Page 77 of Skysong

‘Do you really think I would do that, Terault?’ The king’s voice had a slight, almost undetectable waver to it now. Andala hoped Terault would not notice. ‘Do you think I would watch my people die one by one to protect a secret that I have no real way of keeping from you? No. I would not. The reason I do not tell you where she is, is becauseIdo notknow.’

Terault opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by movement in the cell beside Andala, Tomas and Kitt’s. The man who stepped forward was one Andala did not recognise. His jaw was clenched, his face lit with fear.

‘The king may not know where the lark is, my lord,’ the man said. ‘But he does.’276

And he pointed a shaking finger directly at Kitt.

Andala’s heart seemed to plummet through the stone floor. He had heard. This man had heard everything she and Kitt had told Tomas. She turned to Kitt, so quickly that her vision burst with stars. His expression remained remarkably calm, but Andala knew him well enough to see the fear that flickered in his dark eyes.

‘I heard them talking, just before,’ the man went on. ‘I heard him say he was the one who took the skylark. He put her somewhere safe, he said. Somewhere in the woods.’

‘Somewhere in the woods.’ A smile was growing on Terault’s face like a poisonous weed. ‘Is that so, Kittrick? Was it you who stole our skysinger away?’

‘No,’ said Tomas quickly. ‘This man is lying, Terault. None of us know where the skylark is, least of all Kitt.’ The waver in his voice was more pronounced this time. They all heard it.

‘Seize the inventor,’ Terault instructed.

The blue-robed guards sprang to action at once. Half of them made their way into the cell, shoving Andala and Tomas aside to get to Kitt. The others crowded outside, ready to fend off any attempts at escape.

Andala gripped the bars that separated their cell from the next, barely able to hold herself upright. All she could do was stare at him in horror as the guards seized him roughly and began to drag him from the cell. He looked back at her once, and shook his head slightly.Don’tworry,the gesture seemed to say.I’llbefine.But it was at odds with the look in his eyes. They said something different. They called to Andala for help.

The noise had risen to fever pitch. Andala’s ears were ringing. She had to dosomething. They would hurt Kitt, torture him until he gave them what they wanted. And when he did – when they found Oriane—277

Andala could not let that happen.Thekingcould not let that happen. She looked desperately to Tomas, but he was frozen, speechless. Together, they stared as Kitt was dragged by two guards before the seneschal.

No. They couldn’t take him away. If Andala let them do that, she would never see him again. Oriane would die, too. It would be her fault, her fault once more—

‘Lord Seneschal!’ she shouted, as loudly as she could, before she knew what she was doing.

Beside her, Tomas jolted in surprise. The volume of her own voice made her dizzy. She almost fell. She willed herself to stay standing.

Terault turned, raising a single hand. The group stopped as one at his command.

‘What is it, girl?’ he asked, impatient.

Andala clenched her fists. Was she really going to do this?

Yes, she thought.This is why I came back here. This is still the way I makethingsright.

‘It’s me you want.’ Her voice carried through the dungeon. ‘Not him. Not even the skylark.’

Terault scoffed. ‘Why in the skies would I—’

‘Because I am the nightingale.’

Had she ever said those words out loud before? All together in a row like that? She’d always avoided even saying the name.Nightingale. It had left a bad taste in her mouth from the moment it had first described her. But now it felt right, somehow. As if it suddenly fit her, now that it was about to be her downfall.

Andala’s head was spinning again. The room seemed very dark around the edges, but directly before her, very bright. Terault was staring at her. She could not read the look in his eyes.

‘What did you say, girl?’ he finally asked. The wave of whispers that had been rushing around the dungeon crashed, then ceased.278

Andala took a breath. Imagined steel in her bones to hold her tall and strong. ‘I said I am the nightingale, my lord. You seek the skylark. You say she is a god. If that is true, then so am I. And if it is the heart of a god you want, why waste time trying to find hers, when mine is right here?’

‘Andala,’ Kitt called, straining against his captors to look at her. ‘What are you doing? She’s injured,’ he added, turning in Terault’s direction. ‘She’s had a blow to the head, she doesn’t know what she’s saying—’

Andala was calm. ‘I know perfectly well what I am saying.’

Terault did not pay Kitt any heed. He gave Andala a sharp, searching look. Then he inclined his head towards her. ‘Prove it.’

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