The Serpent Sea

Chapter Five

They left at dawn the next morning, flying under the canopy through the suspended forest. Traveling as fast as they could, Moon and Jade could have made the trip in three days rather than five. Stone could fly much faster than that, even carrying Flower, but all three kept to the warriors’ pace. Everyone agreed that showing up at a strange court, especially one that had no reason to be friendly, without the warriors necessary for the formal greeting would waste more time than it would save. It would give Emerald Twilight’s queens an excuse to delay speaking to them, or to refuse to see them at all. Moon had already gotten the idea that Raksuran courts saw no inherent reason to be nice to each other; this was just more proof that alliances between courts, let alone friendly relationships, had to be carefully managed.

The warriors they brought were Chime, Balm, Vine, Floret, and Song. Chime had spent little time outside the colony compared to the others, but after flying to the Golden Isles and chasing kethel across desert plains to a Dwei Hive, he wasn’t much daunted by a trip to visit another court. Vine and Floret were Pearl’s choices. Vine had visited other courts before, and he was easier to deal with than many of the warriors she might have picked. Moon didn’t know Floret well. In groundling form, she had the copper skin and red-brown hair that was common in Indigo Cloud to both Aeriat and Arbora, and she seemed to get along with the others. Song was young, but Jade trusted her and she had visited Sky Copper when it was Indigo Cloud’s closest ally. Moon had always thought her groundling form looked enough like Balm’s for the two to be related; they both had warm, dark skin and curling, honey-colored hair.

Moon wasn’t sure how Jade’s talk with Balm had gone, but Balm had shown up in the greeting hall before dawn, ready to leave. She was tense and quiet whenever they landed to rest, but at least Chime and Song were treating her as they always had, as if nothing had ever happened. Hopefully that would help her feel more at ease.

Just before dawn, when they were nearly ready to leave, Moon had gone down to the nurseries to see Bitter, Thorn, and Frost. Most of the younger kids were still asleep or just stirring, so Bark had shooed them into one of the smaller rooms off the main area so they could talk without disturbing the others. Moon had told them he was going to be away for a while, and why. Considering how unconcerned they had been about the possibility of leaving the colony tree, he thought they would take it well. He was wrong.

Thorn huddled in a bristling unhappy heap, refusing to shift to groundling, and Bitter just stared at Moon with big hopeless eyes. Frost threw an actual fit, flared her wings, and snarled that he had no right to go and railed against Jade for taking him.

“Frost, stop.” Moon had seen groundlings spank their young before and had no idea how that would work with a Raksuran fledgling queen. But he was ready to give it a try.

That must have shown in his expression, because Frost stopped in mid-word, eyed him a moment, and settled into a sulk. She said, “We don’t want you to go. Who’ll take care of us?”

“Bell and Bark and the other Arbora.” Moon hadn’t been taking care of them anyway, not the way the teachers were, with all the real work of feeding, bathing, and making them behave. On the boat, while his back and shoulder healed, he hadn’t been able to do much of anything except watch them play.

“They can’t fight like you can,” Thorn said, his voice deeper and raspy in his other form.

“Pearl will be here.” Pearl might be moody and pessimistic, but she could rip a Fell ruler apart like a straw doll and wouldn’t hesitate when it came to physically defending the court.

Bitter leaned over to Thorn and whispered inaudibly. Thorn translated, “Bitter says we want you.”

That one went right to the heart and Moon winced. He wasn’t even sure why they felt that way about him. He had barely gotten them out of the Dwei hive before Ranea had caught him. It had been Jade and Pearl who had saved them all. But he had been the first Raksura they had seen since the destruction of Sky Copper, the death of everyone they knew, the end of their world. “I have to go. But when I come back, I’ll teach you all how to hunt.”

Bitter blinked. Thorn’s spines flicked and the two exchanged a look. Frost’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. She said, “Bitter can’t fly yet. He’s too small.”

Sorrow had started teaching Moon to hunt when he was barely big enough to leap from branch to branch, a precaution that had allowed him to survive after she was killed. “He can still learn.”

Frost had considered that, consulted with the two consorts, then finally agreed, grudgingly. “All right. But don’t be away long.”

Moon managed not to let her maneuver him into any promises as to how soon he would be back.

