Page 90 of Kingdom of Feathers

With an enormous effort, Wren forced her breathing to slow, and her limbs to relax. She wasn’t sure if the curse would lift at midnight, or would wait until dawn. But she fully intended to be by the lake when the clock struck twelve, just to be safe. She had no illusions that the guards outside her door would allow her to simply walk out of the room, so she would have to do something she hadn’t attempted in years, and climb out her window straight into the gardens. And in order to do that, she needed her governess to be convinced that she was asleep, and retreat for the night.

The next time the older woman poked her head into the room, it was to see a serene princess breathing steadily and lying unmoving under her covers. Still muttering disapprovingly about Wren’s misadventure, she withdrew to her own room for what Wren trusted would be the final time that night.

Waiting another twenty minutes, Wren slid carefully out of her bed. She crept across the room, pausing to slip a cloak over her nightdress, and shoes on her feet. After a moment’s thought, she tied on her pocket as well, just in case she needed her slate. She eased up her window without eliciting any noise from her governess’s room, and a moment later she was lowering herself down the wall outside.

She’d expected it to be harder than when she was eleven, given she wasn’t as active as she had been in her childhood. But in actual fact it was considerably easier, due to the longer reach of her limbs. In minutes, she was safely on the ground, amid the quiet rustlings of the moon-bathed garden. Pulling her cloak tightly around herself, she hurried between the bushes, avoiding the marked paths in case anyone was watching from a window. Ari appeared beside her as she moved, and she sent him a quick smile. She’d seen him from her window earlier in the evening, and it had been heartening during her painful interview with her parents to know she had an ally nearby, however little use he could actually be to her.

The two of them reached the pond mere minutes before midnight. Alighting beside her, Ari pressed his sleek body against her legs.

Do you really think it’s going to work?

Underneath the deeper voice of the eighteen-year-old, Wren could hear the eagerness of the twelve-year-old boy she’d last seen in the woods that day.

It’s going to work. She tried to inject more confidence into her words than she felt. But surely it would work. It had to.

Midnight, do you think?Ari asked.

Wren shrugged.I don’t know. It might be dawn. But I’m pretty sure it will be one or the other.

The other swans had spotted them, and were gliding across the smooth surface of the pond, leaving silent ripples in their wake. They all huddled around Wren, even Caleb flopping awkwardly onto the shore without her assistance.

Many familiar voices sounded in her mind as they all pressed against her.

We didn’t think you’d make it back in time!

Bram told us what you found! Do you really think it was Sir Gelding?

Almost midnight, Wren. You’re almost free.

The last voice was Caleb’s. Wren smiled mistily at him. It was like her oldest brother to think of her, but they were the ones who would soon be free. Things would change for her too, of course. Wren’s thoughts flew unbidden to Basil. Would the recovery of her voice, and the revelation of who her swans were, be enough to overcome his scruples about her suitability to stand at his side in Entolia?

Surely it would be. But somehow the thought didn’t erase the ache she felt whenever she remembered the sensation of him stepping away from her in the mine.

Suddenly, the great castle clock began to chime. They all froze. Nothing in the garden moved—even the breeze had died down, and the very plants seemed to be holding their breath. The air was thick with some terrifying mix of excitement and nerves as one girl and six swans stared at each other in wordless anticipation.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.Wren counted the strokes in her mind, tension rising within her.Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.Without deciding to do it, she found she had squeezed her eyes shut.Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

She suddenly realized she was holding her breath, and she drew in a shuddering gasp of air as her eyes flew open.

Nothing had happened.

Six swans still clustered around her, their feathers pressed against her nightgown, their beady eyes fixed unblinkingly on her.

Well,Averett’s matter-of-fact voice sounded in her mind,that was anticlimactic, wasn’t it?

It didn’t work.Ari sounded panicked.Why didn’t it work?

Don’t worry. Wren fought back her own rising terror.Midnight clearly isn’t the trigger. It will most likely be at dawn. I’ve read a lot about enchantments, remember. Sunrise and sunset are significant times, and enchantments are often tied to them.

She’s right.Caleb’s calm voice sounded in her mind as a soft bugle wafted out from him around the group.Which means tomorrow will be a big day for us. We should all try to sleep for a few hours.

In tense silence, the other swans detached themselves from the huddle and drifted back out onto the water. Caleb turned to Wren.

Our last night on the water. Quite momentous.

What if it didn’t work because of me?Wren whispered into his mind, disregarding his attempt at lightness.What if I broke the counterforce when I spoke that time? Or when I wrote about your fate? Or when I accidentally started showing Basil the truth?

It’s going to work,Caleb told her firmly.Dawn, like you said.

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