Page 19 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

“Yes.” Brebie nodded impatiently. “Voron will be waiting for you at noon. And we still need to get you changed, brush your hair…” She poked my naked arm, then pinched my skin. “This needs some oil and shimmer. Take off your nightgown, dear. We’ll start right away.”

“Now?” I folded my arms over my chest protectively.

She pinned me with a critical glare. “Trust me. It’ll take time to make you look presentable to both the king and the High General. We’d better hurry.”

I’d never met the king, but the idea of seeing the High General again brushed by my spine with a chill of trepidation. I wasn’t looking forward to having those cold eyes of his on me again.

“What if I don’t want to see either of them?” I asked.

Brebie huffed, propping her hands on her hips.

“Well, that’s not up to you or me, is it? High General Voron is the most powerful man in this kingdom after the king. He runs the royal court and the entire household of King Tiane. Nothing happens in this palace without his knowledge and approval. He ordered you to be there. And you think you can just stomp your foot and disregard his orders? Who do you think you are?”

That was the problem. I had no idea who I was. Which was a hundred percent High General Voron’s fault. He took my memories, my past, and my very identity.

Maybe Alacine was right? Since Voron was the one who did this to me, he would be the one to undo it. In any case, it wouldn’t hurt talking to him, would it?

“Fine,” I said to Brebie. “I’ll see him.”

Brebie made a face, shaking her head at my attitude. She clearly was fed up with my inability to act like “a lady.” But I wasn’t here to please her. With any luck, she wouldn’t be putting up with me for much longer.

* * *

“Wait here.” The guard placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me in front of a tall carved door.

The other guard stepped in front of us. His russet-colored, feathery wings shrank, then appeared to melt into his back. There were no openings in his gray-and-silver uniform. I saw no slits or gashes in the fabric. His wings just disappeared, as if absorbed through the cloth by his body.

“Wow.” I turned to the guard next to me. “Can you do that too?”

He gave me a puzzled look, saying nothing.

The first guard knocked on the door.

“The human woman is here as you requested, High General,” he announced loudly to the door.

“Get her in,” came from inside the room.

A shiver ran down my arms at the sound of that voice. I dreaded facing the High General again, knowing the horrible things he could do. He held the power to erase a person from existence, not by physically killing them, but by annihilating the very essence of what they were.

I drew the ends of the silk robe I wore tighter around me. It was the only garment I’d received from Brebie. After babbling all night about how many clothes the king would gift me, all I had to wear today was this long creamy-white robe, painted with pastel swirls, and a pair of blue silk slippers.

The guard opened the door and gestured for me to enter. The two didn’t move from the corridor. Clearly, I was expected to face the High General alone.

I hesitated, but the guards poked my back, prompting me to move. The moment I crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind me.

“Hello, Sparrow.” Voron leaned a hip against the dark-wood desk placed by one of the three tall windows in the room.

The large black bird I’d seen flying in front of his horse yesterday was now perched on his shoulder. The bird’s ankles were circled with pretty silver rings, probably to let others know this was the High General’s pet.

Bookshelves lined the walls between the windows. They were tightly packed with thick books in embossed leather bindings. Several long baskets on the floor by the shelves held rolls of parchment that looked like old scrolls.

An open scroll was draped over the desk with a world map on it. It wasmyworld—Earth. It looked like the High General had been studying it, probably trying to learn what he had to deal with upon my arrival to Elaros.

Dressed in black pants and a black silk shirt with wide sleeves and ruffled cuffs, he had his arms crossed over his chest, studying me as I pressed my back to the door behind me.

He had no coat on. The black vest he wore over his shirt was open, giving him a slightly more casual look, which sadly failed to make him any more approachable. His silver-gray eyes remained as distant as ever.

“I trust you slept well,” he said with a slight tilt of his head. “You look far less…um,pitifultoday.”

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