by Avril Sabine
It didn’t take long for them to return to Briant’s home and Talon flew them up to the balcony more smoothly this time. What did take long was waiting for Briant and Ewyn to return.
A noise at the front door interrupted Brianne’s pacing and before she had a chance to speak, her mother ran towards her, wrapping her arms around her, kissing each of her cheeks.
Talon came to a halt at Brianne’s side, taking a step back when Brianne complained, “Mum, you’re crushing me.”
Ailis didn’t loosen her hold. “They said you were dead. I’m going to kill Ewyn. How dare he do that to me.”
Brianne finally managed to pull away slightly. “Not until he tells me what I want to know, then you can.” She turned so she could smile at Talon. “Talon, I want you to meet my mum, Ailis.”
With an arm still around her daughter, Ailis faced Talon. “You have wings.”
He nodded warily.
“Mum!”
“They told me you’d brought a Tersten back with you. They never said anything about wings. And they should have told me you were back last night. Instead they risked you in another battle and waited until this morning to tell me.”
Brianne pulled away, moving to stand beside Talon. “I’m fine. It’s what I’ve been trained for.”
“You nearly died,” Ailis protested.
Brianne shook her head. “Not even close.” She sent a warning glance to Talon. He better not mention her dive off the wall. Smiling for her mother’s benefit, she said, “See, unharmed and ready for the next mission.”
Ewyn entered the room. “Good, because we’ve got something you and Talon can help us with.”
“I won’t go against my people,” Talon said.
“We want to join your people. We tried previously, but the squad we sent out under a flag of truce was slaughtered,” Ewyn said.
Briant entered the room, glancing around at everyone in his living room. “What is everyone doing standing around here? My office, now.” When Ailis started to move, he pointed at her. “Not you, Ailis. Army matters aren’t your concern anymore.”
“If it’s about my daughter, it is my concern.”
“Mum.” Brianne’s tone was filled with exasperation and annoyance at being treated like a child.
When Ewyn started to argue with Ailis, Brianne shook her head, grabbed Talon’s hand and pulled him from the room. Once they were alone in the office, she let his hand go. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Trying to protect me from my mum.”
Talon shrugged. “I didn’t know who she was when she ran at you like that.”
“I think in some ways she’s glad I don’t have wings because it should have kept me out of the army.”
Briant entered the office before Talon could say anything. He pointed to the stools in front of his desk. “Sit down.” He seated himself behind the desk, not waiting for them to sit before he continued speaking. “We need to know if the Terstens will fight with us. If not, will they let us cross their lands to attack the garrisons.”
Talon remained standing. “I don’t know. Marshall and Garnet are trying to find people willing to help, but I don’t know what has happened while we’ve been here.”
“They were pretty certain they’d find help.” Brianne sat down, leaning forward. “When do we leave? And what about Zinervie?”
“Slow down. No one is going anywhere for about a week. We’re putting the entire country into lockdown so we can capture every Prilonian. We’ll tell the civilians there has been an unusually large amount of Tersten squads sighted. The order has gone out that anyone travelling during the lockdown will be taken captive. That means we should be able to find Zinervie and the other two more easily.”
Relief washed through Brianne as she nodded her agreement.
“Not squads, units,” Talon corrected. “What are we meant to do while we’re waiting?”
Brianne grinned at him. “How about learning to fly?”
“I can fly.” Talon looked offended.
Brianne nodded slowly, her grin still in place. “You keep telling yourself that.”
“I’ll teach you,” Briant said.
“What?” Brianne stared at her grandfather. He’d long since passed the stage where he needed to train fledglings.
“You heard me.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not having some fledgling flying you around and getting you killed.”
“I can fly,” Talon protested.
Brianne ignored him, continuing to talk to her grandfather. “When can you start?”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Talon
Talon watched as Brianne’s mother held onto her. A stab of envy hit him when Brianne tried to pull away and her mother’s arms tightened around her. Still holding Brianne tight, Ailis kissed Brianne’s cheeks. Spending nearly a week with Brianne’s family had shown him how little he and his sister had meant to their parents. Terst was their priority. All else was far less important to them, including their children.
Brianne finally managed to pull away from her mother. “I’ll be fine.”
“Be careful,” Ailis said.
Before Brianne could answer, Briant stepped forward, placing a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Let her go, Ailis. She’s more than capable of completing this mission successfully.”
Talon watched as Brianne walked over to Conal, the soldier who’d broken down the tunnel doors, and turned so he could carry her. Briant had ordered Talon not to fly Brianne unless it was an emergency. Not until he learned how to fly properly. It was probably a good thing Briant hadn’t seen his first attempts at flying.
He launched himself into the air flying with the squad to the border town where they’d arranged to have horses waiting for him and Brianne. As much as he hated to leave the Tersten horses behind, flying covered the ground a lot faster. If it hadn’t been for the Prilonians’ interference, the Caelians probably would have killed his people off with how quickly they could cross the land. But, if it hadn’t been for the Prilonians’ interference their people would never have been enemies.