The scenery made the journey pass quickly. The variety of grasseaters and predators living on the platforms of the mountain-trees seemed endless; Moon saw tree frogs nearly as big as he was, mottled gray-green to blend into the bark, clinging to the broad branches and thoughtfully watching the Raksura fly past. And the trees themselves often took on fantastic shapes. They passed one that was covered with giant gray nodules, each as big around as the Valendera, and another that was hung with curtains of moss, thousands of paces long, draped like fabric. They had no difficulty finding the way; Raksura always knew which direction was south, an ability which Chime had described as a natural pull toward the heart point of the Three Worlds.

Moon’s bad shoulder was sore after the first full day of flying, but the discomfort lessened every day, and he could feel the muscles stretching and getting strong again. He thought he was healing faster flying than he would have just sitting around the colony.

They stopped to rest and sleep on the platforms or the wide branches of the mountain-trees. As Moon had noticed when they crossed the grass plains together, Stone’s presence seemed to drive off predators, even when he was in his groundling form, and he had the same effect here.

They slept one night in a hollowed out space on a branch, and Moon woke to hear the dry rustle of something big slithering away. He sat up, out of the warm pile of the others, to see the dark outlines of Song keeping watch at the top of the hollow and Stone sitting next to her. Song crouched down a little, but hadn’t hissed an alarm. Stone must have heard Moon move, because he shook his head slightly, telling him it was all right.

From where he was huddled behind Moon, Chime whispered nervously, “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Moon whispered back, and lay down again.

They had eaten heavily before they left the colony, but long days of flying made them hungry, so they stopped briefly to hunt as they went along. On the fourth day, Moon sat out the hunt with Stone, Jade, and Flower, watching from an upper branch as the warriors stalked a big wooly grasseater on one of the platforms below. Stone had said they were close enough to Emerald Twilight that scouts might be watching. It brought home the fact that Jade might not care much about Moon’s unconsortlike behavior, but another court would.

Jade had told him as much as she could about what to expect, but Moon could make all kinds of mistakes, most without even knowing he was making them. This could go very badly wrong, and it could be my fault. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, they flew into an open area under the forest canopy, and got their first glimpse of Emerald Twilight’s mountain-thorn.

Thorn-covered branches as big around as the flying boats wound out and up to form a giant globe. The branches were wreathed with vines and flowers, and so large the smaller trees of the suspended forest had taken root on many of them. A trio of warriors flew across the clearing, banking close enough to see the newcomers, but not to bar their path.

Fortunately Stone seemed to know how to approach the colony. He flew unerringly toward a big wreath of vines that turned out to be marking a sizable gap in the thorns. Stone slowed further, and they followed him through the green tunnel.

Once inside they could see the central trunk of the thorn, bristling with branches and platforms, some formed naturally on the nested branches but many others constructed. There was a big one, near the center of the trunk, that had to mark the main entrance. More warriors flew around in this interior space, and Arbora were out on the platforms, working in the gardens or stopping to watch the visitors’ arrival. This court was obviously much larger than Indigo Cloud.

They landed on the big platform, and Stone set Flower down. Moon folded his wings and managed to shift to groundling in time with the others. Only Jade stayed in her winged form. The arch of thornvines and leaves high overhead dappled the sunlight, and the air was scented with flowers. There was a narrow waterfall in the carved trunk, the flow controlled by small platforms somehow fixed at intervals down the tree’s wall, each forming a little pond stocked with flowering water plants.

Chime leaned over to whisper to Moon, “We should do that in our tree. If we can stay in our tree, I mean.”

Moon nodded, feeling overwhelmed. Again. The others were trying to look as if none of this was the least bit impressive, though Stone was the only one who managed it convincingly. Jade kept her expression blank, but Moon could read the tension in her shoulders and spines.

Arbora stood on the surrounding platforms, and Aeriat perched up in the branches, all watching them. Before it got more uncomfortable, a warrior dropped down from an upper balcony, cupping her wings to land lightly. She shifted to groundling, turning into a tall slim woman with dark bronze skin, and dark hair that was just beginning to lighten with age. Her sleeveless tunic and skirt were silky blue, trimmed with tiny silver-gray pearls.

