“Perhaps it will fit now.”
Ode pulled it over his head and grinned. He was sure that it smelled of the dry rushes of the plain lands and the smoky fires at Midsummer.
“Why do you have this?” he asked.
“I have carried it with me all this time,” said Cala, looking down at her hands. “Ode, I am not your mam, but I have no child of my own, and I care for you as if you were my son. I hated it when I left you, but it had to be done.”
Ode swallowed and fiddled with the edge of his tunic. He remembered all the times she had dried his tears when he was a boy and the nights she had hugged and rocked him when he was afraid.
“I believe you, Auntie,” he said.
Cala smiled and her eyes were glassy. “I went searching for Abioy because I thought that I could stop him, but he could not be found. I knew him when he was a boy, you see, but he believes that I am dead. Long ago he wanted to be king of the Scarlet Isles, but he was laughed out of the royal court. Now he seeks revenge.”
“But why is he here? What does this have to do with Briar?”
“Ode, Briar is no ordinary girl.”
Ode knew that. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. “What do you mean—” he began.
“She is the heir to the Scarlet Isles and a princess,” said Cala. “She was cursed as a child and brought here for safety.”
Ode blinked. “A princess?” he spluttered.
“Yes. The king and queen hid her in the mountains when she was a baby. They thought that Abioy would not find her here, but they were wrong. It took him many seasons, but he has got her now.”
Ode looked around the cave. “We were going to escape together….” he said faintly.
“I can see that you love her and that is why you must listen to me, for she is in great danger.”
Ode’s breath caught in his chest, and he felt the ground beneath him tremble. His eyes wandered past Cala’s head to the mouth of the cave. Outside, dawn was pouring across the mountains and warming the sky. Somewhere out there, Briar was in danger. She was a princess—not simply the Kiness he had thought—but she was still his Briar.
“What’s happened to her? Where is she?” he asked.
“She is caught in the enchantment.”
“What are we doing sitting here, then? We need to go now!” Ode tried to stand but his legs were too weak, and he stumbled.
“You must be strong first, little man,” said Cala.
Ode winced. “But what can I do to help her?” he asked.
“I thought that you needed to go to the Wild Lands and join the army forming there, but I was wrong,” said Cala. “The Magics are on the battlefield already, fighting from the Hillands in Pervorocco.”
Ode thought of Blue Moon and Sunset By Forest. He had always imagined them in the camp with the New People.
“Are Blue Moon and my mam safe?” he asked.
“I do not know yet. I cannot always see what is going on.”
Ode rubbed his tired eyes. “You must tell me what is going on,” he said.
Cala walked back to the fire and sat down. “Many seasons ago, Abioy won The Red Wars and brought peace between Magics and humans, but after a while, it was not enough. Like all greedy men he wanted more. The Magical Cleansing is a cruel distraction he’s created. He wants the Scarlet Isles first, and then he will try to take the whole of the Western Realm. I am sure of it.”
Ode thought of Briar, trapped somewhere alone and scared. His fingers curled into fists.
“What must we do?” he asked.
“Together, we must stop him.”
Ode looked at the mountains, silhouetted by light on the horizon. He hoped that wherever Briar was, she knew that he was coming for her.
About the Author
Rose Mannering is an international bestselling author and lifelong booklover. By day she works in publishing and by night she dreams up dragons, unicorns, curses that last hundreds of years, and boys who turn into swans. When she’s not deep in fantastical realms, Rose is uploading videos to her book-based YouTube Channel (Rose Mannering), tweeting about what she’s reading (@rose_mannering), or snapping pretty instagram photos of paperbacks (@rosemannering). Learn more at www.rosemannering.com.
Acknowledgements
I would like to send a huge THANK YOU to everyone working at Sky Pony Press and especially my editor, Julie Matysik, who let me carry on writing about this world of magic, spells and enchantments that lives in my head. I would like to send bucket-loads of thanks to my agent, Isabel Atherton, who is always such an awesome lady, and to fabulous writing-lady Kate Ormand, who is wonderfully supportive. Tons of thanks to anyone and everyone that watches my writing journey on my book-themed YouTube channel; you guys are crazy wonderful, particularly the amazing booktubers who have made videos about The Tales Trilogy: ChapterStackss, WordsofaReader, Katie Ruby, Charr Frears and Erika Chung.
Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends, you lovely enablers you. Thank you to my mum for reading this, thank you to my dad for promising to read this, thank you to James for pretending to listen while I moan about word counts and thank you to Lyds for being my biggest fan. You’re all great.
THE FIRST BOOK IN THE TALES TRILOGY
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Feathers Page 24
