As the three of them returned to the stairs, the story of Skyweaver flooded her thoughts.
Roa thought of the person who’d eluded death eight years ago. The person whose place her sister took. The person whose soul she needed to exchange for Essie’s.
For the first time since she’d made her decision, Roa faltered.
Could she really do such a thing—take his soul?
She thought of him in the hall below, loud and drunk and flirting. Thought of him sitting in that council meeting, breaking every one of his treaty promises without hesitation. Thought of his seal in Sirin’s pocket.
Yes,she told herself, fists tightening.I can. I can do it for my sister.
They were almost to the dining hall when they nearly strode straight into Rebekah. Their hostess looked proud and elegant in the dimming light of day, her golden kaftan gleaming in the torchlight.
Garnet and another burly draksor flanked her. They weren’t soldats, but from the way they stood with their bulging arms crossed, they seemed something akin to house guards.
And at Rebekah’s side walked...
“Theo?”Roa and Lirabel said in unison.
Theo smiled sheepishly back at them. His dark brown hair was pulled back into its usual bun and he wore a silk tunic, in the Firgaardian style, that came just above the knee, with trousers underneath. Roa could see the delicate silver stitching from where she stood.
“What are you wearing?” she asked, looking him up and down. She’d nearly mistook him for a draksor.
Where had he gotten such a fine thing? And how in all the skies did he get invited to this dinner?
“My queen,” Rebekah interrupted. “What a coincidence. Your friend and I were just speaking about you.” The silver sheath in her sash winked in the torchlight. “What are you doing out here in the hall?”
Roa stared at the dagger, a sudden thought striking her.
“We got lost,” Lirabel answered quickly for her. “Safire found us.”
Rebekah’s dark brown eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
“Safire, Lirabel—you’ll excuse us, won’t you? There are things I’d like to discuss with the queen.”
“I wish I could, Bekah, but—”
Garnet and the other draksor stepped forward, their blades half-drawn.
“It won’t take long,” Rebekah said, smiling sweetly.
Lirabel’s gaze met Roa’s as the commandant reached for her hilt.
“No,” said Roa, touching Saf’s arm. She kept her eyes on the dagger at their hostess’s hip. “It’s fine. Go back to the dining hall.”
“You know I can’t do that,” said Safire staring down the scarred guard.
“I’m ordering you to.”
Safire glanced at her, and for a moment Roa thought she would continue to refuse. But then her hand fell to her side and she bowed her head a little stiffly. “Of course, my queen.”
Roa didn’t like the way Rebekah studied Safire and Lirabel, as if they were insects under glass in an observatory. She especially didn’t like the way Rebekah studied Essie. Like she was less of a bird and more of a... meal.
“Go with them,” Roa told her sister, pushing her from her shoulder.
Startled, Essie didn’t have time to dig her claws in. Before she fell, she spread her wings and swooped toward Lirabel.
With Theo at her side, Roa glanced back once to see Essie, Lirabel, and Saf all watching her with worried eyes.
