I groaned, dragging my hands down my face. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I crossed my arms. “You’re not getting anything until you make some more lightning, you overgrown chicken.”
Another cooing noise reverberated in Res’s throat.
Caylus turned, withdrawing the box he’d tucked the chicken into. The moment the air caught the scent, Res snapped upright, flaring his wings to flip himself over in a show of agility that left me staring. Caylus tossed him a chicken slice, and he caught it, swallowing in one gulp.
“Sucker,” I muttered.
“More after you’re done,” Caylus told him.
Res straightened, and like a dam releasing a river, lightning erupted around his body, singeing the air in a crackle of sparks and jagged cracks. Caylus leapt back, but I grinned wildly as the yellow-white energy surrounded Res like a spiderweb. Then as quickly as it came, it vanished.
I expected Caylus to be afraid, but he was staring at the crow with a mix of bewilderment and utter fascination. Leave it to him to be curious about something that could fry him alive.
Res clicked his beak, cawing softly, and I turned back in time to see Caylus break from the trance he so often lost himself to. He tossed Res another chicken piece, and the crow gobbled it greedily.
Caylus went to toss Res a third piece, but I stepped between them. “Hold up! I said a spark, not a ball of lightning. You have to be able to control it.” Erupting into a flurry of searing energy hardly seemed conducive to crow riding.
Res huffed but did as I said. Or tried to. Every time he made to coalesce the lightning, it sputtered wildly. More than once, Caylus and I had to duck behind the island to avoid getting shocked. It took several more tries before Res managed to maintain the energy in a spark at the tip of his beak before releasing it in a snap of sizzling air. Caylus gave him the next chicken slice, and around we went. We worked on the spark of lightning several more times before doing a few wing exercises to help strengthen his muscles.
It would take a while for Res to truly master the basics of his powers, but we wouldn’t be able to try anything more advanced until we were away from Illucia.
That storm had been too close a call.
* * *
I helped Caylus clean the kitchen before returning to the castle. Apparently, everyone just thought the weather a freak storm, despite the sky being almost clear of clouds. With sunlight streaming down to illuminate the dark stone streets and deep green foliage, Sordell almost looked peaceful.
Even its buildings wore masks.
Despite the sunny day outside, the castle corridors still prickled with cold. A breeze brushed my skin. I looked up for the source, slowing as I approached Kiva and my chambers. Tension crept up my shoulders. Something was wrong. The door hung open at an awkward angle, and I glimpsed an overturned chair.
I shot forward, silently cursing myself for not carrying my bow and arrows.
The room was empty, and it was a mess. Chairs overturned, plants knocked askew, slices deep into the couches. One window had been broken, letting in the cool breeze.
“Kiva!” I moved deeper into the room, checking her room, then mine. Nothing. I sprinted back into the hallway and almost ran straight into a servant. “Have you seen my friend?” I demanded.
The girl stiffened. “She was escorted to see Her Majesty this afternoon.”
My heart stopped as I sprang past her, darting out into the hallway and down to the great hall. Razel wasn’t there. She wasn’t in her rooms either. By the time I reached the throne room, my throat was raw.
The two guards outside the doors didn’t stop me from bolting through. Razel stood on the dais, arguing in heated whispers with Ericen. Shearen stood at the foot of the dais, smirking. He had a growing bruise around his eye, and his left forearm had been bandaged. Beside him stood Auma, her face impassive as ever, head bowed. Bruises peeked out from the edges of her clothing and darkened her face.
My footsteps echoed like thunder in the high-ceilinged room, and all four sets of eyes snapped to me.
“Where’s Kiva?” I halted at the base of the dais, ignoring Shearen’s growing grin.
Ericen started to answer, but Razel cut across him, her eyes flashing. “This again, Thia dear? I thought we understood each other. Propriety would have you wait to be announced and to bow before addressing me.”
“What did you do to her?”
Razel raised a single golden eyebrow, expectant. Her lips pulled into a thin smile. She waited.
Who knew what she’d done to Kiva, what she was doing to her right now? I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction, but I had no choice. My nails dug into the palms of my clenched fists, and against every fiber of my being, I bowed.
Shearen snickered quietly. I drew a short breath and straightened, meeting the queen’s cold gaze.
“Kiva,” I repeated through clenched teeth.
