They were empty of any beasts, though all of them were full of objects: barrels and old buckets, bags of grain and extra saddles that looked too worn to be of much use.
It was a glorified storage bay … save for the last cage.
The one with Kinlear Laroux standing before it.
It was the largest of them all, big enough to hold several war eagles inside, and she could see a dark shape in the corner of the cage behind him.
The raphon pup.
‘Ah!’ Kinlear turned as they arrived and limped across the dark stone floors to greet them, the rap of his cane echoing with each step. He coughed once before he stopped in front of her, grinning from ear to ear. ‘Our brave Raphonminder is here!’
Bastard,Ezer thought as she glared at him.
It felt wrong, being here. Like she was a prisoner walking to her death. And in this dark wing of the Aviary, there was not a single source of natural light.
She felt trapped.
Like a bird inside a cage.
‘Shall we begin?’ Kinlear asked.
Ezer wasn't sure why, but she glanced back at Arawn. He nodded curtly.
‘Good,’ Kinlear said. ‘Come along then. And Brother? You’re free to go. Work with the younglings until you prove yourself again.’
Arawn stiffened beside her.
If she wasn’t terrified, she’d have been more curious.
Her heart rate hastened as Kinlear reached for the cell gate. Her feet felt leaden as she approached.
The hinges screeched as he unlocked it and swung it open.
She expected the raphon to leap from the cage.
To tear out her throat.
But the raphon didn’t even move a muscle. She could barely see it, could barely decipher its legs from its head and wings, with how curled up it was in the corner of its cell.
But she’d always known the youngest creatures to be the most unpredictable.
Please help me,she thought to the wind.I don’t want to die like this.
Kinlear stared at her expectantly as she stood at the threshold. Like he was just waiting for her to dive in. She glanced back to find Arawn had stayed. He was still there, a steady presence in the background, and suddenly she felt no ire for him.
The sight of his calm face was a relief.
‘We’ll use the Long Day to our advantage, send the raphon across while the darksouls are incapable of coming out beneath the sunlight. Seeing as this is less than two months away, and we’re pressed for time …’ Kinlear shrugged as he looked inside the cage. ‘It’s best to just jump right in.’
She felt his hand on the small of her back.
And before she could stop him, he shoved her inside the cage.
She was frozen.
Utterly frozen in shock, in rage, for here she was, her back pressed against the cold bars, while the twin princes stood safe and sound on the other side.
‘Youbastard,’she hissed, as she whirled to face Kinlear.