Moon was suddenly glad they had taken the time to bathe in a stream and change clothes this morning. The warriors were dressed in the fine weaving of the Arbora, shirts over loose trousers, in soft blues and greens, dark rich browns, and Flower wore a dark blue robe. Moon’s clothes were black, except for the sash over his knife belt, which was shot through with red. Jade wore a belt, pectoral, bracelets, and armbands of silver with dark blue stones and deep-water pearls. Stone looked like he always did, having made absolutely no concession to their hosts but then, as a line-grandfather, he didn’t have to.

Looking around at the Emerald Twilight Arbora and warriors, Moon suspected they were still going to seem poor compared to these people, but at least they were clean. The warrior said, “I’m Willow, of Emerald Twilight.”

It was normal for female warriors to greet strangers, and it had to be a good sign that one had come forward so readily. If Emerald Twilight had really wanted to be rude, the warriors could have simply ignored them. At least they’re open to visitors, Moon thought. Maybe this wouldn’t be too difficult.

Balm stepped forward to answer her. “I’m Balm, of Indigo Cloud. Our sister queen has come to greet your queen.”

“Indigo Cloud?” Willow lifted her brows, startled. There was a stir from the watching Arbora and Aeriat, a wary flutter.

Damn it, Moon thought, biting his lip to control his expression. It didn’t appear Emerald Twilight had forgotten Indigo Cloud, even after all these turns.

“Yes.” Balm, with commendable self-possession, managed to look as if she thought the reaction was surprise due to hearing that a new court had arrived in the Reaches. “We’ve recently returned to our old colony, some five days flight from here.”

“Oh.” Willow hesitated, then seemed to decide that pretending ignorance of any past history between the courts was best for the moment. “Come into our greeting hall.”

They followed her across the platform, through an arbor and a short tunnel into the trunk. The hall was a round high-ceilinged cavern, but it wasn’t as impressive in size as the one at Indigo Cloud; the central well only went up six levels, with balconies looking down. It was softly lit and vines grew all around the balcony railings, the flowers purple, white, and blue. There was a shallow pool in the center, the bottom inlaid with polished white stones. It took Moon a moment to realize where the light was coming from. It wasn’t the stones or shells or moss, it was the flowers.

On this level, three tall archways led off into the depths of the trunk. A queen walked out of the center one, still in her winged form, her light blue scales webbed with gold. Trailed by several warriors, she crossed toward them to stand in front of Jade. The two queens stared at each other for a moment and Moon found himself holding his breath. Then both shifted to Arbora.

Behind him, Moon heard Chime sigh with relief. Being acknowledged by a sister queen was the second big obstacle and it seemed they might get past it.

The new queen said, “Tempest, sister queen of Emerald Twilight.”

“Jade, sister queen of Indigo Cloud.” She inclined her head toward Stone and Flower. “Our line-grandfather, Stone. And Flower, who is a mentor, and our elder of Arbora.”

“We’re honored.” Then Tempest looked at Moon. He kept his expression neutral, though he felt a flush creep up the back of his neck. Her glance seemed critical, which made it harder to bear. He had never seen another adult consort except for Stone, who was apparently not the best example, so he had no idea if he looked like he was supposed to or not.

Jade and Flower had explained that young consorts were only introduced to courts that were friends or allies. Since they had brought him, it was a sign that Indigo Cloud wanted to be friends, but the formalities would have to be gotten through first. Flower had also indicated that Emerald Twilight might possibly attempt to thwart that process by trying to skip the formalities, just to put Indigo Cloud in a weaker position. One way to do that was to try to provoke them to introduce Moon before it was time. It was all just as hideously complicated as he had feared. He knew he was going to fumble the etiquette at some point. He just wanted to get it over with.

He had been lucky when he had been brought to Indigo Cloud by Stone. There was no etiquette for solitaries, even if they were consorts.

After a moment that stretched Moon’s nerves even further, Tempest gave in, and turned deliberately back to Jade. “We were aware another court had arrived in the Reaches. Our scouts reported that you came here in a strange way.” She managed to convey the fact that she was bringing up a delicate subject. She had to mean the flying boats.

Jade said, easily, “We had wounded, and the wind-ships were the best way to move them. We fought the Fell at our old colony. We defeated them, but…” She flicked her spines in a slight shrug. “It was impossible to remain there.”

Tempest tilted her head, suddenly genuinely interested. “The Fell attacked you?”

