Page 90 of Skysong

Andala nodded. She took a deep breath, in and out, clearly trying to calm herself. ‘There’s an island,’ she said. ‘Or at least, there’s320rumoured to be, somewhere off the shores of Cielore. It’s said to be the place that our ancestors first came from, Oriane.’

A strange shiver went through Oriane at the words, like a feather brushing down her spine. ‘Our ancestors?’

A nod. ‘The first skylark. The first nightingale.’

‘Where did you learn this?’ Oriane breathed, wondering why her father had never mentioned it. Perhaps her mother had not known herself.

When Andala didn’t answer, Oriane turned to follow her line of sight to the table where Leilyn sat, half-turned away from them.

‘Where is this island?’ Kitt asked.

‘I don’t know. Hence the maps.’ Andala gestured down at the spread around her; Oriane was no great map-reader, but she could see most of them were nautical in nature, focusing on the coastlines of Cielore and what lay beyond. ‘I knew I’d find some in here. Nell always fancied herself a seafarer.’

‘The man you saw outside – Gabe,’ Girard put in, for Oriane and Kitt’s benefit. ‘His husband Gandry was a ship’s captain, back in the day.’

Andala nodded. ‘If we can find this island – if it exists – I thought we might be able to ask Gandry to take us there. He and Gabe are trustworthy. They’d never ask us why we’re going there, or tell another soul that we did.’

Oriane sat back, her vision misting over with foreign images. An island. The place where their ancestors had come from. Where their powers must have first come into being. Her blood seemed to rush faster at the thought of it. Could they really go there? Escape from Terault and return to a piece of their ancestral land?

Girard lowered his voice. ‘Should you not ask your mother if she knows where it is?’321

‘I suppose,’ Andala replied. She looked pained at the thought.

The door suddenly jiggled, and with a rush of sound from the inn beyond, another woman entered the library. She was short and quite old, with rich brown skin, a weathered face and close-cropped white hair.

‘Heard the sun brought a stranger to town,’ she said, closing the door behind her.

Andala was already on her feet. ‘Nell,’ she said, with one of the warmest smiles Oriane had seen her wear. She strode towards the innkeeper and embraced her.

Oriane stood too, but hung back, not wanting to interrupt the private moment. But no sooner had Nell released Andala than she looked Oriane’s way, face alight with curiosity.

‘And who might this fine-dressed lass be?’ she asked, striding over to Oriane with her hand outstretched.

‘This is Oriane, Nell,’ Andala said. ‘She … she’s my friend.’

Oriane took Nell’s offered hand; her palm was warm and callused. ‘Thank you for your hospitality. This place is wonderful – I’ve never been to an inn that had a library before.’ She had never been toanyinn before, but the innkeeper didn’t need to know that.

Nell smiled proudly. ‘Didn’t catch the name on the way in, then? The Book and Bottle, that’s what we’re called. The only establishment in town for thinking and drinking.’

‘The only establishment in town at all,’ Andala quipped, before introducing Nell to Kitt. Oriane bit back a smile. As much of an outsider as it made her feel, she liked seeing Andala at ease here, comfortable around the people she’d lived among for so long.

Andala explained to Nell what they were doing there, picking up the thread of whatever tale Girard had told the innkeep while they’d been in the woods – an abridged version of the truth. Nell asked very322few questions, though there was a shrewd look on her face that made Oriane think she knew it wasn’t the full story. But all she said when Andala was done was, ‘I’ll have some food sent in. You all look as if you could use a meal.’

‘I’m tired,’ a small voice wailed from the other side of the room. Oriane jumped; she had all but forgotten Amie was here.

Girard grimaced. ‘Actually, Nell, would you mind if we took ours in our rooms? Amie’s overtired. The caterwauling she’s about to start will drive all your business away if I don’t get her to sleep soon.’ He looked uncertainly to Andala. ‘Is that—’

‘It’s fine,’ she said quickly. ‘We’ll be all right down here with Kitt to help.’

Nell glanced curiously between them, but didn’t comment. ‘Not a worry, not a worry,’ she said instead, clapping her hands together. ‘I’ll have rooms set up for you and your friends as well, Andala, though I’ll be charging you full price, mind – business hasn’t been particularly booming, what with the world having come to an end for a moment there.’ With a wink, she left the library, Girard and Amie soon following in her wake.

It was only the four of them now: Oriane and Andala and Kitt back at the books, Leilyn hovering near the doorway.

Oriane watched Andala consider her mother, open her mouth, close it. After a moment she said, ‘The island you mentioned … in the story about the first skysingers. Do you know anything else about it?’

Leilyn looked almost surprised that Andala had asked the question. But after a beat she replied, ‘Ile Deiale. That is its name, if the stories passed down are to be believed.’ She glanced from Andala to Oriane and back. She didn’t ask what they were up to, only added, ‘That’s all I know.’

Andala nodded, the motion somewhat stiff. ‘Thank you, Mother.’323

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