“No,” I said without hesitation. “I don’t know her, and I don’t think she shouldn’t rule because she’s half dark fae, but I reallybelieve the time for kings and queens is done.No oneshould have that much power… ever.”
“And what of the nobles?”
“The same goes for them. The amsirah deserve more say in their lives; do you think I’m wrong? Do you think a king and queen should continue to rule?”
“That isn’t for me to judge.”
“Is that how Tempest was ruled when you were free before?”
“That’s how it’s always been done.”
“Hmm,” I murmured as I studied the ruins of the forest. “And look at what it’s brought us to. Are you the king of the gargoyles?”
“I am the leader, but not the king. If we decide that my time as ruler has ended, then I will step aside, and we’ll appoint another. Many of us have led over the years.”
“It’s so simple for you then.”
“Yes, but there are far fewer of us, and it is far easier for us to keep each other in check.”
“You also don’t have leaders who rule for whole lifetimes.”
“We do not.”
“Even if we can somehow beat them, we’ll still have so much work ahead of us,” I murmured.
“Do you think you can handle it?”
I almost told him it didn’t have to be me, that someone else could take over if we somehow managed to free Ryker, the children, and Tempest from its tyrants, but that wasn’t true. It would have to be me and Ryker, and if I lost him, then it would have to be me alone.
I didn’t want it, but the amsirah would look to me to lead them through the mess our rulers had created. It was tempting to walk away, but I couldn’t do it. If we didn’t firmly establish things, then the ashes of our old lives could give birth to something far worse.
“Yes,” I reluctantly admitted. “What role will you play in all of this?”
Indon didn’t say anything as he stared at the blackened landscape. The way the others stilled made me contemplate whether they communicated telepathically.
I’d suspected such a thing when we talked to them the first time, and now the possibility came screaming back to the forefront. These creatures were already unnerving enough without adding in that frightening tidbit.
Finally, Indon spoke again. “The forest brought you to us, which means the forest trusts you.”
“How? Why? I… I’ve done nothing to earn its trust.”
“The forest watches and learns. It saw something in you that it liked. It wouldn’t have led you to us otherwise. The trees wouldn’t have exposed us to you if they believed you would harm us.”
“They brought more than me to you.”
“We both know it wanted you and this Ryker. The others came becauseyouchose for them to do so.”
“That’s true. Can you communicate with the forest?”
“We cannot speak directly with it, but we listen and we hear what it tells us in the whispers in the wind, the patter of the raindrops, and the cries of the animals. If you are willing to listen and learn from it, it will talk to you too.”
“It will?” I squeaked.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX
Ellery
Indon smiled again.“You’re already listening to it in your own way; you came back to free us, after all.”
