Page 82 of Rot In Knotty Pieces

Kestrel snorts and sits down. Jay moves to his throne.

“You looked beautiful today, Dove.”

I smile at him. “It was a spell to attract love.”

“I think it worked,” he says.

Merle sits on her throne and leans on the side of it, staring straight ahead as if she is lost in thought.

“You said Nightingales,” Kestrel says to Raven with an acid tone. “I know that word.”

“It’s a common word,” Raven says sarcastically.

Kestrel glares at her. “What were you doing?”

Raven draws herself up, wings flaring out behind her. “Protecting us, like I always do. We aren’t ready for that information yet, so leave it alone.”

“No, if you know something, we should all know.”

Raven growls, and the sound makes the room tremble. “You risk our lives and that girl’s asking questions. Forget you saw her.”

Kestrel’s mouth falls open. She closes it. Opens it. Closes it, and finally looks away. Raven has won.

No one will ask.

“Do you think the pack will keep us?” I whisper. “Are they telling the truth?”

Raptor, who has been unusually silent, looks up and smiles. “Yes, I don’t think we’ll be getting rid of them now. They are ours forever.”

Raven stands up. “Or until Father finds us.”

The happiness I feel is doused in ice water. Tears well in my eyes, and I start to cry.

“He’s going to be so mad at us.”

“Yeah, he is. I hope he gets really, really mad now,” Raven whispers.

The fear I always feel when I think about him returns, and I curl into a ball and start sobbing, harder and louder.

“It’s all right, Dove. We’re here. Nothing is going to get you,” the voice whispers into our mind, curling around and around us.

I look up, startled. “What is that?”

“That is Roseland,” Raven whispers, awe all over her face.

“Why can we hear Roseland in our inner sanctum?” Kestrel whispers.

“Because he is ours,” Raven says. “Because he’s safe. Because we must completely trust him.” She spins in a circle and laughs.

“Dove?” Pix calls. “You can come back now or sleep. It’s okay.”

I stand up, turning around, trying to find him.

“We’re here,” Blaze murmurs. “Don’t cry.”

“Oh, my god,” Raven says and moves to the center of the room. Raptor is sitting still, her eyes closed, tears sliding down her face.

“You are safe,” King says.