Onggur and the Red Sky always win that now. Shining Moon is known for their falcons and horses. They’ve won every year for decades, only . . .”
Calli scrunched up her face, gnawed on her lip, then started again. “Only their best falconers are gone. Erke and Gan. Two of Dash’s parents. Dantai didn’t want to say more, but I convinced him to tell me everything. He said that after Erke and Gan, Dash was the best falconer in the herd. Dantai isn’t sure they can win this year, not when they’re missing all three of them.”
“But why wouldn’t they have Dash?” Hoku said. “He’s right . . .
Oh
.”
Blood pounded in Aluna’s ears. Dantai wasn’t counting on Dash because he expected Dash to be dead. They all expected Dash to be dead.
“Maybe prisoners aren’t allowed to compete,” Hoku said.
Calli shook her head. “They’re going to judge him soon. As soon as everyone recovers from the celebration,” she said. “But the situation is more complicated that we thought. Not all the Equians here are happy that Arasen wants to defy the High Khan. Weaver Sokhor seems to have a lot of power, and . . . he hates Dash. I don’t know why, but he does. I don’t know what the khan will do, but I heard Tayan arguing with him.”
“I bet she wants Dash dead,” Aluna said. “Why else would she have brought him back here?”
“No, it’s not like that,” Calli said. “Tayan believes in herd law, maybe too much, but I don’t think she wants Dash to be hurt. She asked the khan to be lenient, to ignore Sokhor’s demand for his life. She didn’t want me to overhear, so I kept walking. But I heard enough.”
Aluna stared down at the green plant in her hands, her appetite suddenly gone. “She doesn’t want him to die, but she won’t go against her father.”
“No, I don’t think she will,” Calli said. “Honor and tradition are powerful here.”
“Not everyone is as strong as you, Aluna,” Hoku said softly.
She didn’t feel strong right now. Not even a little. Riding all day had fed her spirit but destroyed her body. All she wanted to do was swim into her sticky bed back in her nest in the City of Shifting Tides. She wanted to forget she’d ever heard of Karl Strand or Scorch. She almost wanted to forget Dash.
No
. She didn’t mean that.
Later that night, when Hoku’s snores drifted over from the other side of the tent and echoed in Aluna’s ears, Calli’s voice emerged from the darkness.
“We’ll save him, you know,” she whispered. “After everything we’ve been through, I feel like you and Hoku and Dash are the only people in the whole world I can really count on. I can count on my mom, too, and Electra . . . but they’re so far away. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever see them again, you know? I miss the sky. Not the desert sky, all full of grit all the time, but the clear sharpness of the mountain air. The blueness. The white clouds. I feel like I came all this distance but part of me stayed behind. Is still back there soaring.”
Aluna stayed perfectly still. She barely breathed. She didn’t want to hear Calli’s confessions. They scared her. The darkness was a shield, a protective bubble. It made you feel safe to say things you’d never say in the bright of the sun. If she and Calli started talking, Aluna couldn’t trust herself to keep the secret about her growing tail. Telling someone — telling Calli — would make everything harder. Even so, she wanted to do it. She wanted someone to have her back, to cover for her, to
understand
.
No, the darkness was too dangerous.
“I guess you’re asleep,” Calli said with a sigh. “Good night, then. Sleep well. We’ll figure out how to save Dash. I promise.”
After Calli’s breathing had slowed, Aluna sat up and began inspecting her legs. She found two more patches of thick skin and a strange softness by her ankle. She wrapped her feet in bandages made from her old tunic and hid them under pillows.
A FEW DAYS LATER ,
Calli scrunched up her face, gnawed on her lip, then started again. “Only their best falconers are gone. Erke and Gan. Two of Dash’s parents. Dantai didn’t want to say more, but I convinced him to tell me everything. He said that after Erke and Gan, Dash was the best falconer in the herd. Dantai isn’t sure they can win this year, not when they’re missing all three of them.”
“But why wouldn’t they have Dash?” Hoku said. “He’s right . . .
Oh
.”
Blood pounded in Aluna’s ears. Dantai wasn’t counting on Dash because he expected Dash to be dead. They all expected Dash to be dead.
“Maybe prisoners aren’t allowed to compete,” Hoku said.
Calli shook her head. “They’re going to judge him soon. As soon as everyone recovers from the celebration,” she said. “But the situation is more complicated that we thought. Not all the Equians here are happy that Arasen wants to defy the High Khan. Weaver Sokhor seems to have a lot of power, and . . . he hates Dash. I don’t know why, but he does. I don’t know what the khan will do, but I heard Tayan arguing with him.”
“I bet she wants Dash dead,” Aluna said. “Why else would she have brought him back here?”
“No, it’s not like that,” Calli said. “Tayan believes in herd law, maybe too much, but I don’t think she wants Dash to be hurt. She asked the khan to be lenient, to ignore Sokhor’s demand for his life. She didn’t want me to overhear, so I kept walking. But I heard enough.”
Aluna stared down at the green plant in her hands, her appetite suddenly gone. “She doesn’t want him to die, but she won’t go against her father.”
“No, I don’t think she will,” Calli said. “Honor and tradition are powerful here.”
“Not everyone is as strong as you, Aluna,” Hoku said softly.
She didn’t feel strong right now. Not even a little. Riding all day had fed her spirit but destroyed her body. All she wanted to do was swim into her sticky bed back in her nest in the City of Shifting Tides. She wanted to forget she’d ever heard of Karl Strand or Scorch. She almost wanted to forget Dash.
No
. She didn’t mean that.
Later that night, when Hoku’s snores drifted over from the other side of the tent and echoed in Aluna’s ears, Calli’s voice emerged from the darkness.
“We’ll save him, you know,” she whispered. “After everything we’ve been through, I feel like you and Hoku and Dash are the only people in the whole world I can really count on. I can count on my mom, too, and Electra . . . but they’re so far away. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever see them again, you know? I miss the sky. Not the desert sky, all full of grit all the time, but the clear sharpness of the mountain air. The blueness. The white clouds. I feel like I came all this distance but part of me stayed behind. Is still back there soaring.”
Aluna stayed perfectly still. She barely breathed. She didn’t want to hear Calli’s confessions. They scared her. The darkness was a shield, a protective bubble. It made you feel safe to say things you’d never say in the bright of the sun. If she and Calli started talking, Aluna couldn’t trust herself to keep the secret about her growing tail. Telling someone — telling Calli — would make everything harder. Even so, she wanted to do it. She wanted someone to have her back, to cover for her, to
understand
.
No, the darkness was too dangerous.
“I guess you’re asleep,” Calli said with a sigh. “Good night, then. Sleep well. We’ll figure out how to save Dash. I promise.”
After Calli’s breathing had slowed, Aluna sat up and began inspecting her legs. She found two more patches of thick skin and a strange softness by her ankle. She wrapped her feet in bandages made from her old tunic and hid them under pillows.
A FEW DAYS LATER ,
Similar Books
