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She seemed to consider this—or maybe she was considering killing me on the spot. I couldn’t tell. “Curious, though …” She tilted her head as she spoke. “How did a Zavien and a Kovak become traveling companions?”
I froze, spiders crawling under my skin. How did she know I was a Zavien? I hadn’t even told Jeddak.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, trying not to sound as terrified as I was. “So, if you’re going to kill me and eat me, get it over with. I have nothing to tell you.” I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of playing with her food before she ate it.
For a moment, her eyes bored into me. Then she chuckled. Behind her, the other Bramblemen started laughing too.
“Sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “That cannibal rumor gets me every time.”
I stiffened, feeling like this was some sort of cruel joke that I wasn’t party to.
When they finally stopped laughing, she pulled something out of the folds of her robes. It was our map. She studied the red line that Jeddak had drawn through the maze, which had clearly avoided the Bramblemen’s city—and any treasure held within. She set the map down, locking eyes on me again. “I may not have the truth-discerning abilities of the Wolves, but I have a feeling you’re telling the truth about why you’re in the bramblelands. Therefore, I have decided to trust you. For now. So let us start over. I am Queen B’kara, leader of the Bramble tribe. You are in the city of Nekhanan, our home.”
“What did you do to Jeddak? Where is he?” I asked again, not bothering to reciprocate the pleasantries.
“He’s safe. Still in the caves because he was making the guards nervous. Kovaks can be quite intimidating.” She paused like she was waiting for me to concur.
I didn’t say anything.
“When we learned that you were poisoned, my guards brought you here so I could give youthis,” she continued, picking up the empty goblet from the table. “It’s the nectar of the bramble flower. Magic gives us our connection to the bramble, but it’s the nectar that makes us immune to its poison. You wouldn’t have lasted through the night without it.”
So,thatwas the taste that was lingering on my tongue. I exhaled slowly. If the Bramblemen wanted us dead, they wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of saving my life. Unless … unless they had more sinister plans for us.
“What do you want with us?” I asked, still eyeing her warily. She might have decided to trust me, but I wasn’t willing to extend the same courtesy to her. Not when she was still holding us prisoner.
“We don’t like trespassers,” she said. “There are many rumors about our tribe that have spread across Eastlandra over the centuries. One is that we grew the bramble forest around Nekhanan to protect our hoard of treasure—or our city of gold, depending on which story you hear. Because of that rumor, those who trespass into our lands come to steal from us, eager to kill any of my fellow tribesmen who stand in their way. We’ve lost many lives to greedy trespassers, and because of this, we’ve become extremely protective of our borders. We don’t take any chances.” She was silent for a moment, allowing me to absorb what she was saying before continuing. “The truth is, there is no treasure. At least, not one of gold or silver.Nekhananmeans ‘city of nectar’ in the old tongue, not ‘city of gold’ like some think. Our treasure is the bramble itself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everything about the bramble is a blessing for us,” the queen said, leaning forward like she was sharing a secret. “Outsiders see our lands as deadly and inhospitable, but we havefound a way to thrive here. The bramble provides us with fruit to eat, shelter to build our homes, protection from the outside world, and …” a note of unease entered her voice “from the growing threat rising in the south.”
“What about the … um … cannibal thing?”
Her lips twitched into a smile. “Honestly, I’m not sure how that one started. Especially since we don’t eat the flesh of any animals here.”
I studied her. Behind her smile, her face was unreadable. I didn’t trust her, but maybe if I gleaned more information from her, I could figure out a way for me, Jeddak, and Kah to get out of this place alive.
By now, the light in the room had faded to a golden glow as the sun dipped toward the distant horizon, worlds away from these brutal and poisonous lands.
The queen seemed lost in thought for a moment, her smile slipping. “You mentioned the Rathalans blocking the mountain passageway. What do you know of them?”
The change in topic surprised me. I didn’t want to tell her they were tracking us because her next question would be,why? So instead, I said, “I was enslaved in the mineral mines of Malengard.”
A spark of fear flashed across her silver eyes. “You’ve seen inside the black walls?”
I nodded solemnly. “They’re building an army. With malarite weapons.”
“So, it has begun.” The queen stared past my shoulder like she could see the destruction of such an army coming into focus. Rumors of the returning strength of the Rathalans must have traveled to every corner of Eastlandra if the Bramblemen had heard of it. “For centuries, our tribe has relied on the bramble for protection. But I fear the time is drawing near when no one in Eastlandra will be safe from the Rathalans.” She sighed, herattention falling back on me. “Your people might be the only ones to survive the coming war. Count yourself lucky that the Rathalans likely don’t even know the Zavien tribe exists. Few people do.”
My heart thumped in warning again. “Why do you think I’m a Zavien?” I asked cautiously.
“I saw the mark of your tribe on your arm,” she said, like it was obvious.
My eyes went wide. She knew what my feather tattoo meant.
She must have read the shock on my face. “Wait, you didn’t know that, did you?”
I went still, trying to scramble for a lie when a deep sense of longing squeezed my insides. The queen knew about my tribe. Perhaps if I admitted the truth about myself, she would have information that would help me find my home and my family. I had to risk it.
