Page 51 of Shadow Wings

The older Phaetyn shrugged. “It seems like it. You can talk to the trees,right?”

I shook my head in disbelief; news sure traveled fast. Maybe I could get some more answers from them. “So, why don’t the Phaetyn heal the land anymore? What happened withthat?”

“Queen Luna erected the borders around Zivost when the Phaetyn started disappearing over a century ago. The border that cloaks the skies is the one that keeps us safe from the Drae, and the stone one around the forest protects us from humans. However, Luna dropped the physical wall regularly for the Phaetyn to visit other lands. Remember, she felt it our purpose to regenerate and renew the earth. Less than a decade after Luna’s disappearance, Queen Alani decreed the outside world unsafe for all the Phaetyn. She pointed to those captured and killed as reason for her decision. She insisted that if the wall had been up, her dear sister would’ve been safe. The majority of the Phaetyn supported Queen Alani’s decision for isolation, if for no other reason than their love forLuna.”

As I listened to the Phaetyn explain their history, I wanted to ring Kamoi’s neck. His grossly abbreviated history was rife with missingbits.

“The intent of our rebellion is not to protest Alani’s right to be queen. Luna gave her that right, and it was hers to give. But it is our calling and purpose to heal the land. Word has reached us of the need of the kingdoms in the Draecon Empire. We just want the choice to leaveZivost.”

“It’s not like there aren’t a few Phaetyn out there anyway. Or there were when Alani raised the wall. The emperor probably got them all by now,” the biggest Phaetyn said in a rumbling lowvoice.

“We want to leave, and she won’t let us,” the youngest of the threesaid.

“But if you leave, you might die,” I argued. “Isn’t she just trying to keep yousafe?”

“Some want to leave to heal the land; some just don’t want to be trapped. Others want to look for their loved ones even if only to bring closure to their disappearance. They can lower and raise the wall, but they rarely let anyone leave.Veryrarely.” The eldest Phaetyn gave me a sad smile. “Have you ever felttrapped?”

The question made me nauseated, and Inodded.

“Is it true you saw visions of Queen Luna?” the eldest Phaetynasked.

I shifted on the hard seat and stared into the empty bowl, contemplating my answer. The biggest problems I’d experienced in my life were because of other’s lies. I took a deep breath and raised my head to meet the three Phaetyn’s gazes. I didn’t want to be a liar. “Yes,” I said. “Idid.”

“Then you must come back to The Sacred Elm tree and ask it to show you the truth about Queen Luna. Alani said it was her sister’s last wish to keep the Phaetyn safe. If that were truly her wish, we would all comply. She was our true queen. She held the ancestralpowers.”

“But if Queen Alani is lying,” the stocky Phaetyn said in a deep voice, “then we would ask that you drop the rock barrier so those of us who want to leave are free to be one with the world again. If you can see the truth from the trees, you have the ancestral power, and it is your right to doit.”

“You can’t move it likeKamoi?”

He shook his head. “Only the royals have thatpower.”

I wanted to tell them not to be stupid or rash, but I didn’t know what life was like here or how it was affecting the Phaetyn. I also didn’t want to drop the wall and leave them exposed, but the safety they were told they had here, just like the high tower I’d once been in, was only an illusion. Alani’s grip on the barrier would inevitablyfail.

Knowing the Phaetyn in Zivost were divided, I wasn’t about to agree to just anything. But they weren’t asking me to do anything more than tell them the truth, and I was more than willing to do that. Everyone deserved thetruth.

“If you want to take me to the tree, we’ll have to do something to disguise me. Let’s face it,” I said, holding up my hemp sack tunic. “I stick out like a sorethumb.”

20

When we gotto the Sacred Circle and no one stopped us, I mentally patted myself on the back. I could blend in with my new silver robes. I could be a Phaetynspy. Wait. Thatwaswhat I was doing. For some reason, I heard Tyrrik’s suffering sigh in my head at that moment, and my lipstwitched.

The royal guard surrounded the Sacred Circle. The Phaetyn warriors, dressed in their purple aketons, created a barrier to thetree.

The smallest Phaetyn grabbed my hand and said, “Do they know you have Queen Luna’spower?”

I nodded, and the young Phaetyn cringed. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Why did I always have to blurt everything out? I was so going to get better at keeping secrets, starting rightnow.

“If we go around through the trees, you can climb over,” he said, pointing to where the branches of the large elm tree entwined in the forest canopyabove.

My Drae vision told me that those branches were not very thick, and my climbing skills weren’t nearly as good as my nectar-making skills—which weren’t very good. As Ryn the Fearless, I felt obligated to do something. As Queen Luna’s surrogate, I felt honored to serve the Phaetyn, but I was done being anidiot.

“The trees can talk to each other, right?” I asked, repeating what Kamini said. “What about if I ask the trees to tellme?”

The three Phaetyn exchanged glances, and the youngest one blushed. “Of course, that will work if you have ancestralpower.”

Al’right. Although, why did we have to come all the way here if they knew that? They just finished telling me I had the power, and now they were questioning it? “Then let’s go find out thetruth.”

“We haven’t had someone among us with ancestral powers for so long,” the stocky Phaetyn said apologetically, leading us back into the forest. “Most of us don’t know how the power works, or what all can be done with it. Did one of the royals tell youthat?”

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