Page 21 of A Sky of Emerald Stars

With a deep breath, I found my center and stayed in my current form.

“They are marking humans for encouraging skin chasing,” Elyra said.

“What?” I gaped back at the old woman. “But...” The thoughts tumbled through me. Only Wolves were punished, sometimes brutally, for “sullying” themselves with humans. It was a Wolf punishment based on a pack rule, not a human one. And Wolves could shift, Wolves couldheal. This human would be scarred for the rest of her days. Another poisoned word snagged in my mind. “Encouraging?” I swallowed, barely able to ask as I stared at the mark. “What happened before they placed that brand on your cheek?”

“I think you already know,” Elyra said tightly, holding the girl closer to her side. “They’ve taken everything from us. From our beliefs, from our homes... from our bodies.”

I searched the hollow faces of the group. “Where is the rest of Eastbrook?”

“We are all that’s left of Eastbrook.”

My eyes welled before Elyra could even finish her sentence. She continued, “We fled on our fishing boats, tried to sail around the border, but the Olmderian shores are too treacherous to breech. A storm washed us ashore at the foothill of the Stormcrest Ranges. We’ve been seeking refuge in your court ever since, Your Majesty.”

I blinked back tears, trying to hold my resolve for the people in front of me. They didn’t need my pity, they needed my protection, and I swore then and there that I’d be the instrument for their vengeance, too.

“You will be safe in Olmdere,” I vowed to the group. “I promise this to you.” I stepped aside. “Take my carriage back to the city. You need to see the royal healers at once.”

“Calla,” Grae murmured, but I held up a hand.

“You will take that carriage, too.” I gestured to the othercarriage and saw Hector, Mina, and Briar huddled together behind the wall of royal guards, their faces matching the horror I felt in my body. Hector’s arm was around Mina’s waist, tucking her into his side as she cried. “I will send my best guards to ride with you,” I assured them.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Elyra said with a bob of her chin.

“You will be safe in my court,” I said again and knew I couldn’t say it enough times for them to believe it. I knew it would take a long time, perhaps the rest of their lives, before they ever felt safe again. “You are home now.” Elyra’s eyes misted, clearly holding on to the last bit of strength that had guided her people this far. She reached out and clasped my hands with her own. “I’m sorry I’ve brought this evil to your village.”

Elyra shook her head. “None of our kind thinks this is your doing,” she said. “We whisper of the Queen who lives beyond the golden trees.” She craned her neck up and smiled at the tapestry of gilded leaves above us, lifting her crooked fingers in supplication. “A ruler who believes humans and Wolves should live as one. Where our lives are weighted just as much as your own.” Her eyes dropped to the peak of gold skin lifting above my collar. “A queen who died to make this a place of peace.”

A tear slid freely down my cheek now. I knew eventually the remaining humans of Damrienn wouldn’t be saying such things. Soon they would blame me for all their pain. Soon the Silver Wolves would torture and scare them into hating the Golden Court. I thought of Ora again, wishing I could turn back to Olmdere with this group but knowing I needed to keep moving ahead to Taigos. I needed to end this even more urgently than I had before.

“I will return to the Golden Court soon,” I assured the harried faces staring back at me. “Until then, you will be guests of the crown and treated as such. Olmdere welcomes you.”

They bowed to me, and I flagged down one of my guards, giving him coins and instructions along with a heavy-handedthreat that if anything should happen to these people, he would be held personally responsible.

Grae leaned his shoulder into me, his voice a low whisper. “And how are we meant to get to Durid tonight?”

I glanced at him. “Mina can ride with the remaining guards. The rest of us run on four paws.” Hector and Briar nodded at me in unison. “I need the wind in my fur. I need to howl at the moon. I need to imagine our pack slaughtering Nero for what he’s done. Let’s go.”

Sadie

The wagon tilted precariously to one side, turned, and then tilted the other way as we switched down the back road toward Valta. Maez and I were both turning green as we sat on the couches getting tossed to and fro. Nesra’s Pass was a long, steep ascent, but at least it was steady. This road was a short, sharp nightmare.

When the wagon finally leveled out, it took me a second to feel like we weren’t still moving. My stomach roiled and my hands shook.

“Fuck that road and its grandmother,” Maez snarled.

“Never again,” I groaned, clutching my gut.

Navin knocked on the wagon door. The stairs were lifted and locked for the rocky journey, and they rattled with each pound of his fists. “I’m heading into town for some food,” he called. “Come find me at Jevara Vanesh when you’re ready.”

Jevara Vanesh. It meant “the roasting pig” in Valtan, a restaurant or inn I presumed.

I wondered if Navin had more secret errands in this place. If we tailed him, where would he go? More, did he have the wherewithal toknowhe was being tailed? I intended to further my line of inquiry over our meal. It seemed like the farther we traveled, the more evasive he became, or maybe I was finallybeing more astute now that I wasn’t looking at him with puppy dog eyes.

As I took more queasy breaths and fanned myself, I noticed that the air in the wagon was starting to turn more humid. The sweat on my brow wasn’t only from nausea but also the heat. Maez’s short hair curled at the temples, her face flushed. We’d dropped so far in altitude over the course of the day, the Valtan weather had started to seep into the cracks of the wagon.

I pulled back one of the windows above my head and a wall of heat blasted at me. “Ugh,” I grumbled, looking back and forth between Maez and my clothing of thick furs and leathers. Maez and I exchanged glances as we both started disrobing and went searching through the trunks of abandoned clothes for something lighter to wear.

When we stepped down off the wagon, I stifled a gasp as I craned my neck up toward the sky. In the far distance were mountains floating amongst the clouds. The bottoms of the mountains were diamond-shaped rocks—the darkest iridescent black, like ravens’ wings. Far below the floating mountains were circles of shade and turquoise pools of water. I’d heard of nomadic groups that would spend each day following the trail of shade from the mountains’ shadows. I believed it. It would be the only way to survive in such an unwelcoming environment. Unlike the lush, pastoral landscapes in the sky.

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