As he wiped his lips and recorked the vial, he said, ‘The raphon that broke out of its cage in the catacombs three nights ago, that managed to break through an iron portcullisanda sealed back door into the Eagle’s Nest … it was the final pup from that litter. The last survivor, and only a fledgling, six months old.’ She remembered the scar on its beak, a jagged white streak to break apart the darkness. ‘It was due to be put down days ago, for my father’s belief is that the research on them, the risk, outweighs the minimal chance of reward.’ He released another small cough, then smiled as he recovered. ‘And yet … thereisa chance for reward. I’ve fought for years to maintain control over the Black Wing Battalion: a code word for our studies, for we don’t need the kingdomcatching wind of it.’
The realm would be in uproar.
They’d done a fine job of keeping the secret thus far.
‘Despite the pup’s size now … it will grow quickly. Enough time to be fully grown, by the time Realmbreak comes around. And by then, we hope to have it tamed.’
‘You can’t be serious,’ Ezer said.
It was well known that the raphons were wild beasts, as fearsome as dragons in her children’s stories. They were cold-blooded killers who hungered for human flesh. Some even believed that like the ravens they called omens, the raphons had been a rejected creation of the gods, long ago.
Which was why the Acolyte probably found them the perfectmounts for his darksoul warriors. Raphons feared nothing. Not even the war eagles that were double their size.
‘This is a feat previously thought impossible,’ Kinlear said. ‘Myself and several other Eagleminders have all applied our best efforts. Our strongest Scribes have applied their greatest runic combinations to try and tame the pup.’ He sighed. ‘Alas, the raphon’s trust has been quite hard to gain. Everyone that’s tried has failed, and I am no fool. I’m willing to admit when I’ve met my match, to bow out when it will most certainly end in defeat. And Iwasdefeated.’ His grey eyes met hers. ‘Until I metyou.’
She wanted to shake her head.No.
Instead, she just sat there frozen, staring at him as he stared at her, his lithe body outlined by a halo of flames from the nearby fire.
‘What happened the other day wasn’t part of the plan. I apologize for the trauma you have been put through in the north thus far. It isn’t how we want to treat our recruits.’
She wasn’t sure he was being sincere, but she listened as he continued.
‘I believe the gods knew otherwise and disagreed with my father’s hope to shut down the Black Wing Battalion. They are the only beasts that can fly to and from the Sawteeth, untouched by the shadowstorm. They hold an immunity to it, and by proxy, so do the riders upon their backs. I believe, along with a majority of the War Table … that the raphon pup is our answer.’
‘The answer to what?’ Ezer asked.
Kinlear was deadly still. ‘To assassinating the Acolyte.’
‘You’re mad,’ Ezer said, shaking her head. ‘You can’t ride a raphon! Certainly notthatraphon.’
‘Why not?’
She blinked at him. ‘Because …’ Gods, she couldn’t believe she was arguing with the prince of Lordach, and about a raphon, no less. ‘Because it’s not eventrained,for starters. Has it ever even seen the sky?’
‘No,’ said the prince. ‘But that isn’t my problem. It’s yours.’
A spike of cold went through her. ‘I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Your Highness.’
‘Raphons don’t hesitate,’ he said. ‘But in the woods, when it was faced with you, the perfect victim, small and scarred and alone … it hesitated.’
She could still remember the feel of that moment. The racing of her heart, the wind telling her not to run, but tostay. The feeling of the raphon’s warm beak on her hand, its breath hot as it swam across her skin.
And a vision that brought sadness.
A single black feather, floating alone in an endless, dark sea.
‘Now, I’ll be quite clear,’ Kinlear continued. ‘Some furious deliberation has gone on in the days you’ve been at rest. A runed rest, I might add, for it was necessary to keep you subdued in case it was decided that you are to be treated as a threat. The jury is still out on that one, as there is no birth record in Touvre for anEzerthat matches anyone near your age.’
Of course they’d looked into her.
Ofcoursethey would see her as dangerous, because she was different.
She certainly hadn’t chosen that fate.
And by no means was she athreatto Lordach.
‘It’s probably because my parents never had a chance to report my birth or take me to the census themselves,’ Ezer said. ‘When I was old enough, I showed up every year for it. I dropped my name in the box, the same as all the others, so you could call upon us. The weak and magicless ones, when you needed more to use as cannon fodder in your war.’
