Page 69 of Feathers and Thorns

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all a little fucked up,” Soren said, brushing off the comments. “Moving on …” She looked to Enara. “You first, what happened with the kestrel wannabe? Did you kill it? I saw it chase you out of the square.”

“I ran for as long as I could, but it caught me at a dead end where one of the buildings had collapsed. If it weren’t for these two”—Enara gestured toward the twins—“I wouldn’t be standing here. You should have seen them.”

“Aw … you give us too much credit,” Ikei said.

“She already had him halfway dead when we arrived,” Ori finished.

“Yeah, but if you guys hadn’t torched that thing …” Enara tried to continue, but they held up two sets of hands to stop her.

“The life taken is not what matters,” Ori said.

“What matters is the life saved,” Ikei finished, pointing one of his tonfa blades toward her. “When we were assigned to you, you became our new family. You may not be the sister we once had, but we will protect you as if you were, all the same.”

“Thank you,” Baz said, holding Enara a little tighter, “for being there for her when I couldn’t.”

“No problem, brother. We are all in this together,” Ori said.

“This fight is for all of Entheas. Our home provinces no longer matter. We are all family now,” Ikei added firmly.

“So, does that make me the reclusive uncle?” Rook asked.

Soren raised a brow at him. “We seriously need to work on your humor.”

“Ahem,” Baz coughed out. “I believe the role of handsome jokester is already filled, but you could try out for family asshole.”

Soren cringed at the comment, waiting for the next round of insults to start. To her surprise, Rook just laughed. His real laugh that she had yet to hear. It was the most beautiful thing. She wished she could bottle it up and put it on a shelf to listen to when times were dark.

She took in the bright smile that crested his cheeks and felt her breath hitch. Brooding Rook was handsome as hell, but smiling Rook was the stuff of stories, a beauty unmatched by those living in the mundane world. She guessed she should thank Adriel for that, but then she realized, apart from his eyes, they didn’t look much alike. She assumed he took after his mother, and then she suddenly felt a pang of sadness that he had never been able to meet her.

“All right, your turn,” Enara said, looking to Soren then glowering at Rook. His laughter, it seemed, had yet to win her over.

Soren explained how the battle had gone with the sergeant, and Rook filled in the details about patching up Soren’s leg and Luscinia showing up to offer her healing skills. Soren was thankful he did not tell them about the dream or how close she had been to dying. She was fine now, and there was no need to worry Enara for nothing.

“So, before she left, she gave us this,” Soren said, pulling the Oculus out from a satchel she had stolen from the tailor shop.

“Oh shit!” Baz exclaimed, and Enara gasped, “How?”

“She stole it from Adriel to return to us. She said we are the last hope of defeating him,” Soren answered, her voice shaky.

“So what?” Enara asked. “You guys have to magically fall in love or something for it to work?”

“Maker, Enara, no!” Soren replied, cheeks flaming.

“The mating bond is much more complex than that,” Rook replied matter-of-factly.

“This is more of a backup plan, anyway,” Soren said, wanting to move on from this topic. “The biggest thing is Adriel can’t make anymore creatures without it. To secure a mating bond, we would need more time, and that is something we no longer have.”

“What do you mean?” Enara asked.

“Luscinia stated that my father plans to attack the rest of Entheas in one month’s time,” Rook answered, fiddling with his rapier. “They plan on hitting Braexmirth and Stelonbriar last. Xian-Dao has pledged themselves to Adriel’s cause and has already helped them devastate the Isles. Dhamtra is all but leveled, and Draestel, Estelar, and Thorncrest have already been demolished.”

“Did she say if anything was left of the Esinian Isles?” Ikei asked, worried for him and his twin’s homeland. They might not have lived there since they were children, but they had hoped to visit one day.

“Did Queen Lilianna survive?” Ori added.

“I am sorry,” Rook replied, shaking his head. “She did not specify; she only said they had used a set of targeted attacks to create earthquakes, which in turn caused tidal waves and volcanoes to ravage the islands. Bao-Ren’s forces were already in Estelar when the attacks happened. His men were willing to die for the cause. I guess they figured being blown up was better than bleeding out on a battlefield.”

The twins bowed their heads, unsure of how to respond to the news that their homeland was all but buried under flame and water.

---