“Hmm,” I say, putting that away for later. I glance at the broken wreckage of the trap, then look back up at the scraver hiding among the branches.
“Where is Nakiis?” I say.
Igaa looks east and nods in that direction. “Five miles, perhaps.” Without another word, she launches off the branch. Her wings flare wide, then snap hard, catching the wind. “I can lead you.”
Five miles.I swear under my breath. “You might’ve left us the horse,” I call. Then I sheathe my sword and turn to Callyn. “Come on.”
Her eyes are wide. “Youwant me to help her?”
I shrug and start walking. “The queen sent us out to get information.” I glance over as she falls into step beside me. “Let’s go get it.”
The scraver leads us through the woods, away from the road, and I realize that the horse wouldn’t have been much help. The woods cut right into the mountainside, and the terrain is rough, thick with underbrush in some spots, fallen trees and rocks in others. I had mentally estimated that five miles would take us an hour and a half, but if it’s going to be like this the whole way, it’ll easily double that.
Callyn is panting beside me, and sweat has made a few tendrils of hair cling to her cheeks. “I’m glad I was wearing my training leathers when you found me.”
It’s the first thing she’s said in quite a while, and I can’t tell if she’s attempting to be friendly or if she’s simply uncomfortable with the silence between us. Before the horse spooked, she asked if I understood why she kept her magic a secret. I never got a chance to answer.
I don’t want to answer now.
But I have to say something, or my silence will be a different kind of response. “I suppose a gown would’ve made this quite challenging,” I agree.
“I’m surprised you’re willing to do this,” she says.
“Don’t worry. I’m second- guessing it with every step.”
That startles a soft laugh out of her. “You don’t second- guess anything.”
“I’m pleased to know I provide such an illusion of confidence, Callyn.”
She’s quiet for a little while after that, until I wonder if she took my sarcasm as simple fact.
But then she says, “I really didn’t mean for my magic to be a betrayal, Alek.” She pauses, and her voice goes soft. “It scares me, too. I didn’t know what to do with it.”
That makes me glance over. I’m not sure what to say. “Does anyone else know?” I finally say.
She shakes her head.
I think of the way her sister took on a sudden look of dismay when I dared to mention our outings together, and I realize that maybe Callyn hasn’t just kept this a secret fromme. She’s kept it a secret from everyone. Am I the only one whodoesknow?
That loosens something inside me for some reason. It makes it less of a betrayal. It makes her actions less calculating. Something born of fear and self- protection.
Do you understand why I couldn’t tell you?
All of a sudden, I do.
“Not even Nora?” I say, and my voice is a little quieter, a little less intense.
“No.” She takes a breath, then hesitates.
“Tell me,” I say.
“Every time I want to tell her, I think about how our parents died, and I don’t know how she’ll take it. It’s one thing to know the king has magic, or to see Tycho use it.” Her voice is so soft. She looks over at me. “It’s completely different to see it in her own sister. It’s the same reason I couldn’t tellyou.”
That tugs at my heart in a way that’s unfamiliar, and I don’t like it. “All that time we spent together,” I say. “You knew how much I hated magic, and you pretended—”
“I wasn’t pretending!” she cries, and it’s so loud and sudden in the dense forest that a flock of birds explodes out of the trees overhead.
Callyn is glaring at me. “I didn’t know I had it before.” She swipes damp hair off her cheeks. “It wasn’t until— until—”
