Page 75 of King of Storms and Feathers

“Now it makes sense why Arrow hasn’t punished you more harshly for not calling the guards when I jumped out of the window.”

“Unless he wants his people to suffer upheaval, he will always show me great leniency. And we can use this to our advantage.”

With this information spinning through my mind, we rode for another hour in a southwesterly direction from Coridon. We passed three small reaver settlements before stopping at a fourth that morphed from the desert like a shimmering mirage. It was nestled in a shallow valley full of tropical trees, and a bright blue river wound through it that reminded me of a serpent asleep under the blistering sun.

We passed through gates not unlike those at Coridon’s entrance, but on a humbler scale. The rich colors of the town were striking and very different from what I remembered of my origins—a life lived in a subtle palette of green, brown, and gray.

“What’s this place called?” I asked as we dismounted at a large rammed-earth building capped with a golden dome and circled by a series of similar smaller structures.

“Auron K,” Ari replied.

“After the birds?” I gaped at the green palms and elegant metallic-skinned elves who greeted the Sayeeda with friendly smiles as they strolled past in the dappled shade. “That seems a little gruesome.”

“Why?” she said. “Just because we eat their feathers? Don’t be foolish. We revere the auron kanaras and treat them extremely well.”

“I’m sure you do, while you’re plucking all of their feathers out.”

Ari’s cheeks reddened. “They molt frequently, and we do not pluck them bald.”

“I believe you. I’m only teasing.” I looked around, searching for a more neutral topic. “How is everything kept so lush out here in the desert?”

“The same way Coridon does it, with underground streams and magic feeding the city. And we have our beloved river.”

We unloaded our saddlebags and passed the packages to reaver elves who wore long golden robes and swords on their backs that were nearly as tall as them. They bowed to Ari and narrowed their eyes at me.

As we made our way toward the main domed building, I asked, “Why would the king let his valued Sayeeda travel without guards?”

“Reavers possess efficient methods of protection.”

I grinned and raised an eyebrow, prompting her to explain.

Ari sighed. “We place cloaking spells around ourselves, energy fields that make us invisible. Targets are difficult to strike if assailants cannot see them.” She smiled and opened the thin ceremonial cloak she wore over her usual gold dress. “And I have these.”

A necklace of the same golden feathers that Arrow wore adorned her upper chest.

“Is that the king’s breastplate?” I asked.

“No. This is mine. Arrowyn had it made for occasions such as this.”

“Would you let me practice throwing one on the way back to Coridon?”

“Absolutely not.” She tapped a golden feather. “I can’t have you knowing the secret to plucking one from Arrowyn’s plate and trying to murder him in his sleep, can I?”

Dust knew I’d tried many times, but the damn things never budged.

Inside the building that rivaled Coridon’s Grand Hall in its abundant use of gold, scores of elves greeted us with great enthusiasm. I watched Ari’s face light up when the reavers held her close, making me wonder if living with the Storm King was more difficult for her than she let on.

No doubt she felt lonely without her people.

The pain of longing contracted my ribs, and I closed my eyes and let my dream forest envelop me, the dark scent of decomposing pine needles teasing my nose. Distant laughter carried on the crisp Earth Realm air, the green-eyed boy’s voice echoing as he called me to follow—to what place and for what purpose, I didn’t know.

I shook my head to clear the vision and smiled as Ari introduced me to the reaver elves.

Surprisingly, during an elegantly raucous dinner, the elves treated me as an honored guest, not a disgraced king’s slave. Their curious stares and constant questions were clues that they rarely, if ever, entertained human visitors at Auron K.

After our meal, Ari attended meetings with three solemn reavers, leaving me with a group of card players who taught me the complicated rules of their game and laughed at my many mistakes.

As the moon rose in a violet sky, we bid the reavers goodbye and departed Auron K, using Ari’s magic to cloak us as we traveled. Along the journey, I pondered my conversations with the elves. Some of what I’d learned surprised me.

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