Chapter 9
Oh, gods.
Her eyes went right to the dagger on his hip.
It was sheathed, but there was no mistaking the bone carving that made up the hilt. A fine blade that she knew all too well from her dreams.
‘You’re not supposed to be here,’ Kinlear said. ‘This is my hideaway when I need a bit of peace and quiet.’ He quirked a dark brow. ‘You’ve come a long way from the woods, Ravenminder.’
There was something dark on his lips. He quickly licked it away, then set his book aside and reached for the white cane on the bale beside him, wincing as he stood.
‘I … I got lost,’ Ezer stammered.
He raised a dark brow.
‘A difficult thing, to miss the enormous staircase in the center of the Aviary. One could say nearly impossible for anyone with a decent pair of eyes in their head.’
Fool, Ezer chided herself.
He adjusted his grip on his cane and stepped forward.
She took a step away … until she heard the footsteps behind her again and wondered if the Eagleminder was coming back.
‘I’ve spent my life learning how to read the body language of war eagles,’ the prince said.
‘Communication comes in more ways than just words,’ he added with a wink, a nod to their first conversation.
‘They’re quite similar to humans, actually.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out, Ravenminder … you’re afraid.’
She was going to throw up again.
Because his hand was moving towards the dagger, and she swore – oh gods, was he going to kill her now?
‘Strange, that the doors to the Aviary even opened for you,’ Kinlear said. He moved towards her with a rap of his cane.
She backed away another step.
And then she heard Zey’s voice again, coming around the corner.
‘You needn’t fear me,’ Kinlear said, as he watched Ezer with a narrow gaze.
‘But Zey?’ He tsked and shook his head. ‘A dangerous thing, to get in the way of her demonstration. That fledgling was minutes away from being cleared for moving onto saddle work. After that, it would have been cleared to make the Descent, ready to make a difference in this war.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Ezer whispered. ‘I only came to see the war eagles; I didn’t mean to—’
‘I’m glad you did,’ he said.
And then she realized he hadn’t been going for the dagger on his hip. Rather, he was reaching for a flask in his inner cloak pocket. He lifted it, then took a long pull before he wiped his hand on his sleeve.
She didn’t realize the Sacred were permitted to drink outside of Absolution. Especially not the prince.
‘A tonic for the pain,’ he explained, noticing her shocked stare. ‘I’m sure you’ve heard the stories, about the war eagle that bested me a few years ago.’
She hadn’t, and she was surprised the Ehvermages hadn’t taken care of that for him, just like Arawn’s scar.
Perhaps, like her wounds from the shadow wolves, a wound from a war eagle couldn’t be healed by magic either.
But she nodded as if she did know of his accident, because she sensed he wasn’t the sort of person that liked to be overlooked or ignored.
‘Zey is a fine Minder, but Tyrn … the beast is unhinged. A terrible mount from the moment of his hatching, made worse by Zey’s rushed training of him.
But of course, it’s because she knows that one more fledgling broken before this upcoming Descent, and she’d break the record for most Eagles taken skyborne.
Her ego would only soar higher. We can’t have that now, can we? ’
Ezer shook her head. ‘No. Your Highness.’
‘Now, tell me the truth about what you’re doing here,’ Kinlear said as he screwed the cap back on his flask and returned it to his cloak, ‘and perhaps I won’t turn you in to my father.’
The King of Lordach.
The strongest Sacred to ever exist, who lived here in the Citadel … and had all the power in the world to behead her, should he discover her strangeties, unpillared as they were.
She could try lying again, but what purpose would that serve? The truth was better, in most circumstances. Especially when one was faced with a prince staring her down like she may or may not be an enemy.
‘I …’ Ezer sighed, her shoulders releasing all tension. ‘I wanted to see the war eagles. As someone who’s spent her entire life in the company of birds, you can imagine how fascinating I find them to be.’
He watched her for a moment, considering.
‘Do you swear it?’
‘I do,’ she said.
His hand gripped the lion handle of his cane tighter. ‘On the Five?’
His silver eyes were so cold, so searching. He’d probably discovered a thousand secrets in his life, for though he was her age, the prince felt older. Wiser.
Like he was a walking secret himself.
Her eyes went back to the strange vial on his neck.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I swear it on the Five.’
At that, he smiled. ‘Dangerous, to swear upon the gods, Ravenminder. One risks getting rebuked from the Ehver above.’
Her mouth was dry. It felt like she was swallowing rocks.
‘I am not afraid of the gods,’ she said. ‘They’ve been perfectly happy to ignore me all my life.’
