I feel like he’s just slammed me into a brick wall. I feel furious. I feel naked.
When Fox speaks again, his tone is gentle. ‘Look, you’re a Rain Singer. You were a Rain Singer when you could only conjure drizzle, and you were a Rain Singer when you almost flooded that amphitheatre during the third trial. It’s who you are, deep down to your core. And yes, you’re right – the Lagoon is your future. But surely,surely, your subconscious would have a stronger connection to your past. To your roots, your origins, your people.’
‘But the Rain Singers aredead!’ My voice echoes through the ravine. ‘They’re gone. This place is a graveyard. There’s nothing left for me here.’
‘You’re wrong.’
I hesitate, certain I’ve misheard him. ‘What?’
Fox stops rowing and draws the oars into the boat. ‘For months I’ve been using Sifa’s Eye to scour for evidence,’ he says quietly. ‘Signs of life. But there was no way of telling whether the visions I saw were recent or whether I was glimpsing moments that took place a century ago. That’s why Scout was so late in joining us. She was here – in Brava.’
I can’t tell whether I’m shaking or shivering. ‘And what, may I ask, did you use your Magi gift ofanimal telepathyto instruct her to do?’
He shrugs, as if the answer is obvious. ‘To find the Singers.’
My heart seems to screech to a halt. ‘What’re you talking about?’
Fox’s gaze locks on mine. ‘Blaze,’ he says softly. ‘The Rain Singers … they’realive.’
44
Blaze
For a long time I find myself unable to speak.
Fox tells me that the Rain Singers didn’tdie outall those years ago. Etherian soldiers were sent to slaughter them – a massacre orchestrated by none other than Caius Castellion. His grandfather kept it quiet, of course, just as he disguised the true purpose behind the War of the Empires, and spread rumours about the Singers’ extinction.
‘He even ordered all books detailing their lives to be burned,’ Fox says.
‘I used to wonder whether it was an attempt to erase them from history,’ I murmur. ‘So that all memory of them would eventually die, too.’
‘Except while many of the Singers were killed in the attack, many survived. For decades they’ve existed in secret – depleted yet undefeated.’
‘And Scout … she’s really seen them?’ I ask hoarsely.
‘It’s a lot to take in, I know.’ Fox scratches the spot between Scout’s pointed little ears, and she licks his knee.
I exhale shakily. ‘Any more bombshells you want to drop? Can you readmymind as well as your pet fox’s? Do Flint and I have some secret Magi triplet we don’t know about?’
Fox snorts. ‘What can I say? I like to keep things interesting.’ He nudges the satchel towards me with his foot. ‘Have some food.’
I shake my head as I grip the sides of the boat in an attempt to hold it steady, increasingly aware of the churning in my stomach.
Fox lets out a bark of laughter. ‘Don’t tell me the Queen of theWaterlands suffers from seasickness.’
‘I’ve never been on a boat before,’ I grit out, glowering at him. ‘I’m … adjusting.’
‘Well, as you can see, travelling on horseback wasn’t an option.’
I manage a tiny sip from the waterskin. ‘What did you do with Cedar?’
‘I sold him,’ says Fox.
‘Youwhat?’
‘I sold him,’ he repeats. ‘How else d’you think I managed to pay for this boat?’ He holds my horrified gaze, then lets his face dissolve into an amused smile. ‘Don’t fret. Cedar bolted the moment we were out of sight. He knows where to find me again.’
The corners of my mouth twitch. ‘I imagine his new owners weren’t very happy.’
