She turns back from the window, her eyes clear and focused. ‘Then we cause as much chaos and destruction as we can on the way down.’
‘How long do we have?’
‘A few hours to rest. We’ll have to rotate watch on Adarna. I think Sinigang’s got it in some kind of trance, but who knows how long that will last. I’m sure the bird attracted some attention. We don’t want to wait too long. Salvacion and Biba should leave now.’
I look to Biba, and she gives me a reassuring smile. ‘It’s all right, Mama.’
I hold her tight. ‘You are not the parent, Biba. I’m supposed to take care of you.’
‘When I lost you in the cave, I thought I was falling,’ she says, voice quavering.
‘Aunt Salvacion will be here for you. She’ll take you home now.’
‘You promise you’ll come back?’ she asks, light glinting in her eyes.
I can’t lie to her. My throat is stopped with tears. I kiss her fluttering eyelids and then Salvacion takes her. I go with them to the dock and watch them board, rowing one of the boats away through the aqueduct.
There are many empty chambers in the temple, and we have our pick. I find a hairbrush when I pull back the sheets and break down in tears. Finlyr appears in the doorway and knocks gently on the open door.
‘Can I come in?’
I nod silently, smoothing the sheets.
‘How are you holding up?’ he asks tentatively.
I say nothing but walk up to him and nuzzle his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me and strokes my hair.
‘What do you need from me right now? How can I help?’
‘Just stay with me,’ I say, crying straight into him.
He begins to sing, half-whispering:
‘Remember as you cry for me
One with the earth evermore
Your waves will always reach my shore
As the moon loves the sea.’
Part Four
What Now?
chapter sixty-one
finlyr
Every outlaw knows theelement of surprise is a blessed gift. Dirty tactics, but battle isn’t honourable; even the Seaguardians will tell you that. It’s about the only thing we do have on our side.
The dawn is breaking over the horizon as we leave the Winter Isle. I’ve never been great at goodbyes, preferring to slip away unnoticed.
So I focus on the feel of Adarna’s feathers under my hand as Hanan connects with it, laying her forehead on the bird’s as we mount. We fly swiftly, and as Adarna takes wing, my stomach drops out from under me. We hover above the Bastion, the patchwork towers and battlements, the keep. It looks so small, so insignificant. It’s a child’s toy from this height, and the bricks shake and dust whirls as the bird beats its great wings. Adarna’s claws could do serious damage to the stonework with the right landing. She wouldn’t see us coming. She carries her skirts, making her way across the flagstones. I’ve never laid eyes upon her, but I know it must be the queen from the bitter taste in my mouth. Based on the stories, I’d conjured up an idea of what she’d look like. My mother was never posted at the Bastion, but she saw her at a feast day once when she was patrolling the Umasan ports. Ethereal, she had said. I’m sure the queen bleeds like the rest of us.
She’s dressed in a midnight blue I’ve never seen captured in cloth. She dazzles in the sunlight, gems and gold attached to the dress. The bird descends into the courtyard, landing in the centre of thesun mosaic, its extraordinary wings whipping up dust. The dozens of Seaguardians circle the queen, shielding her as her hair and clothes dance in the wind.
‘You’ve brought my Adarna,’ the queen says, looking at the bird hungrily.
