“Quite the inconvenience at times,” she laughed, her words throaty. Spirits, even her voice was the best thing I’d ever heard. If I hadn’t promised the others we’d go on this outing, I’d keep her here forever.
“Back at the isle,” I said, and nerves rattled through me, “you promised me tomorrow.”
I never got that tomorrow, though, distracted with everything that had unfolded with Cypherion.
She raised a brow, asking hesitantly, “Another tomorrow?”
“You can have every tomorrow, Mila. I’m not going anywhere.”
As many tomorrows as she needed. They were all hers now.
“Good to see you again,”I said to Cyren, shaking their hand as we met outside the town’s market.
Given that it was such a small village, it hadn’t been hard to find. It wasn’t busy at this hour either, but Starsearchers milled about, closing up shop or visiting with friends. The white stone buildings and array of blue glass windows soaked up the starlight, the streets lined with silver sconces and cascading waterfalls of greenery.
“You, too,” the Starsearcher said, adding “General,” as they shook Mila’s hand.
“How was the ride down?” Mila asked, inclining her head. Together, we strolled through the market, picking up supplies for the next few days of travel. We’d be camping as we passed major cities to avoid the busiest parts of the territory. Keeping out of Titus’s network.
“It was quick,” Cyren said. “I was only an hour east of here.” Their long, dark hair was braided around their head so similar to when we were at the war front, but instead of battle leathers, they wore the sweeping silk robes some Starsearchers preferred. The fabric slithered over the cobblestones as we walked, melting into the low hum of business.
“No problems, then?” I ducked into a bakery stall and started loading their leftover loaves from the day into a bag.
“Not for me, no.”
I paused, looking at the Starsearcher. “Not for you?”
“The friend I stayed with lives near a dense region of jungle. They harvest a lot of fruit, send it off to other territories, that sort of work. Supposedly, when so many were off fighting in the war, they were having problems with their produce.”
“What kind of problems?” I thought back to the few times I’d been in Bodymelder Territory recently. Many of their crops were damaged, too.
But Cyren said, “Not like you’re thinking. Not the quakes we felt in the mountains during the war or the unseasonable weather.” They swallowed, and I paid the baker, following them to the next stall. “It’s going to sound crazy, but they swore it wasbirds.”
“Birds?” Mila tilted her head, weighing a bag of apples in her hands.
“Huge ones. A breed never seen before, at least in that region.”
“And they, what?” I asked. “Ate the fruit?”
“Devoured it all,” Cyren answered gravely. “Knocked down the trees. Ones that stood for centuries, providing for nearby markets.”
Reallylarge birds, then. A shiver spread over my skin, akin to the one I’d felt around the scrolls’ whispering voices.
Mila and I exchanged a glance, but it was clear neither of us knew what to say, so we walked on.
Cyren filled us in on the rest of their leave. When they were done, they asked in a whisper, as if they didn’t even want the stars to hear, “What of Vale?”
I sighed. “She’s with Titus.”
“Willingly?” Cyren asked.
I didn’t answer. Mila fidgeted beside me.
Cyren swore beneath their breath, and I pulled them and Mila into a corner of the market. “Listen, Cyren, can you tell us what she might be facing?”
They worried the silk trim of their robe.
I continued, “Please, General. Cypherion isn’t going to rest until we rescue her—none of us are—so anything you know might help.”
