Page 138 of Ash and Feather

The griffin was restless, but eventually settled near me, mirroring my attentive stare into the garden on the other side of the window.

After a few minutes, his tufted ears perked up and his tail twitched, a low growl rumbling in his throat. He slipped away, reappearing outside a few minutes later.

Chasing something, it looked like.

The flaming tip of his tail made him easy to track. I watched as he drove a small creature from the bushes: A shadowy, spider-like beast that scurried haphazardly about before leaping into the air and sprouting veiny, iridescent wings. It disappeared an instant later, thwarting Moth’s attempts to grab it between his paws.

As I stared at the streaks of dark, shining residue it had left behind, a prickling sensation of higher, otherworldly power overcame me. The others had fallen silent behind me, likely noticing the twinge of power as well.

Valas rose from his place by the dying fire, coming to stand by my side and staring at what remained of the tellesk’s residue. “The God of the Shade is monitoring this palace.”

I sighed. “With great interest. That was not the first spy he’s sent today. I suspect he’s been sending them for weeks now; Karys has noticed their presence as well, I think.”

He folded his arms across his chest, bending toward the window and trying to get a closer look. “Do you think whatCillian suggested to you is true? That Karys is a pawn in some grand scheme they haven’t told us about?”

I didn’t reply.

I didn’t want to think about it. Doing so would only trigger an avalanche of yet more questions I didn’t have answers to.

“What could they possibly want from her?” Mairu wondered. “And why not just be forthcoming about whatever it is?”

Valas snorted at this. “Have you ever known the Creators to be forthcomingabout anything?”

She mumbled something in response. The Winter God turned and fired back an equally disgruntled response, and the two of them resumed their arguing.

I moved toward the door, finished with both of them. With the talking, the waiting—all of it.

I left without a word, wandering throughout the palace and its grounds, trying to pretend everything was normal.

I tended to Moth, who—in the short time between chasing the tellesk and now—had somehow managed to trap himself in one of the supply closets in the kitchen. Likely while he was looking for something sweet to steal.

After freeing him, I lingered in the closet for several minutes, taking note of the contents and wondering if it was stocked well enough. Karys had a habit of locking herself in the kitchen and testing every recipe she could whenever she was stressed or upset; whatever she needed to make when she woke up, I wanted to be certain she had the supplies for it.

While taking inventory, my hands fell upon a batch of treats meant for a selakir. It was a recipe Karys had created herself, featuring the dried savos fruit Zell loved so much. They would only last a short time on the shelf, I remembered her saying—and these looked close to expiring.

Glad to have a simple task that needed doing, I took the jar and went to summon Zell.

I found him quickly; he’d witnessed me taking Karys back to the palace earlier, and he hadn’t strayed far from the grounds ever since.

He bumped the jar of treats aggressively with his nose—clearly recognizing what was inside it—but he didn’t take the one I offered him. Not at first. He only stamped his feet and tossed his head anxiously before trotting behind me, sniffing the air and twitching his ears. Searching. Looking for the one whousuallyspoiled him with these treats, I suspected.

When Karys didn’t follow me into the yard, Zell begrudgingly moved back to me, his long tongue peeling one of the treats from my hand. As he ate, his jewel-black eyes fixed toward the room where Karys slept, as if he’d managed to pinpoint her energy, faint as it was.

I soon returned to that room myself. Rieta exited just as I reached for the door’s handle, her careworn expression brightening the tiniest bit as she caught sight of me—I hoped it was because she had good news.

“She’s awake?”

“Gettin’ there. She didn’t recognize me when she opened her eyes, though. Called meSavna.”

My jaw clenched. “Her sister.”

“That’s what I thought.” Rieta clicked her tongue, hands on her hips as she studied the partially-ajar door. She nodded me toward it. “Maybe you’ll have better luck. Doubt she’ll confuse you with anyone else.”

I thanked her and quietly slipped inside.

Karys was far more restless than she’d been the last time I checked on her. Her blankets were twisted up as though she’d spent the last hour tossing and turning. Her ears twitched at the sound of my footsteps. Her nostrils flared. She inhaled deeply, and her forehead wrinkled in frustration, as if she was trying toget her senses to cooperate and zero in on the newest presence in the room.

Her lips moved, but she didn’t speak—not out loud—though I heard her voice in my head, a single whispered word:Dravyn.

---