beseechingly at the King. “We can't refuse the request of a beast soul—not any request but especially not this. If one of the soul stones believes itself to be in danger, we must save it!”
Finally, King Avamael nodded. “Very well, send your spies, but make sure they are not caught, Hawk Lord. If they are...” He shook his head. “Relations between our kingdoms could suffer for centuries. It could even lead to war.”
“If they are found, I will say that I acted without your knowledge.”
“Dal!” I growled.
He gave me a quelling look.
“I don't like it,” the King said. “But if it comes to that, your sacrifice might be necessary to save thousands of lives.”
“So be it.” The Hawk Lord lifted his chin.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The Hawk Lord sent out his spies, and we waited anxiously for their return. I trained every day and my belief failed me every time. But Dal always took me out to explore the city afterward, like a consolation prize for not getting my wings. We strolled through parks with views of the valleys far below, dined in expensive restaurants where I always got dessert, and shopped in all the fancy stores that I would never have gone into alone. And the citizens of Kestria treated us like royalty. No whispers, no scorn, only deep respect. I was quickly falling in love with Dal's home. If only I could become one of them truly.
“Just relax,” Dalsharan said.
He was in Hawk form again, standing before me to give me a reference while I tried to convince myself that I could be him. Greskal stood to the side, leaving me on the mat alone in the vast training room, with the cries of young Hawks coming in from the balcony. I sighed and closed my eyes, picturing Dal again. And then I prayed.
I know I wasn't born one of your people, but you claimed me. You helped me. Please, let me be a Hawk. You've given me this chance, help me succeed. Help me, and I'm yours forever.
A gasp came. The sound of ruffled feathers.
I opened my eyes and realized that I wasn't sitting anymore. I was standing on two strange legs with claws poking out of my feet. My feathers fluffed in response to my shock, and the odd sensation rolled over my entire body. Feathers? I stretched out an arm and stared instead at my wing. Joy burst up my throat and emerged as a shriek—a hawk shriek.
“Yes!” Greskal shouted and pumped his fist into the air. “Take that, Tigers! He did it in five days! That's a new record.”
“It is?” I asked. My voice sounded weird coming out of a beak.
“It is,” Dal's voice had a pleased tone to it. “And now, Consort, it's time to set another record.”
Dalsharan came at me and something in his manner made me back up. His chest was puffed and his wings spread. I backed up faster.
“No, wait!” Greskal shouted. “He's not a born Hawk, this isn't the way!”
But Dal had already bullied me to the edge of the balcony and even as he looked back at Greskal with a tinge of fear in his eyes, I lost my footing and fell.
I shrieked as I stared up at Dal's dwindling form. My wings flapped upward but not by will. It was the wind tearing at them and gravity pulling at me. Bent, not flapping as they should. More shrieks came as Hawks dove around me, formations breaking as I fell through them like a stone. Then the Hawk Lord was there, his head just above mine, his body streamlined in a dive.