He huffed out a laugh.
‘A sentiment I can agree with, for reasons of my own. And one that many others feel, but are afraid to speak aloud.’ He released a breath. ‘If you wanted to see the war eagles, Ravenminder … you needed only to ask.’
That was certainly a surprise. ‘I asked Arawn.’
Kinlear chuckled. ‘Ask the right person, is what I should have said. You chose wrong, if you wanted someone who’s willing to bend a few rules now and then.
There are ways around them if you’re clever enough, but my brother is perhaps the most pious Sacred I’ve ever met.
Even more than our father, and that’s—’ He paused, mid-sentence, and began to cough.
It was a terrible cough, wet and rasping, and for a moment, she wondered if it was ever going to stop.
‘Are you … all right?’ Ezer asked.
‘I’m the prince of Lordach. I’m always all right,’ Kinlear said as he settled his breathing.
‘The dust inside these stalls. It gets to me.’ And then his eyebrows raised, and his gaze slid past her to the aisles beyond.
‘I’m afraid our conversation here must come to an end.
I’ve somewhere else to be. Anywhere else. ’
‘Why?’ she asked.
But then she heard Arawn’s voice out in the aisles.
Her blood went cold.
‘Gods be with you, when faced with my brother’s wrath.
’ Kinlear quickly bowed his head in dismissal.
‘I’ll be seeing you, Ravenminder. I do hope you enjoyed your little private tour of the Eagles’ Nest. In the future …
be careful where you step. And where you hide, for you never know who might be watching. ’
With that, he winked at her again.
Then he spun on his heel and slipped past her, smelling strangely of black licorice, sickly sweet.
She had one second to breathe before she stepped out of the storage space.
And came face to face with Arawn.
‘Ezer.’
Oh, gods above.
He looked furious, like he had when she’d called him out on his fizzling magic.
‘I just wanted to see them,’ Ezer tried. ‘Just one look, before going to my tower. I swear, that’s all I did.’
‘You disobeyed a direct order,’ Arawn said.
And for some reason, that sparked a fire in her belly.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said sweetly. ‘Are you supposed to be my superior?’
‘You have much to learn about rank,’ he growled. ‘I am your Crown Prince.’
‘Prince,’ she said, because there was her reckless fury again. She would not be made to feel small. ‘Not quite King.’
He looked like he’d been slapped.
And before she could stop him, he reached out to grab her hand.
She gasped at how sudden his touch was, how steady his grip.
It was not painful by any means, but she certainly couldn’t shake him off.
He was the size of a war bear compared to her, all muscle and no give, and before she knew it, he’d whirled her around and was practically dragging her down the aisle of stalls.
Past eagle after eagle, all of which seemed to perk their heads up at the sight of the commotion. One of them released a throaty squawk, as if to protest.
Another rammed at the stall door with an enormous beak, but not even the eagles could help her now.
‘I told you,’ Arawn snarled, his voice low and menacing as he pulled her from the barn, ‘that this space is only for the chosen. The ones who have worked to earn their place among the gods’ mounts. You had no right.’
‘Technically, you didn’t apply that to me,’ Ezer said.
There was no direct command.
‘You don’t listen,’ he said. He was walking so fast she could barely keep her own legs under her.
‘You are not from here, and yet you question the gods, question our laws, and break the rules laid out before you. We need to leave this space before anyone else finds out. They’ll blame me, as they rightfully should, and I’ve no room for error on the day of my return. My father will have my head.’
‘And what will he do to his Crown Prince?’ Ezer ground out. ‘Punish him?’
She barked out a laugh, but suddenly he whirled to face her.
‘No one is immune to punishment, Ravenminder. Not the Knights, not the servants. Not even me.’
And that wasn’t just fury in his ice-blue eyes.
She saw it now.
It was … fear.
But before she could ask him anything else, he was dragging her along again. ‘Walk faster.’
‘I can’t walk any faster,’ Ezer said, and dug in her heels. ‘Your legs are three times the size of mine.’
‘Then walk thrice the speed,’ Arawn said.
‘Must you always speak like some pompous, heady bastard from the pages of an ancient romance book?’ she yelped.
Gods, he made her furious.
They were inside the trees again, on the path back towards the golden doors.
‘Let me go,’ she said. ‘There’s no reason to be so rash!’
‘You act like a child who doesn’t listen. I can’t keep tracking you down to save you.’
‘I didn’t need saving,’ she said. ‘And if I recall correctly, the one who needed help first was you.’