“We’re a small court. Our colony was vulnerable.” Jade’s face tightened, as if it cost her something to make that admission to another queen. “They destroyed our closest ally, Sky Copper, a small court in the grass plains to the east. Then they attacked us.” She hesitated, exchanged a glance with Flower, then continued, “This Fell flight had a scheme for interbreeding with Raksura. Apparently they had been carrying it out for some time.”

The Emerald Twilight warriors stared, openly appalled. Tempest dropped her formal pose, leaned forward, and said in shock, “How? I mean— Is that even possible?”

Jade tilted her head to Flower, who said dryly, “It caught us by surprise, too.”

Tempest and the others listened intently as Flower told the brief version of the story, of the Fell attack on the colony, the crossbreed mentordakti and their powers, the pursuit to the Dwei hive, and the crossbreed queen, Ranea. Flower left out any mention of how Moon had actually come to Indigo Cloud, and said only that the Fell poison had come from a groundling tribe in the far east. She did say that he had been badly wounded by the Fell after freeing the Arbora captives. Moon saw Tempest glance at him again, this time with a trace of sympathy. She was probably thinking, So that’s what’s wrong with him.

Then Flower pressed a hand to her lower back and winced. Jade said, in mild reproach, “We’ve come a long way.”

Tempest flicked her spines in annoyance. Moon thought they had just scored a point, either because Tempest had been lured into a breach of etiquette by keeping them standing out here, or that she had treated them like people by engaging in a real conversation, and now had to either continue it or be deliberately rude. Whichever it was, Tempest said, not too grudgingly, “Come into our queens’ hall. The others can wait over here, and be comfortable.”

That was what they had been hoping for. Tempest led Jade, Flower, and Stone on through the big archway, and Willow took Moon and the others over to the side of the hall, furnished with cushions and a little metal brazier shaped like a berryvine leaf. They dropped their packs and took seats, and Willow retreated a short distance, politely out of earshot.

Aeriat and a few Arbora, all mostly in groundling form, wandered through the hall, or appeared briefly on the balconies above to snatch curious glances. Moon felt the pressure of their stares, and forced himself not to twitch nervously. He had always hated being stared at; in most of the places he had traveled, being singled out for curiosity was never a good thing.

“The warriors aren’t coming to talk to us,” Floret said. She folded her arms and looked uncomfortable. “They did when we visited at Sky Copper.”

“Yes, but we’d known them for turns and turns,” Balm told her. She sounded more like her old self. Being out of the colony and having something important to do was obviously good for her. “We’ve just met these people.”

Song looked around, trying to be casual about it. “So you don’t think we’ll be invited to eat with the Arbora?”

“Be patient.” The taller Vine dropped an arm around Floret’s neck. “They haven’t even gotten through the queens’ greeting yet. It’s going to be a while.”

Then Balm murmured, “What’s this? The queens should all be inside.” Moon turned to look.

Another queen glided down from an upper balcony to land in the hall. Her scales were silver-gray, with a web-tracery of brilliant green. Moon expected to see her turn down one of the passages, but instead she furled her wings and started toward them.

Her pace was deliberate and she lashed her tail lazily. Sounding bewildered, Song whispered, “What is she doing?” Vine and Chime shushed her. The queen had the attention of the whole hall, everyone staring. At least the Raksura who lived here seemed to be just as taken aback by this as they were. Willow actually looked alarmed.

The queen came closer, focusing on Moon and ignoring the others. She stopped only a pace away, her gaze a threat and a challenge. Moon’s shoulders tensed, his back itching to lift spines he didn’t have at the moment. Then she said, “What a pretty thing. I’m surprised your queen leaves you unguarded.”

Moon pushed to his feet, the movement slow and deliberate. She was a little shorter than him, which meant she was younger than Jade. He said, “Maybe she thought this was a civilized place.” Behind him he heard a startled snort, possibly from Floret.

Surprised, the queen lifted her spines sharply. He realized she had expected him to be too intimidated to respond. Compared to Pearl, she just wasn’t that intimidating. She snarled, “This is a civilized place. But if you’re foolish enough to challenge me, don’t think I’ll spare you.”

