“Enough. It’s settled, then. We’ll head for Pyka—Quinn, you’re to take Kira and meet us at the Red Cliffs,” Ronan says as Quinn finally returns, a Royal Guard carrying her, with Larus and Octavia trailing behind.
“I will go with her,” says Octavia.
“I donotneed a babysitter,” says Quinn.
“Girl, I said nothing about going for your sake. I have spent my life at sea. I wish to see the world from the sky.”
“Good, you can conceal Kira with your shadow,” says Ronan. “Keep her safe for me, both of you.”
“Come on,” says Octavia, lifting Quinn from the guard’s arms. Quinn isn’t a small woman, but Octavia throws her over her shoulders with ease. Quinn’s eyes widen as she looks at me behind Octavia’s back.
I wink at her. Octavia is a much better option than my brother.
“The rest of you, pack your things and meet in my chambers in ten minutes. Gaius, I need a team to escort Queen Claudia back home to Minar. She’ll be safe there with her own House.”
“Of course, sir,” says Gaius, one of Ronan’s guards.
“And anyone else who wishes to go. Do not fight to the last. Get out of here, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” say the other guards.
“Let’s go,” says Ronan, leading me to our chambers behind Quinn and Octavia.
“Ronan, don’t be mad at me, but I let my father go,” says Quinn.
“You didwhat?”
“I told the guards you ordered his release. It’s so chaotic right now, they believed me. I couldn’t leave him here to die.”
Ronan shakes his head in disbelief. “I don’t even have time to consider what that decision may have cost us. Fucking hell, Quinn.”
“He wanted you to have this.” Quinn reaches into her pocket and pulls out a slip of paper. “He said he was sorry.”
Ronan reads the letter as we make it into his chambers. Octavia leaves Quinn on one of his divans, and I leave the torch on the hearth, and then I lead her outside and introduce her to Kira.
“She’s very intelligent,” I say, scratching the feathers on Kira’s neck. “But she flies a little wild sometimes. Make sure you’re strapped in well.” Kira nips at my fingers at the insult, but I’m right. She does her best, but she hasn’t gotten used to having passengers yet.
“Can she see well in darkness?”
“No. Try to let her have some light if you can. Where you’re taking her is where we found her. There may be others there like her. Be careful—I don’t know if they’ll be as friendly as she is.”
Octavia holds me by my shoulders. “Are you going to be alright? You could take her yourself, if you want. I’m sure it would make him happier to know you’re safe.” She tilts her head towards where Ronan and Quinn are talking in the living room.
“I’ll be fine. My place is with Ronan. Fly straight up and get above the clouds before you head for the cliffs. There’s a canyon there just as the road turns east. That’s where we’ll meet you.”
Octavia pulls me into a hug. “Be safe.” Then she returns to the living room and retrieves Quinn.
“I could get used to this,” mutters Quinn over her shoulder.
Ronan joins me as we watch them depart from the balcony. There are fires raging in the harbor and the city, but Kira flies out of reach of anything that could hurt her in seconds.
“They’ll make it,” says Ronan. “We’ve got a harder journey ahead of us. We need to get packed—I don’t know how long the palace gates will hold.”
“What did Cyrus’s letter say?”
He hands it to me and leads me into the bedchambers to start packing.
Your Majesty,
