With all those instincts clamoring inside me, it was incredibly difficult to leave Jolene behind. I couldn’t do it—not unless I was absolutely sure that she wouldn’t be found. I circled the clearing with the hollow beneath the tree at least three times, double-checking that we’d left no trail and that there was no scent to track. To make sure of that, I crushed some Darspine needles in my fist and smeared their fragrant sap on trunks and branches.
It was still hard to turn toward the village, but I couldn’t dawdle. The longer I stayed away, the colder my fragile human mate would get. I didn’t cross paths with any hunters as I took a circuitous route to the village gate, which I hoped meant none were out to check snares in that direction. Most of the town’s food would come from the stores we’d laid during the summer, but it was still supplemented with what fresh food could be found.
Rasho always liked checking snares with me or one of the other hunters, if they were willing to take him. I wondered if he’d be out right now, or at Rosh’s home with his siblings. If he’d sensed my unease—and that of his uncle—he would not have strayed far from Daois and Nisha. He’d feel protective.
At the gate, Rossh and Imvru were standing guard. The first was a decent scout I’d trained myself, sometimes impatient and often eager to follow orders without thinking. Unmated, he was beginning to get to that age where people wondered, but he wasn’t worried yet.
The other male was my age, with a mate and several young of his own. Unlike Kusha, his mate was neither ambitious nor much of a fighter. She sat solidly in the back and let everything unfold around her, rather than throw herself into the thick of things. No ambition, the other females would say, but she and Imvru worked well together. I’d once hoped that would mean their younglings would be friends with mine, but they always kept their distance.
Though they were on the lookout, and Rossh in particular was trained to spot even the smallest signs, neither male spotted me until I was nearly at the gate. Imvru’s face remained impassive, but Rossh hissed in surprise, startled, and showing it. “Khawla! You’re back,” Imvru said gruffly. His blue eyes skipped over my body and the lack of gear, then lingered on the spear I held in my fist. “Any news?”
I jabbed my chin toward the Pagode, which could be seen at the center of town. Beams and slanted roof covered by a blanket of snow, temporary walls dark spots above themuddy plaza. “Queen first,” I said, and both males ducked into quick bows, the horns on their chins respectfully dipping toward their throats. It was as much for me as it was for the mention of the Queen. The polite response eased some of my nerves, they would not react like that if the Queen had it out for me.
I was greeted left and right as I made my way through town to the Pagode. It reminded me why I wanted to stay here. This felt like family—this welcome. I wanted that for them: to feel like they were part of something bigger, to belong to a group that had your back and worked together for the well-being of all—united in survival.
If I turned down a corner, I’d reach Arosh’s home first. The temptation was strong to quickly peek, see how my young were doing. I couldn’t. If I did so, and word got out that I’d prioritized them over the Queen, she’d be furious. I could not risk angering her, not when everything was this unstable and she was so vehemently against humans—not when my younglings weren’t safe yet.
At the Pagode itself, two more males stood guard. Younger hunters I knew less well and hadn’t shared a campfire with before. Msera was one of them, and I recalled that he’d been part of the party that had chased Zathar and his human mate after they’d escaped town. He’d been a follower of Astrexa before the Naga female had lost all status. He was probably one of those males who agreed with the Queen’s new anti-human decrees. I made note of that, though I didn’t yet know what to do with the information.
Ducking through the door, I was slapped in the face by the dense smoke that filled the interior. It wasn’t just smoke from the coal-filled braziers scattered around the arched-roofed room—it smelled of herbs and made my head spin. Fabric draped the dark corners, bright with colors but stained with smoke. There was no cold here, no draft; just rich pillows and lazily sprawled coils of the new Queen’s court.
I picked my way across the room carefully, wishing to avoid an accidental touch. The last thing I wanted was to give some unmated female any ideas. I definitely didn’t want to lay scales on the Queen herself—she was a viper, like the last one. She sat on a carved wooden throne, draped in gold, some of it she had no right to. Her eyes glowed azure in the smoky gloom, sharp and deadly despite the haze that clung to everything. While my head spun from the smoke, she seemed unaffected.
Last time I was here, it wasn’t like this. I felt like one wrong move would see my head on the chopping block. How was this going to play out? Playing it safe, I dipped into a deep bow for her and waited until she acknowledged my presence before I rose. Scraping and bowing did not come easily to me; I was used to being in charge or alone. I was certain she could see that on my face, even though I tried to keep my expression neutral.
“Report,” she demanded, her tail lazily flicking through the air between us. The blue scales glittered, circled with gold bands and chain links. She would not be able to hide herself in the woods, decked out like that. All Queens liked their gold—stars, all females did—whether they had any status or not. I’d never seen a female this covered with the precious metal before. She’d taken from the hoards of every dead female, including Kusha, and she seemed to take pride in wearing it all at once.
“There are no ghosts, my Queen,” I said, and I briefly outlined the strange red-and-black sky creature I’d tracked through the woods. Though I did not say this outright, I knew they understood that I’d seen where it had entered the skyship. “They do not seem a threat at this moment; I only encountered a few, and they were no match for my weapons.”
Her expression grew tight, displeased. “Not a threat?” she said. “What about the humans? Did you find any of those?” I forced myself to keep breathing, shallowly, so I did not inhaletoo much of the smoke. Did she know about Jolene? No, impossible.