Behind him, the others stood now. They had the attention of the entire nervously silent hall. It occurred to Moon belatedly that he should have ignored the queen. He hadn’t been introduced yet and no one from Emerald Twilight was supposed to be talking to him, so the breach of etiquette would have been all on her side. It was too late now. He tilted his head. “If you want to fight, then attack me.” As a queen she could keep him from shifting, or at least try to, but if she fell on him while he was trapped in groundling form he doubted it would reflect well on Emerald Twilight.

She leaned toward him and hissed in fury. “If I thought you were serious—”

A dark shape dropped from an upper balcony, and landed lightly on the floor just a few paces away. The queen flinched back from Moon, and the others twitched away, startled. Song shifted to her winged form, then shifted back when Balm hissed at her. Moon didn’t move. The newcomer was another consort.

He was nearly half a head taller than Moon, his shoulders broader. His black scales gleamed in the soft light with a faint red undersheen, and his eyes were a dark, deep brown. He dropped his spines and folded his half-furled wings, his hard gaze never leaving the young queen. Then he shifted to groundling.

He had even, handsome features, dark bronze skin, and was lean but strongly built. He was dressed in dark clothes and wore a gold band around his upper arm, over the silken material of his shirt, that was studded with polished red stones. Small gold hoops pierced his ears, all the way up the curves. He tilted his head at the queen and said, dryly, “Ash. What are you doing?”

She flared her spines. “Since when do you greet unwanted guests?”

He didn’t respond to that obvious attempt at distraction. “Must I speak to your mother of this?”

Ash hesitated, half-snarling, then turned abruptly away and strode out of the greeting hall toward the outer platform.

The consort turned to Moon, eyeing him thoughtfully. Then he stepped closer. It should have been threatening, but Moon had to still the impulse to lean toward him. There was something about him, that ability to draw you in, the same power that Pearl had. With the consort it was easier to resist, and Moon couldn’t tell if he was doing it consciously or not. He touched Moon under the chin, a light pressure that made Moon lift his head slightly. It was a challenge, but Moon didn’t growl, didn’t twitch away. He might still know little about how Raksura behaved, but he knew this wasn’t that kind of challenge.

Then the consort said, “You’re feral.”

Behind Moon, there was a startled stir, and somebody hissed, offended. Apparently it was fine for Indigo Cloud to say it, but no one else was allowed. Chime started to say, “He isn’t. He’s—”

The consort flicked a look at them, and they all went still. I wish I could do that, Moon thought, not taking his eyes off the other man. The way he had said it had been a statement of fact, not an accusation. And it seemed to mean something else besides the usual insult. Moon replied, “A little.”

There was a brief glint in the other consort’s eyes, possibly amusement, but it was hard to tell. He let Moon go and stepped back. “But you’re taken?”

Consorts couldn’t tell, couldn’t scent the marker that queens left on the consorts they took for their own. Moon said, “By Jade, sister queen of Indigo Cloud. I’m Moon.”

“She must be brave.” He considered a moment, watching Moon intently. “Will you come sit with me?”

It might be a bad mistake. This was a game Moon didn’t understand and he had already made a serious error, just sitting here. But he didn’t want this man to walk away without him. “Yes.”

The warriors exchanged glances, worried and confused, as if they would like to object but knew better. Chime stared urgently at Balm, and she stepped forward and said, “What do we tell his queen when she asks where he is?”

“Say he is with Shadow, first consort to Ice, the reigning queen.” Shadow shifted and leapt straight up to cling to the wall high above. Moon shifted and leapt after him.

They climbed all the way up to the fourth level, then Shadow slung himself up onto a balcony and shifted back to groundling. Moon followed, shifting as they started down the passage. Unlike the Indigo Cloud tree, the walls here weren’t solid wood, but were made of dark brown vines, woven together. It left gaps for air to pass through, and Moon could catch glimpses of the rooms and passages to either side.

He could also hear movement, the slight rustling of wings and spines, pacing them. There was a faint chance Shadow could be walking him into an ambush, but if so, the ambushers weren’t doing a good job of concealing their presence.

As they walked, Shadow asked, “Why did you leave your birthcourt?” That was an easy question, at least. “I didn’t. They all died, when I was too young to remember.”

Shadow’s brow creased in a wince, but he didn’t offer sympathy. “How did you survive at that age?”

“There were others at first, a female warrior and four younger Arbora.

Later they were killed, too.” He didn’t add that he had thought the warrior was his mother and the others his siblings, until Stone had told him that was impossible.