He barked out a laugh. ‘Anyone would, in the presence of shadow wolves. You should know.’
‘Oh, isn’t that noble of you, pointing out a woman’s painful past,’ she said. ‘I suppose I should pick on you for yours now. What gave you that gash on your cheek?’
He said nothing.
‘Don’t ignore me, Firemage. I asked you a question.’
Still, he hauled her across the path.
‘I don’t think the problem is me.’ She took a gasping breath as she tried to keep up.
‘I think it’s you, a Crown Prince who was sent all the way to Rendegard to pick up prisoners like some grunt soldier.
I think you’re in trouble already, and I don’t yet know why.
But it’s related to your weak magic, or perhaps the very palpable tension between you and your twin brother.
Or maybe it has something to do with someone named Soraya. ’
He turned around, so fast she yelped.
Because then he was in her face, towering over her, and the fury in his eyes …
She’d never seen anything like it on a man.
When he spoke, his voice was a raw whisper. So quiet, she wondered if it was only the sound of the wind ruffling the leaves on the trees.
‘Her name,’ he said, ‘is not yours to speak.’
She held his gaze. They were so close, their chests nearly touched, a steady rise and fall.
‘And my hand,’ Ezer said back, ‘is not yours to hold.’
The spell between them broke.
He seemed to notice, suddenly, how thorough his grip on her was. How small her hand was inside his, a delicate little dove trapped inside a cage.
He released her.
‘I …’
His mouth opened and closed, like he wasn’t certain what to say next. She could practically hear him thinking, going through all the list of rules he must have broken in the past many moments.
‘I apologize,’ he finally said, ‘for my lapse in control. Your words wounded me, and I wasn’t certain how to react.’
‘Some prince you are,’ Ezer muttered, holding her hand to her chest. When she looked back up at him, his eyes were downcast.
He looked wounded. Utterly broken.
‘The doors are just down the path,’ he said, and a muscle in his jaw twitched. ‘You’re free to go. Anyone can direct you to your tower. A servant will come for you in the morning.’
He made to turn, but this time she grabbed his arm and whirled him around. ‘So that’s it?’ she asked. ‘We’re done here?’
‘We’re done.’
He nodded, glancing past her. His blue eyes looked faraway, distant, like he was lost inside his memories instead. ‘I wish you luck in your time here, Ravenminder. Gods be with you. From here below until the Ehver above.’
For some reason it felt so final just walking alone, away from him, after all they’d been through in the woods. He was the only person she’d come to know in the slightest, after so many years in silence inside her tower.
But she was just another face. Another recruit to bring north.
And he had a family of Knights and Scribes waiting for him.
He had a Citadel full of servants, a future and a crown.
And she …
She would probably be dead soon, like Ervos.
She turned and took a few steps into the woods.
‘Minder.’
She glanced back over her shoulder, with the scarred side of her face. ‘Yes, Firemage?’
‘Be careful,’ he said, ‘Around my brother.’
His eyes held a darkness behind them. A warning she couldn’t quite place.
She nodded, and was about to ask him to elaborate, goodbyes be damned, when a boom suddenly shook the sky. It was a distant sound, coming from their right. And it sounded like a boulder colliding against metal.
It was followed by a few echoing voices.
Voices that suddenly turned into shouts.
She heard the scream of a war eagle and wondered if perhaps one had broken loose from its stall.
Arawn glanced to the right, a question in his eyes.
‘What was that?’ she asked.
His brow furrowed. ‘I don’t know.’
‘A war eagle?’
‘No, Minder,’ he said. His eyes met hers. ‘Not a—’
But before he could finish, another boom sounded out.
This time, it felt like it shook the very dome over their heads.
‘You should go,’ he said. ‘I’m going to help.’
‘Help with what?’ she yelped.
She could hear other shouts now, across the woods, back where they’d just come from.
‘Go,’ Arawn said. ‘To your tower, before you bring more trouble to either of us than it’s worth.’
‘Ezer.’
She went rigid at the voice of the wind.
No, she thought. Not now.
It was coming from behind her. Back towards Arawn.
And suddenly those faraway shouts were louder – the sound of the chittering eagles had grown – and the whisper was now an insistent hiss.
‘EZER!’
‘What?’ she screamed out loud as she turned.
She nearly toppled sideways at what she saw.
Because there, just over Arawn’s shoulders … a shadow had appeared in the tops of the trees.
It can’t be, Ezer thought, as she felt her own eyes widen. And she began to tremble in fear.
She watched as a monster – a beast that was half raven and half black panther – climbed down from the treetops, heading straight for them.