Page 131 of Flame and Sparrow

An hour passed. Maybe longer. More than once, I snuck back down the stairs to try and listen closer. Every time it proved useless; they were speaking in a language I couldn’t understand.

Everyone speaks the same language here. Wasn’t that what Dravyn had told me? The God of the Shade’s magic at work. But apparently, there were multiple shared languages they made use of. It made sense, I supposed, that the Marr would have a way of communicating only between themselves, keeping the servants and any other outsiders in the dark if necessary.

Which meant I would have to trust Dravyn when he said he’d explain everything to me later.

Hopefully he was still in a divulging mood after all he’d already shared today.

I needed something to do—some way to distract myself.

My clothes stank of dust and grime and the selakir’s sweat from the day’s adventures, so I stripped them off and cleaned myself up in the attached washroom, then helped myself to some clean clothes I found on a shelf by the tub. Dravyn’s shirt was large enough to fashion into a dress of sorts, so that’s what I did, securing it with my own belt.

I looked silly, but it felt nice to be clean, and I couldn’t deny the way being wrapped in his cedar and smoke scent settled my nerves.

Pulling the shirt more tightly around myself, I wandered toward the double glass doors that led out to the balcony.

I pushed the curtains aside, staring out over the landscape, silently wishing I could go back to this morning, when we were galloping so wildly that all I could think about was the wind in my hair and the feel of Dravyn’s heart keeping rhythm with mine.

I was trying to mentally return there, lost in thought, when the sky flashed with a sickly green light. An uncomfortable pressure seized my chest—a terrifying feeling, though it lasted no longer than a few seconds.

Several more flashes of light and pressure followed.

I backed away from the balcony, trying, and mostly failing, to take deep breaths.

The heavens above me—and maybe the upper-gods themselves—seemed restless.

The arguments down below me raged on.

And here I was, caught in the middle, wearing clothes I’d borrowed from a god I once considered my arch enemy.

What a confusing day it’s been.

I turned away from whatever was happening outside. I tried to ignore what was happening down below me, too, but my hearing was too good, and my curiosity too great. My ears perked up every time voices started to rise.

I had just curled up on Dravyn’s bed when the conversation took what sounded like a violent turn. Before I realized what I was doing, I had opened the bedroom door and started down the steps.

I hesitated, remembering the borderline fear in Dravyn’s gaze.

Then I heard someone say my name.

Heart leaping into my throat, I couldn’t help creeping my way farther down, trying to listen for any context I might be able to decipher.

Just as I came to a stop and settled in to listen closer, I sensed Dravyn storming toward me.

I quickly turned and raced back up to his room. I dove into the chair beside the fireplace and attempted to arrange myself into a relaxed pose—as though I’d been there the entire time.

He stepped inside, took one look at my flushed face, and a knowing little smile curved his lips.

“Eavesdropping, I presume?” He didn’t sound upset. Just tired. “I expected nothing less. Though I doubt you could make much sense of what you heard of the Marr-speak?”

I shook my head.

He eyed the dress I’d made out of his shirt. “And thievery too? What am I going to do with you?”

He made the question sound like an invitation, and thoughts of what he could do made my stomach clench with desire and left me momentarily speechless.

“You’re welcome to the clothing, of course.” His gaze slowly traveled the length of my body. “Even if part of me wants to demand you strip it off.”

The knot in my stomach clenched tighter, but I stayed focused; I needed to know what they’d been talking about down below. “I didn’t plan to eavesdrop,” I told him. “But it sounded like it was getting violent, and I was…worried. What were they saying?”

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