I will tell you everything tomorrow.
Stop deflecting!
I said tomorrow!His voice cracks like thunder against my temples, effectively snipping my next plea before it’s even fully formed.
I pout at his pigheadedness—or rather,crowheadedness—and cross my arms.
He sighs, his invisible breath blustering against my thrumming mind.I’m sorry for snapping at you, Little Bird, but I’ve barely slept since you were taken from me.His shadows fan over my cheeks, gliding over them like fingers.
The wind rushes around us, knifing the pale rocks of Lore’s castle and slapping the stream that’s fat with rain. Brisk gusts shear the mist, turning it into ribbons of white that wrap around us as though Lorcan had flown me into the clouds he commands.
How long will his storm last, I wonder. Until Dante dies?
I should’ve preserved that bargain you owed me and forced the location off your tongue, I grumble as his cool smoke thumbs across my lips as though to ease their crush.What will you do with Justus?
His vaporous head turns. He must ask Justus what his plans are because the general says, “I’ve sworn an oath to guard and aid Fallon to the best of my abilities, Mórrgaht. Until I’ve no more hands to wield a sword and no more head to voice her decrees, or until she decides to replace me, I stand as your ally in Luce.”
Do you trust him, Fallon?
With all my heart. And yes, I’m aware my heart hasn’t always been the best judge of character, but—
Your heart led you to trust an enigmatic bird with iron appendages and the ability to speak into minds.
Although physically impossible, it feels as thoughLorcan’s shadows breach my skin to swaddle my oft-misguided muscle that did, in fact, guide me to this man, albeit using a most convoluted route. But it’s the destination that counts, right? Or is it the journey?
I decide that in Lore’s and my case, it’s the destination.
Mórrígan, I’ve missed your musings.He presses a phantom kiss between my eyebrows before shifting into a single giant crow and unfurling his wings.
Even though the esplanade swarms with guards in both feathers and skin, it’s a testament to my judgement that he dares turn solid in front of the Faerie General.
“No, I’ve no vials of Meriam’s blood on my person,” I hear Justus say as I link my arms around Lorcan’s neck. “As for weapons, I carry only my iron sword.”
The sword I stole a life with . . .
The rubies on the hilt gleam as though fueled by Cato’s pure blood.Where did you put the Faerie guard I asked to bring home?
In one of the caverns beneath the castle. Lazarus will place an embalming crystal on his body until you’ve decided how to send him off into his next life.
I want to carry him to his family, but his family resides in Tarecuori, and Tarecuori doesn’t belong to the Crows yet.Did you invite Justus into the Sky Kingdom?
We’ve a realm to unite, haven’t we?
Imogen circles my grandfather, talon-tipped fingers skimming the salt-crusted velour of his jacket before snaring the leather strand and pulling it out from beneath his shirt. When she notices the broken vial, she releases the necklace, allowing it to settle back against the puckered line of his serpent-healed scar. She does pinch his steel sword, though.
Your friends, as well as Lazarus and Gabriele, aren’t immune to iron.
Forty-Three
Gabriele is still—I’m about to sayalivebut switch it out for—here?
He’s proven himself a worthy ally. You were right to trust him.
My heart rises in time with Lore’s great body.Dante tried to make me believe he’d planted him in the Sky Kingdom to harm you.
What that louse wouldn’t say to save face.
I swallow, hating my gullibility.Will you keep Justus in a cell?
