He took the insult with ease, the same way she would have.
‘And why would your parents have skipped out on such a joyous occasion?’ the prince asked. ‘They would have been compensated finely for ensuring the kingdom knew your year of birth and your name.’
Every citizen that reported their newborn children was given rations.
A sack of coins for each child, if only because when they reported them, their names all went down in the kingdom’s registrar. And when they turned eighteen … they could be called upon for the war.
‘They didn’t report me,’ she said, curling a fist around her mother’s ring, ‘because shadow wolves razed our town a few days after I was born. I was the only one left. My uncle found me, raised me as his own. And when your father called him away, when herippedhim from my grasp, the prison master of Rendegard forced me to fill his position as Ravenminder. Without pay.’
He paused, and for the first time, his eyes slid to her scars.
‘I am truly sorry for your loss,’ he said. And it sounded like he meant it. ‘Your part in this war is vital, Ezer, and if you lean into it … it may well give you the chance for vengeance.’
‘I … didn’t say anything about vengeance,’ Ezer said.
It was a word she hadn’t heard in the mouth of a Sacred before.
He only smiled knowingly. ‘You didn’t have to. I can see it in your eyes. It’s the same look every survivor has.Youwere a victim.Youwere the weak one. And now you have a chance not to be seen as such anymore.’
His eyes went to his cane and narrowed.
She had the feeling he wasn’t just speaking about her.
He cleared his throat. ‘The War Table took a vote. And it was voted that we give you a chance to mind the raphon pup. To train it, teach it how to behave as any good mount should. Teach it to trust you. So that, in two months’ time … we can assign it a rider. And take the beast to the skies. That rider will journey across to the Sawteeth on Realmbreak, using the sunlight of the Long Day to go behind the shadowstorm unbothered by darksouls … and assassinate the Acolyte. Before it’s too late.’
She couldn’t hide the fury on her face.
‘I trainravens!’she yelped. ‘Ravens to fly from one tower to another. Notraphons! Pick an Eagleminder! Pick …’ A furious blonde woman appeared like a haze in her mind. ‘Pick Zey.She clearly wants to prove her worth. She might be the perfect fit for the pup’s wrath.’
But Kinlear only shook his head. ‘They have all tried.The Citadel’s best, the Citadel’s brightest, every Eagleminder and Bearminder we have in our ranks. And all have failed to get close to the beast. But you …’ His eyes were practically glowing. ‘Youare different.’
She just stared at him, frozen in horror.
‘I’ll die,’ she said.
‘Death is coming for us all eventually, and sooner than later in times of war. You’re the only one who’s made it close enough to touch the pup. To live to tell the tale. It may learn to trust you yet.’
Slowly, he grabbed his ivory cane and pushed back his chair. When he stood, for a moment she swore she saw him wince. His fingertips shook as they gripped the eagle handle.
‘You will feed it. Clean up after it.Mindit, as if it were your own. And each day you survive, you will be compensated handsomely. Upon completion of the job, you’ll be granted a full pardon from your service, free to carry on about your life as you please. No more summons. No more war.’
‘And if I die?’ she asked as he turned to go.
He shrugged. ‘I suggest you work on your relationship with the Five. Would be a shame, Raphonminder, if you missed out on the Ehver. You begin tonight. I’ll send for you.’
And with that, he turned and left her behind, alone in the library with her stomach in knots.
No one could save her now. Not the wind, not the ravens …
Perhapsthiswas how she would truly die.
PART II
THE RAPHONMINDER
13
The day crawled by much to her anxiety’s delight.