The passage wound around, then opened into a larger hall. It was an irregular shape, with sections curving off out of sight, lit by more of the spelled flowers. It took Moon a moment to realize those were bowers suspended from the ceiling, formed of large globes or half-shells of woven vines. They dripped rich fabrics in jewel-like colors, reds, golds, shimmering in the light. Seating cushions and furs were scattered on the floor below them. The place smelled of jasmine and Moon heard water running, somewhere out of sight.

A dark shape climbed across the ceiling, then clung with its claws to the vines and hung upside down to watch them pass: another consort. Faces peered out of some of the bowers, some of them shifted to Raksura before climbing out. The back of Moon’s neck itched with nerves. Everyone he saw was male, and when they shifted they had black scales. All consorts, and from the movement he could hear, there were a lot of them.

Moon had felt self-conscious plenty of times, but these were Raksura. They would be able to smell the sweat breaking out all over his body.

Shadow led the way through the confusing space toward the outer wall of the trunk, ignoring the curious stares. A doorway there let in greentinted sunlight, and they went through and out to a broad open balcony.

It was protected by the arch of thorn vines and partly enclosed by the spreading canopies of smaller trees growing in the big branch just below. In a shallow pool lined with polished stone, tiny water-lizards skittered across and away at their approach.

Dark gray furs were spread near the pool. Shadow gestured for Moon to sit and settled across from him. Moon sat on the fur, trying to look calm, or at least neutral. From here he had a good view of the sculpture above the pool, where the whole side of the trunk had been turned into an elaborate carving. It was made up of small figures of Raksura, Aeriat and Arbora. They were all different, all picked out in delicate detail. Beneath the figures were rows of twisty writing, the same language he had seen in the mentors’ books.

Watching him, Shadow said, “You have never seen this design before?”

“No. What does it say?”

He knew immediately it was a mistake. Shadow flicked a thoughtful sideways glance at him. “It’s a myth, of how the Raksura came to be.”

Intensely self-conscious, Moon managed not to twitch. He should have been able to read that for himself, obviously, even if he hadn’t recognized the carving. Idiot.

Shadow continued, “It explains that in the beginning, the Aeriat were shifters so that they might hide among groundlings and deceive them.”

“To kill them,” Moon said. “I’ve heard that part before.” Just don’t ask me where, he thought. He wondered if the myth mentioned the connection between the Aeriat and the Fell or if it ignored that aspect, but he wasn’t going to ask.

Shadow nodded. “And that the Aeriat came to these forest Reaches, to the mountain-trees, where they met another tribe of shifters, the Arbora. That in joining with them they changed their ways, and both became stronger.”

Moon had heard that part too, but not quite phrased that way. “It happened here? In this forest?”

“That is what the legends say.”

A few other consorts drifted out onto the balcony, all in groundling form, watching curiously. Shadow glanced at them and apparently his expression made it clear that they weren’t invited to get any closer; they kept their distance. They were all younger than Moon, with strong slender builds, dark hair, slightly pointed features. Two of them bore a strong resemblance to Shadow, with darker skin and broader shoulders. They all wore dark silky clothes, in deep blues or black, all wore jewelry, gold or silvery metals. Moon felt even more dirty and awkward than he had before, if that was possible. He was starting to get an inkling of the difference between what he was supposed to be and what he actually was, and it wasn’t pleasant. Shadow turned back to him, and asked, “What was your birthcourt called?”

“I don’t know.” It was clear Shadow probably wouldn’t have taken any interest in Moon at all, except that he was curious to meet a solitary. “It was somewhere to the east.”

A young consort carried out a lacquered tray and set it between Moon and Shadow. It held two delicate green glazed cups, and a kettle ornamented with writhing serpentine forms. He poured out tea, then sat back, as if planning to stay. Shadow regarded him, lifting a brow. The younger consort held out for a moment, then stood and retreated with a reproachful hiss. Shadow picked up a cup and handed it to Moon. As if the interruption hadn’t occurred, he said, “The other consorts at Indigo Cloud did not object to you?”

“Uh, no. Not really.” Moon waited until Shadow had lifted his own cup before he tasted the light yellow tea. Admitting that there were no other consorts except Stone and the fledglings would just suggest that Indigo Cloud was desperate and hadn’t had a choice. It was true, but Moon didn’t want to suggest it. “The line-grandfather found me and brought me to the court.”