When they reached the town, Talon was glad to land, his wings were aching. But not in the way they once had, more in the way of muscles that are not accustomed to a new task. Several soldiers came to meet them, leading him, Brianne and Conal to an office.
Conal saluted the man seated behind the desk. “Third Officer.”
“Take a seat.” The Third Officer gestured his aide over. “Fetch another stool.”
“I’ll stand,” Talon said.
The Third Officer nodded, waving his aide away. He slid two letters across his desk towards Conal. “We thought these might help you take the Holy City. They talk about two hidden exits, focusing on one that’s damaged and needs repairs. The details in the letter should be enough for your soldiers to find the damaged one.”
“Holy City?” Talon asked.
Brianne nodded. “Don’t you have one?”
“No.”
“Where does Elden go when he supposedly does his communing with the gods?”
Talon shrugged. “I have no idea. Probably to your land by the sounds of it.”
Brianne stared at him for a moment. “Of course he does. I didn’t think about that. Then why does he need the Holy City?”
“Probably somewhere to go when he needs a break from destroying our people.” Conal slid the letters into his belt pouch. “I’ll give these to the First Officer when I return. Was there anything else, sir?”
The Third Officer shook his head. “No, that’s all. Do you need more than the two horses and saddlebags of gear we readied?”
“No, sir. Thank you for this,” Brianne said.
The Third Officer rose to his feet, coming around the desk. “I’m the one who should thank you. My son had planned to join the House on his next birthday.” He held out his hand to Brianne. When she had shaken it, he turned to Talon and did the same. “If you need anything, anything at a
ll, let me know.”
When they were outside, waiting for the horses to be brought to them, Talon said to Brianne. “I thought you said friends exchange kisses on the cheeks. I’ve only ever seen your mother do that.” His attention was momentarily caught by Conal, taking to the air with his squad and flying in the direction they’d come from.
Brianne grinned. “Only family.” She paused. “And very close friends.” She strode towards the boy who led two horses towards them.
Talon stared after her for a moment, then grinned as he strode towards her. Mounting his horse, he rode beside Brianne, waiting until they were out of the town before he spoke. “How close a friend?”
Brianne laughed. “I was still feeling grateful you’d survived your so called flying, not to mention I was about to enter the House and didn’t know if I was going to get out alive.”
She couldn’t have been that grateful if all she’d managed was a couple of kisses on his cheeks. “Next time I’ll show you how we show we’re glad someone is still alive,” Talon said.
Brianne laughed again. “I hope it’s better than your flying.”
“Stop picking on my flying.” He started to say it was better than hers, then he recalled how she’d reacted when they were practising and he’d said he’d clip her wings so she couldn’t fly around the room. No, he wouldn’t say those words to her.
They remained quiet as they crossed the land, the country changing from dry red dust and rock pillars with the odd area of brown grass and stunted trees to yellowed meadows with taller trees. By late afternoon, the country had become lush meadows and shady trees with the Feronian Mountains visible in the distance.
After how quickly they’d crossed the country earlier by wings, horseback seemed unbearably slow. No wonder Brianne envied him his wings. Since he’d stopped hiding them, he was actually finding them useful.
As they approached the cave, they slowed. Talon looked around. Everything was quiet. He dismounted and tied his horse to a tree. When Brianne started to dismount, he shook his head. “Wait here. I’ll see if it’s safe. No point both of us walking into danger.” He drew his sword as he walked towards the cave entrance, his gaze travelling around the area, his steps soft.
Nothing moved and there were no unusual sounds. He slipped inside the cave, his eyes straining to see in the darkness. The sound of a sword being drawn from a scabbard had him stepping to the side, hiding in the shadows. “Who’s there?”
“Telling you isn’t going to make you want to sheath your sword.”
“Bellamy.” The word was a curse. “Where’s my sister?”
“Her and Merel have gone to get water.”
“Who?”
“Some annoying friend of Garnet’s who thinks I’m the love of her life.”
“Has she suffered a head injury?” Talon inched his way around the edge of the cave.
“Probably,” Bellamy said dryly. “I can hear you moving. Do you think I’m about to stand still and let you kill me?”
Talon looked in the direction Bellamy’s voice now came from. “Why are you here?”
“Because it’s my turn to guard the cave.”
“And you’re doing that in the dark?” He wished Bellamy would stand still.
“I barely had time to get the fire out when I heard you outside. Couldn’t you have called out to let me know it was you? Do you know how annoying it is to clean the dirt out of the pit before it can be relit?”
Talon bit back a curse as Bellamy’s voice came from a different direction. “And let you know I was here so you could attack me while I was a target?” He waited until he finished talking before he headed for Bellamy’s new location.
“Things have changed while you’ve been away, Talon.”
The voice was in front of him and he felt the air shift as Bellamy started to move away. He reached out, grabbing hold of Bellamy, pressing his sword against Bellamy’s neck. It took a great deal of effort not to kill him. His sister better be safe. “Explain quickly.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Brianne
Brianne looked in every direction, still seated on the horse. Her bow was out in case Talon called for help. What was taking him so long? Should she check on him? The crack of a twig had her turning in that direction, her bow up and ready.
