But just before she passed him, Kinlear began to cough.
It sounded like it came from deep inside his lungs. He reached for a handkerchief inside his cloak, pressing it to his lips.
When he was done, he waved her forward.
‘Apologies. I contracted a bit of a cold in my preparations for my mother’s arrival. Lack of sleep. Little water, and far too much winterwine … you’ve no clue how large the Citadel’s collection is. Just wait until Absolution. You slept your way through the last one.’
She stared at him for a moment, noticing how pale he was. How truly tired he looked.
She wondered, for the first time, what it would be like to be royalty. Even if he wasn’t the Crown Prince, he still had a responsibility to his kingdom. His people.
‘Let’s go, Raphonminder,’ Kinlear said. ‘The clock is ticking, and there’s a war to be won.’
Just before she entered the darkness, she paused and looked back.
She could have sworn, as Kinlear quickly tucked the handkerchief back into his cloak … there was a smear of red upon it.
Six was waiting for her when they arrived, pacing the cell as if she was already frustrated that Ezer was late.
It smelled like fresh pine now, instead of raphon waste, and Ezer grinned as Kinlear seemed to take notice.
‘A change,’ he said, ‘in the right direction. Though not big enough.’
Ezer reached for the leather halter she’d left hanging on a hook outside the cage door and paused. ‘What the hell is that?!’
There was a leather saddle on a rack outside the cage.
Ezer stared at it like a nasty little spider, unwelcome in a space that was supposed to be safe.
‘She won’t let me put that on her. There is no way. The halter was bad enough.’
He shrugged and pulled up his usual stool. ‘Then I suppose we’ll discover what that punishment is, after all.’ His smile was wicked.
She sighed. ‘Fine. Butyouwill remainoutsidethe cage.’
‘And you,’ he said, as he approached the door and unlocked it with his key, ‘do not give me orders. Are you aware how many war eagles I’ve minded? How many I’ve saddled and sent to the skies?’
She shrugged. ‘Quite frankly, Your Highness, I don’t give a damn.’
She slipped inside the cage, slamming the door shut behind her before he could follow her in.
Six’s tail flicked once as she approached.
‘Good morning,’ Ezer said. ‘You’re looking positively chipper today. And just in time. We’ve an audience. Andorders.’ She looked back over her shoulder at the saddle, then turned back to Six, and whispered, ‘Please.Can we make this quick and easy today, Six?’
Six’s tail flicked twice.
Ezer wasn’t at all surprised, but she approached the raphon slowly anyway, reaching out to place her hand on her neck. No visions, for it seemed Six was content to remain silent.
But the raphon’s dark eyes were on Kinlear.
They narrowed. And she flicked her tail twice again.
‘I know,’ Ezer said as she pulled away. She began securing the halter around Six’s long, curved beak, taking care around her scar, then up around the back of her neck. ‘But he’s here, whether we like it or not.’
‘You know I canhearyou, right?’ Kinlear asked from outside the cage.
Ezer ignored him.
