She stiffens just a touch. That’s exactly what she did. Because she’s kind. Because she’s merciful.
“It worked much faster than expected,” she says. “I don’t have the experience with cures the way I do with toxins.”
She sighs as if my issue is with her craftsmanship, not her altering the plan. Or the fact that her mercy almost cost us our lives.
“You weren’t honest about it,” I say.
She stares into my eyes under the bright monsoon moon. “Mikail, let’s not pretend like you’re honest. You’re hiding something. More than one thing, I’d wager.”
I try to keep my mind blank, remembering the read she has on me, but my thoughts immediately turn to Daysum. To what I’m not telling her.
“Mm-hmm,” she hums. Then she looks out the side of the sled, and there’s nothing more I can say.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Aeri
The Light Mountains, Khitan
I give up. Taking the egg isn’t worth losing Royo. I’ll leave it here and hope that Sora and the others have better luck with their mission.
Or maybe they won’t because the amarth said it was a fool’s errand. But it doesn’t matter. Nothing is worth this price. If they fail, too, we’ll find another way.
I’ve nearly placed the egg on the ground when there’s a cry and something flies in at full speed. Dia. She’s shrieking like she did at the Gray Shore Inn, and she’s aimed directly for the amarth. Fear makes my heart leap. I know she’s just an owl I happened to find, but I love her. I don’t want her to risk herself for me when she’s so outmatched. But she’s like Royo, ready to battle monsters to protect me. And I don’t want them to sacrifice their lives. Not for me, not for anything.
“No,” I say.
Dia, of course, doesn’t understand me. Instead, she continues to fly until she pecks at the neck of the amarth. I expect him to kill her, but the creature doesn’t attack. He doesn’t react much at all aside from looking quizzically at the little owl.
Dia flies up and swoops down at his head before stopping, nearly frozen in front of his face. I don’t know what the creature is doing, but with one small bite, she will be dead. He has a long, sharp beak that would make quick work of a winter horse. A moon owl doesn’t stand a chance.
“Please don’t hurt her,” I say. I don’t know if amarth have human mercy, but I hope they do.
“I am calming her,” he says. “Why does she protect you?”
“I’m not sure. I found her abandoned in Quu and gave her some food. She’s followed me since.”
Dia flies over to my side and hovers in the air. The creature’s eyes go from her to me and back again. He blinks and nods as if he understands something.
“Go now,” the amarth says. “Before the other sentinels come.”
I think he means that I can leavewiththe egg, but I’m not sure. My mouth is dry, and I don’t want to ask because I don’t want him to second-guess his decision. But also, I don’t want him to kill me.
“Selfless kindness to ours doesn’t go as unnoticed as it does to yours,” he says. “I will care for your owl. Flee now, princess. You have an unenviable choice of love ahead of you.”
He takes off into the air, his wings causing a blast of wind. Dia goes with him before I can even say goodbye to her.
I’m still looking up at the sky when Royo pulls my arm. Shaken, I remember it’s not time to bird-watch. He let us go, but we still need to escape.
We start running.
As soon as we get to the horses, I hide the egg in my saddlebag. I don’t know if these creatures will still be able to sense it or if they’ll be able to read our thoughts as we pass, so we gallop away from the mountains as fast as possible.
“That was…” Royo begins, but he doesn’t have words.
“I know,” I say.
We ride in the quiet of another surreal place and another incredible encounter. We’ve had a bunch since we met.