Garnet and a dark haired girl came out of the trees, freezing at the sight of her. Garnet grinned, putting her pail of water on the ground before she ran to Brianne. The other girl remained frozen.
“You were gone forever.”
Brianne slid off her horse, putting her bow aside in time to catch the girl who threw herself at her. “It was only eight days.” At times it had felt so much longer.
Garnet pulled back to look around. “Where’s Talon?”
“In the cave.” At Garnet’s horrified expression, she grabbed hold of the girl’s shoulders. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Bellamy’s in there.”
Brianne ran for the cave, drawing her dagger as she did. “Talon!”
“No. It’s safe.” Garnet ran after her. “He’s on our side. Everything’s changed.”
Then why hadn’t Talon come out yet? “Talon?” She paused at the entrance.
“I told you to wait.” There was anger in his voice.
“Garnet’s out here with another girl.” Brianne walked into the cave, trying to see in the darkness.
“Talon?” Garnet entered the cave.
“Garnet, tell him to let me go,” Bellamy called out. “He’s got a sword at my throat.”
“Talon, he’s on our side,” Garnet said. “What happened to the fire?”
“I put it out,” Bellamy said.
At the same time, Talon said, “I don’t trust him. Look what he did to Warner.”
“Are you still going on about that? It wasn’t me, it was someone-” Bellamy’s words ended abruptly.
“Don’t kill him,” an unfamiliar voice said from behind Brianne.
“Who are you?” Brianne demanded, shifting so her back wasn’t to the girl.
“Merel.” There was a waver in her voice.
“Brianne, light the fire,” Talon said.
“I can’t even find it.” Brianne shuffled further into the cave.
“I know where it is.” Garnet brushed past Brianne.
“What’s been happening while we were gone,” Brianne asked.
“Only the capital-” Bellamy’s words ended abruptly again. After a moment he growled. “Stop that.”
“Then stop talking,” Talon said. “You tell me, Garnet.”
“We told some people, who told other people and eventually, there was a heap of fighting.” Garnet stopped and blew on the small flame that flickered to life. “It was awful. They killed a lot of Holy Ones.”
“They were all impostors,” Talon said.
“I know, but it’s still hard to believe. Anyway, the Supreme One-”
Talon interrupted Garnet. “Elden.”
Garnet shrugged in the light of the fire she was steadily feeding. “Elden took the capital. Our parents are still in there along with a lot of other people. Some escaped. The Prilonians tried sending out messengers, but we’ve caught every one of them. There were also some pigeons, but we shot them out of the sky.”
“Who’s in charge?” Brianne asked.
“A group of officers. Most of the army escaped from the capital and they’re all camped in the foothills of the mountains. They plan to capture the garrisons and guard the mountain passes,” Garnet said.
“We need to see them.” Talon continued to hold his sword at Bellamy’s throat.
“I can take you to-” Bellamy’s words ended in a growl.
“Let him go, Talon,” Garnet said. “He’s helping us.”
“Why?” Talon demanded.
“Because-” Again Bellamy’s words ended abruptly.
“I didn’t ask you,” Talon growled.
Brianne could hear the anger in both Bellamy and Talon’s voices. She moved forward,
her eyes on Talon. “Remember that favour I owed you?”
“What favour?”
“The prisoner.” She reached out, grasping his wrist and pulling his sword away from Bellamy.
Bellamy moved quickly, reaching Garnet’s side. Merel continued to stand just inside the cave, her eyes wide, her hands pressed against her mouth.
Talon glared at Brianne, taking a step towards her, not bothering to pull out of her grip. “It wasn’t the same.”
“I know. I had a reason to kill the prisoner.”
“You saying I have no reason to keep Bellamy prisoner?”
She shrugged. “What do you think?” She watched as his gaze brushed past her. Then it hit her, she had her back to a possible enemy and it didn’t bother her at all because Talon could see him.
“What’s wrong?” Talon’s tone was urgent.
Brianne shook her head, letting go of him and stepping to the side. When had she learned to completely trust him? Trust him so thoroughly she took it for granted he’d watch her back. “Nothing. We need to see whoever’s in charge.” She turned towards Bellamy. “Why are you here?” When Talon started to speak, she elbowed him in the ribs.
“Because I won’t work for the enemy. And anyone who has enslaved our people is the enemy.”
Brianne gave him a short, sharp nod. They were words she could understand. “We need to speak to whoever’s in charge. My people want to discuss a combined attack on the garrisons.”
“As soon as we put out the fire we can go,” Bellamy said. “We were only waiting around here for you to turn up.”
“But I just relit it,” Garnet protested.
“Put it out,” Talon ordered. “And where’s Marshall?”
“Patrolling with his unit,” Garnet said.
“He should be looking after you.”
Garnet stopped tipping dirt over the fire from a pail that was beside it. “I can look after myself.”
“We’ve been taking turns waiting here with her,” Bellamy said.
Talon ignored him. “He said he’d look after you.”