Shadow turned his cup, as if admiring the glaze on the pottery. “So. Does Indigo Cloud visit only to make an alliance?”

This was the tricky part. Moon felt free to give information about himself, but he wasn’t sure if he should say anything about their mission yet. It didn’t help that he was fairly sure his dilemma was crystal clear to Shadow. Moon struggled for a moment, but he felt any attempt he made to avoid answering the question would be clumsy and probably unintentionally offensive. Feeling like he was jumping off a cliff without shifting, he said, “No. We need help. When we got to the Indigo Cloud colony tree, the seed was missing.”

“The seed?” Startled, Shadow listened as Moon took a lesson from Flower and told the story as briefly as possible, telling him about the damage to the tree, the dead groundlings near the outer door, and what little the Kek had seen. Shadow finally shook his head, saying, “These groundlings must have come from some distance. If they were native to these Reaches we, or the Kek, would have heard of them before. But then how did they know where the tree was, or that the seed was even there?”

“That’s what we thought. Our mentor thinks they wanted it for groundling magic.”

Shadow frowned as he thought it over. “It seems the only explanation.”

There was a faint commotion from the door into the consorts’ bowers, then Stone strolled out, as casually as if he had just happened to be in the area. The young consorts watched him warily as he crossed the balcony and took a seat near Moon and Shadow. Shadow greeted his arrival with a somewhat ironic nod. If he had said, You’re here and I can’t do anything about it, so I might as well accept it, it couldn’t have been any clearer. He said, “Are they talking yet?”

Stone regarded Shadow thoughtfully. “They’re getting there.”

“I told him about the seed,” Moon said, figuring if it was the wrong choice, they might as well get the consequences over with.

Apparently it wasn’t, because Stone just grunted an acknowledgment.

Shadow said, “I was just realizing how little I know about the seeds. No one has needed to create a new colony tree for uncounted turns, so there has been little reason to speak about them.”

Stone nodded. “Got any extras?”

“I’m sure we must have.”

They went further down inside the mountain-thorn’s trunk, a level or so below the consorts’ bowers, toward a chamber where Stone said the queens were gathered. Shadow stopped at the intersection of the passage that led to it, saying, “Go on. I must speak to Ice first.”

He took another doorway, and Moon and Stone started down the passage. Moon asked, low-voiced, “Is he going to help us?”

Stone shrugged. “He’s going to tell his queen what we told him. It all depends on her.” He added, apparently serious, “When we left you in the greeting hall, I thought this might happen.”

Moon threw him an exasperated look. “You did not.”

The way opened into a big round chamber and, like the upper passages, the walls were closely woven branches, allowing air and light to pass through. The floor was made of squares of different woods, all smoothed and polished to show the grain. It didn’t seem elaborate enough for this court, until Moon glanced up. Between the two wells that opened into the domed roof hung a giant circular sculpture of queens in midair battle. It wasn’t a particularly good omen for this encounter.

There were seating cushions scattered in the center of the room, and Jade, Flower, and the sister queen Tempest sat there, with three other queens. All four Emerald Twilight queens had consorts with them, all about Moon’s age, and from even a cursory glance he could tell that like the consorts up in the bowers, they were all better dressed and prettier than he was. At least Ash wasn’t present, which would save some embarrassment.

As Moon and Stone stepped out of the passage, all the queens and consorts turned to look. Moon froze for a heartbeat, pinned by those concentrated stares.

Jade touched an empty cushion next to her. Stone put a hand on Moon’s lower back and gave him a little push forward. Moon forced himself to move at an even pace, to walk to Jade and sit down. “Where were you?” she whispered.

Settling next to Flower, Stone answered for him. “He got in a fight with a daughter queen then ran off with the reigning queen’s consort.”

Jade stared at Stone. “What?”

Flower leaned around Stone to frown at Moon. “Where was this?”

Moon threw a glare at Stone. “I saw Shadow and he said—”

But Tempest cleared her throat, making it obvious they were being rude. Jade turned back to face her and the other queens, her jaw tense as if she suppressed a hiss. Moon sat back on the cushion and tried to hide his impatience.

