Page 56

“Stop.” Torran ran his hand through his hair and closed his eyes. “We’ll all stay…”

“No.” Kit’s expression changed instantly, and he glared at Aster. “There are rogue birds all over this side of the mountains, being Yule and all… but you knew that, didn’t you?”

I glanced up to see humour crinkle the sides of Aster’s eyes.

“That’s why you brought me here?” I asked, knowing the answer already.

“Stop threatening her with your birdcage. You’d be attacked before you landed on your platform with it. And she’d be hurt… again.” Aster walked around Kit and picked up his knife, and then thumped his fist into Kit’s arm.

Kit rubbed his arm. “Fuck, that hurt.”

“You need to train.”

“I train with fire. We all do, so…” He shrugged.

Had they always been this way? Aster had hated the Riders after the kingdom fell. He had raged about getting revenge, but I had never known anyone from the rebellion to have targeted them. We heard the rumours of the Ruckus being friendly with some Riders, but what had happened in the last three years to change everything so dramatically between them? It was just one more part of his new life that I knew nothing about. Was that what Thorn had meant when she’d told me to come here and check the loyalty of the Annatalians who’d taken refuge in the Ruckus?

I decided to test out what all three men were skirting around. “I’m leaving.” And then I waited to see who would stop me. Who my real jailer was.

Nobody moved, so I took a step towards the door.

What I didn’t expect was for Aster to reach out for me.

“You can’t yet.”

Sometimes, if you know someone well, you don’t need them to talk. You just need to watch what they try to hide. It was Aster who’d taught me that.

“Who needs the knowledge inside the book the most? The Ruckus, the rebellion…” There wasn’t even a flinch. “So, the Riders, then.”

Aster gave nothing away, nor did Torran, but Kit’s lips twitched. So it was true.

“Are you working for them or for Bronwen?” I asked. “How many sides are you playing?”

Aster shook his head, but that was all I got, and frustration pulsed through my veins.

“You trust him after everything.” I jabbed a finger in Torran’s direction.

“Trust has nothing to do with this. There was a generation of balance. Of shared knowledge and magic… maybe…” He stopped himself, and I’d had enough.

“Maybe? Maybe, what? We forgive their murdering and burning so we can all play nicely together again like you all and Lex used to?” I stabbed a finger into Aster’s chest. “They did that to him.” He closed his eyes, but I wasn’t done. “So you’ll keep me here until the book is mended. Whether I want to be here or not.”

“Yes.” Torran didn’t even hesitate. “Or you can’t mend the book, in which case you’re of no use to us, and you can go back to the Barren.”

To be killed. That’s what he meant. Fix the book or die. I preferred Bronwen’s manipulation; it was less blunt.

Aster spun around to face him. “Keep out of it. Wren, it’s not like that…” He tried to reach for me. “We need your help.”

This was just another cage that they had all placed me in, and I promised myself that I would fix the book so that I could read it, get the oath I had made with Bronwen off my skin, and then leave the Ruckus. They had their plans, and I had mine.

But first, I would find out everything that Kit knew about Ember and the Wilds.

25

The soft light of morning stretched in through the shutters, creating ladders on the stone floor. Everything was warm and soft. Then I snapped my eyes open. The illusion of safety was in the thick blankets and plump pillows. I had no idea where Aster had spent the night, but I was sure one of them was lurking nearby.

Stretching, I sensed movement in the corner. Aster.

“You sleep deeply for a Shadow.” I couldn’t tell if that was a reprimand. “Your neck and wrists are almost healed. The hot springs are doing their work. Amazing what the worlds could do when they worked together.” He was making a point that I didn’t want to entertain. Maybe one day that would happen, but there were so many mountains to climb before that.