At the top of the spiral, as promised, was a wire path. It was tucked into a bower of roses and flowering vines with cushioned chairs, ideal for curling up with books, with a view of the forest canopy and the glorious blue sky. Ven stopped, and Arin saw he was looking at Naelin, not at the view. The queen faced north.
“We’ll bring them home,” Ven promised.
“I can’t help feeling, despite Ambassador Hanna’s reassurances, that it’s still a trap.”
“Of course it’s a trap.” Ven shrugged. “We’ll still bring them home.” He turned to Arin and held out a harness. To her surprise, he was smiling—it was the kind of smile that Daleina used to give her, right before dumping a bucket of cold water on her head because Mama said to give her a bath. “Have you ever ridden the wire paths?” he asked her.
“No.” She took the harness and puzzled at the clips.
He helped her attach it. “Listen to my commands so you don’t crash into a tree.”
Her heart was thumping fast. She’d been wanting to try this ever since Daleina had first told her about riding the wire paths, but now that she was here, her stomach was flopping back and forth like a fish on a riverbank. “What if I get sick?”
“Aim downwind” was his advice.
“Very helpful,” she grumbled as she stepped up onto a bench. “How do I—”
He gave her a push.
Arin shrieked as she plummeted off the top of the tree, then an instant later, the harness caught her and she was sailing through the canopy, skimming over leaves and between branches, and her shriek turned into a laugh.
This is amazing!
They switched wire paths twice on their way out of Mittriel and didn’t stop until they’d reached the village of Threefork, Arin’s home. It was near sundown. Birds called to one another as they settled into their nests for the night, and the branches rustled with squirrels and chipmunks hurrying home.
Looking down at Threefork, Arin felt a little like one of the chipmunks.
Like nearly all the other villages in Aratay, Threefork was nestled in the arms of trees so massive you couldn’t see them in one glance. Shops and businesses were clustered on platforms around the fattest tree, with bridges connecting all the houses that either budded from or were built onto the various branches. Firemoss lanterns were strung everywhere to light the village at night, and colorful scarves were strung along the bridges to brighten the village during the day. It wasn’t unique or special.But it’s home, Arin thought.
After they’d unhooked from the wires and climbed the ladder down to midforest, Arin led the way. Ven was a step behind her, alert as if they walked through a pack of wolves, and Queen Naelin walked beside him, her hood drawn up around her face.
“Put your hood back, Your Majesty,” Arin whispered. “If you look like you’re hiding, you’ll make people even more curious.”
Queen Naelin obeyed but didn’t speak.
Smiling and waving at her old neighbors, Arin greeted people as they passed. Leaning out their windows, many waved back. Others hurried to join her on the platforms. Everyone seemed to have a question for her: What was the palace like? How was dear Daleina doing as queen? How wondrous that Ingara and Eaden’s girl should be queen! Had Arin met the second queen? What’s she like? Did Arin have fancy dresses now? Had she been to any banquets? Were there festivals every night? Did she see fighting during the invasion? Did she kill any spirits? Had she seen anyone die? Had it been as bad as people said? What were the queens going to do about the harvest? The winter stores weren’t what they should be...
Arin answered everything as best she could, except the death questions, as her friends clustered around her. She introduced Champion Ven, whom they were all in awe of, and she introduced Queen Naelin as “Caretaker Neena,” a name they all immediately accepted. No one in Threefork knew what the second queen looked like, though many of them had an opinion about her. Most popular was: “I heard she went stark raving mad when spirits killed her kids, and she tried to destroy the whole country!”
“It wasn’t exactly like that,” Arin told them.
“Then whatwasit like?” It was Eira, Josei’s sister and Arin’s friend. Squealing, Arin hugged her friend, and Eira squeezed her back. Eira beamed at her, dimples deepening in both her cheeks. She then looped her arm through Arin’s as they walked. “You must tell me everything. You’ve been in the palace so long! Everyone thought you weren’t coming back.”
“Of course I was coming back! I only went to make sure Daleina was all right.”That’s true, Arin thought. Everything else... Well, it had just sort of happened. She hadn’t planned any of it.Except I chose to learn potions. And I chose this trip.
Eira yipped like an excited puppy. “So you’re back to stay? I knew it! Oh, Arin, I have the best news to tell you! But your parents should be the ones to tell you. They arranged everything. They’re going to be so excited to see you! I think they were afraid you were never coming home again.”
Arin winced. She avoided looking at either Naelin or Ven. She hoped they wouldn’t be the ones to break the news that she wasn’t here to stay.
But Eira didn’t seem to notice Arin’s discomfort. Forging ahead and dragging Arin with her, Eira parted the crowd. “Let the girl through! She’s been traveling! You can gossip later.”
Arin thought it was funny that Eira, who was younger and shorter, was able to part the crowd, whereas the Queen’s Champion and an actual queen had been stuck in the swarm of curious townspeople, but it did work. Everyone scooted back, and Arin, Ven, and Naelin were able to cross the platform that was the town square and onto the bridge that led to Arin’s house.
Home!
She’d been so busy with Master Garnah that she’d barely paused to picture it, and now home was right in front of her, nestled in the tree branches. It was a green cottage with orange-brown tiles, draped in flowers and stuffed with charms. Exactly like it had been when she left it.
Ven nudged her forward. “Enjoy your homecoming,” he murmured in her ear. “You earned this.”