Tempest formally introduced the other queens and consorts. Three of the other consorts had been born in different courts, Sky Cinnabar and Sunset Water. The way this was presented made it clear they represented very important alliances. Then it was Jade’s turn. She introduced Stone, and then said, “My consort, Moon of Indigo Cloud.”

There was a short expectant silence. Then one of the other queens tilted her head inquiringly. “Of a different bloodline within Indigo Cloud?”

Oh, here we go, Moon thought, gritting his teeth. They had to know the answer already, either from someone who had seen the confrontation with Ash in the greeting hall or who had heard him talking to Shadow in the bowers. If Flower’s sardonic expression was any indication, she thought so, too. Stone just looked bored.

Jade didn’t betray any irritation by so much as a single spine twitch. She said, “No. He’s the only survivor of a court that was destroyed almost forty turns ago.”

There was another silence, this one far more uncomfortable. There weren’t many replies the other queens could make without calling Jade a liar, or calling Moon a liar and Jade a fool for believing him. Tempest flicked her tail and gave the queen who had spoken a look of reproof. Moon couldn’t tell if the reproof was for being rude or for presenting Jade with the opportunity to be rude back.

Then a faint sound from above made everyone look up. Someone was climbing down the wall, and Moon didn’t need anyone to tell him that this was Ice, the reigning queen.

She was easily twice Pearl’s size, and her scales looked pale, barely tinted with yellow, but reflected warm gold as the light struck them. She was so old she had started to lose her color. Her frills had grown long and wispy, like frayed silk. When she partly extended her wings to balance, Moon could see the bones outlined through the near-translucent skin.

She had to be much older than Shadow, who was mature but hadn’t begun to show noticeable gray on his groundling skin. Moon wondered how many consorts she had outlived.

She reached the floor, then Shadow half-dropped, half-glided down after her. He shifted to groundling and they both moved to join the other queens. Ice sat down on the cushions that waited for her, Shadow taking a seat beside her.

If Tempest was supposed to make the formal introduction of Jade, Ice didn’t wait for it. She said, “Jade, sister queen of Indigo Cloud. You have a lovely young consort. May he come closer?”

Moon thought he was plenty close enough and had a moment to hope that this was another attempt to trick them into violating etiquette, that it was expected that Jade would refuse. Then Jade turned her head toward him, said in a breathless whisper, “Go on. Just sit in front of her, two paces away.”

Apparently she was serious. Moon managed to get up without fumbling or tripping over the cushion. He crossed over to Ice, his spine prickling with tension, and sank to the floor in front of her. His hand made a sweaty mark on the polished wood.

Ice regarded him. Her eyes were dark, with a faint rim of blue, and her gaze seemed to go right through him. She wore jeweled sheaths on her claws, the gems tiny sparks of blue and green. She said, “You remember nothing of your birthcourt?”

Shadow must have told her everything. At least Moon didn’t have to repeat the story in front of the other queens. He cleared his throat.

“No.”

Her brows arched. “Not what it was called, not the queen’s name?” Moon found her size daunting. He had to force himself not to lean back away from her. “Nothing.”

“Hmm.” She didn’t sound doubtful, just thoughtful. “And after so long alone, it was not difficult for you to… adjust, to living within a court?”

He should lie and say no, it wasn’t difficult at all. But her eyes were sharp, a wise old predator’s eyes, and he knew she wouldn’t believe him. He said, “Yes, it’s been… very strange.”

Ice smiled in dry acknowledgement. “I can imagine.” She lifted her hand, and the jewels on her claws glinted as she made a gesture of dismissal. “Go back to your queen.”

Relieved, Moon pushed to his feet and went to take his seat behind Jade again. He ignored the look Stone tried to give him. Jade touched his knee lightly, a reassurance.

Ice turned her attention to Jade. “This new knowledge of the Fell, and what they are capable of, is of import. I agree that it should be known as widely as possible and will send messengers to all the courts we are allied with.” Almost as an afterthought, she added, “Shadow has told me of the theft from your colony tree. Your mentor may speak to ours.”

Jade inclined her head to Ice. “I thank you.”

As Ice turned away to speak to Tempest, Jade gave Flower a meaningful glance. Flower got to her feet, murmuring, “Wish me luck.”

Moon felt a knot of tension evaporate from his spine. They’re going to help. They could get the seed and be gone by tonight.