“I did not see any sign of humans,” I lied, and the words tasted bitter on my tongue. They were for a good cause—to keep Jolene and her people safe—but it still felt wrong to lie. “If there were any, there are none walking the ship now.” That was a truth, even if it still came perilously close to lying. They were there, but asleep, and Jolenehadwalked the skyship’s hallways not long ago.
“You will lead a contingent of hunters to the skyship and set it ablaze,” the Queen decreed. My stomach clenched painfully at the order. Set the whole wreck ablaze? I wasn’t sure how durable these stasis pods were, but I was certain a fire wouldn’t do them any good. This assignment would horrify Jolene, and I knew instantly that meant it couldn’t happen.
I’d been loyal to the last Queen, who, while not always fair, hadn’t been cruel. She’d agreed to a treaty with her son and the humans of Haven, preferring peace over bloodshed. I’d been loyal to Kusha, and through her, to Thunder Rock, because it meant it could remain my home. The only home I’d ever known, despite my mixed ancestry. That loyalty did not belong tothisQueen, though; I felt that strongly in that moment. No, it was to my young, and though our bond was fresh, it was to Jolene. Through my mate, that also meantherpeople.
Risking a mild objection, though I knew it would be pointless, I opened my mouth. “The skywreck is filled with boxes of the eternally slumbering. They are no threat, and they are innocent.” I had only to picture Jolene as she was made to climb into that open box by the red-and-black hunter. Vividly, I could imagine her asleep inside the coffin, unaware of anything around her. No fire—not for any of them. I couldn’t allow that, and the only way to stop it was to keep my silence.
The Queen definitely didn’t like my objections, and hissing rose from the reclining females around me. I stood my ground, because to show fear wasn’t any better than not bowing. The new Queen was young, no older than Sazzie, the expected successor, had been. While Sazzie, our princess, had lived a life of status fights and obvious, visible strength, this Queen was barely marked by any scars at all. Perhaps that was why she covered herself with gold, to hide her inadequacy.
Long blue hair sat coiled in braids atop her head and was adorned with gems, like it was a crown. Her eyes were made up with dark coal to make them more striking. All of her was about posturing, about appearance rather than substance. Yet, when she raised her clawed hand and swept it in front of her, she might as well have struck me. Not a queen of true power, like before, but one who wielded it firmly, with utter entitlement anyway. That was dangerous.
“Noted. You’ll gather a party first thing tomorrow morning and do as I ordered.” It was a dismissal, of my words, and of me. I dipped into a bow, heart pounding in my chest, and waited once again for long seconds, this time to make sure she could not take offense at my exit. I slipped away with a sense of victory in my veins. By tomorrow morning, I’d be long gone.
Msera glared at me as I passed him, muttering something sharp under his breath that he clearly did not dare say loud enough for my ears to catch. The temporary walls of the Pagode were thin; the guards would have heard everything I said. Including my suggestion not to burn the sleeping humans. I would be wise not to turn my back on him.
Hurrying across the raised wooden paths through town, which helped us avoid getting our scales mucked up in the snowmelt and mud, I had only one goal: I needed to hug my younglings tight and make sure they were okay. Nisha especially needed to have me back; I was the only one wholet her be herself. She was the youngest, but she’d been forced to grow up the fastest.
Arosha’s home was a bit larger than most, because at any given time, he had a handful of extra younglings to care for. His mate only visited him rarely, and that suited them both just fine. I did not expect to run into her as I ducked around the corner, but she was just exiting the house, her expression tight with displeasure. When she saw me, she visibly startled, a reaction I was used to. “Ah, good, you’re back. Nisha is going to need her father’s firm hand.”
Any elation I’d felt was swept away with those words, cold dread once again settling in the pit of my stomach. A firm hand? That meant something had happened to my baby girl. Fessi, Arosha’s mate, was already hurrying away, but she still called over her shoulder to drive a further wedge into my heart: “She’s never going to amount to anything if you don’t toughen her up now.”
My fingers felt ice cold as I grabbed the door and threw myself inside. Nictitating membranes slid over my eyes to help me adjust to the darkness inside. I did not have to search through the tangle of tails and younglings to find mine. Nisha’s voice pierced through the ruckus of playing children almost instantly. “Daddy!” Then I was catching one after the other and hugging all three of my treasures against my chest. For even Rasho—the oldest—to be that overt in his greeting, I knew something bad had happened.
I couldn’t make out anything at first, just three heads of black hair and various shades of muted dark blue that edged toward either purple or gray. Rasho was on the outside, and his shoulders blocked most of my view. When I raised my head, I met eyes with my brother, who was by the hearth, a wooden spoon in hand, though any stirring of the stew was forgotten. His expression was sad but resigned, and I knew exactly why when I gently pulled Nisha away from me to get a look.
My tiny daughter was covered in claw marks, some on her face, most across her chest and the front of her tail. They were extensive all along her arms too, defensive marks from her attempts to block her attackers. The cuts were still bleeding and oozing, as if nobody had made any attempt to care for them. To my practiced eye, it was clear it had happened at least an hour ago, though, so this was not for lack of opportunity. “Who?” I growled, and Nisha’s eyes grew huge, purple, just like mine. Then her mouth went firm, and I knew she wasn’t going to answer, just like the females of the Clan expected her to.
