Page 161 of The BoneKeeper's Daughter

“Would you though?” He is thoughtful, not trying to insult me, just questioning. “I’ve seen the way skipping stones move, Wren. You, Axton, Kyla. You are the same in many ways. I hope you remember that, if ever it comes to it. That sometimes what you are seeing, feeling, are only the ripples of the moments the stone hits the water. That many times all the stone longs to do is sink, because that’s what they are meant to do, made to do. That it is only because of some greater force hurling you along that you are unable to stop.”

I have no reply, so I just bend down and gather more stones in my hands.

There is a comfortable silence between us; when he turns to me, his face is soft with peace found somewhere in the hush of the dawning world around us. “Will you help me? With Ellie?”

“I’ve simply been waiting for you to ask,” I reply softly, smiling. Tucking most of the rocks in my pocket, I hold out a now empty hand. Looking around carefully, Teo reaches into his shirt, pulling out the pouch, and gently pours Ellie’s bone into his palm.

“It’s…I’m sorry.She’svery warm today.” He looks incredibly worried, as if something has gone wrong, and wraps his fingers around her when I reach out to take her.

“That’s because she’s beingveryloud at the moment,” I say,laughing lightly. “Earth and Sky, Ellie. I can hear you.Teocan almost hear you at this volume.” Tilting my head, I listen for a moment, then look back at him. “I can either interpret for her, meaning I’ll pass her words along for you, or I can try to let her speak through me directly to you. I should warn you, many people don’t enjoy the latter the way they think they would. It can be unsettling.”

“Maybe just for now speak for her, BoneKeeper. That alone is still too much for me, but I’m trying.” He’s strangely formal, after all of our back-and-forth, but I know this is more than he ever thought he could do, and just nod in return.

Leaving my hand out and relaxed, I wait for him to unclench his bloodless fingers from around the smooth heel bone, and place her in my palm. The moment he does, he turns from me again and picks up another stone, sending it out across the glass-like surface of the water. This time it only jumps twice before sinking.

“She says that was a poor attempt. That in the past you’ve skipped a stone five times that far, and your forearms must be weakening in your old age.”

He startles, whipping his head around to face me, mouth agape, almost comically stunned. “She,what?She can see that? Me? This?” Waving his arm around vaguely, he looks poleaxed.

“Mmm. Mostly, yes. More as a sense? It’s hard to describe the way bone souls see? But yes.”

“Tell her I’mnotweak,” he replies, almost affronted, and I grin.

“I don’t need to tell her anything, Teo. She can hear you. I’m going to step back, and let you two talk. So she’s not speaking through me, but it will confuse you to go back and forth with us. Just talk to her, and I’ll give you her words.”

“Ell—” He’s awkward, unsure, but pushes on. “Are you…is it painful?”

“No. It’s warm, like being wrapped in a blanket in front of a fire. Like sitting in the — I’m sorry, Teo, I don’t know this word. Picture it for me, Ellie, please.” Humming softly, I focus on the image she’s building, and nod. “It’s harder between languages than I thought. I apologize. I’ll get used to it.Ah. It’s a sort of chair, just one I’ve neverseen the likes of before. Very full arms, full back. A sort of worn out red color? With a patterned rug in front of it. It looks soft, and there’s a quilt on it. Does that help?”

He nods, smiling with something close to wonder. “It does! That’s Kyla’s grandmother’s chair. Ellie, Kyla and I used to sit on that rug and listen to stories when we were little. Axton too sometimes. But that grew less and less as he was pulled away for BloodLetter duties. So it doesn’t hurt you?”

“No. It feels like home. It’s different from what you were told as a child. How are you, Teo?”

His voice drops, whispering secrets to her. “Not well, Lollygirl. The world has faded without you.”

“Keep your promises to her, she says, and she’ll keep hers to you. You skipping stones reminds her. Do you remember a cold lake in snow-touched mountains, a broken cabin door, and a?—”

Teo barks out an almost alarmed sound, clapping his hand over mine, over her bone, and flushes red. “Thatis not a memory to be shared, Lolly!” He’s half-chortling, half-embarrassed, fingers wrapped tightly around mine as though that alone could silence her voice.

“And a roaring fire? What did youthinkI was going to say?” I tease, voice brimming with barely contained laughter at his complete loss of composure. He turns to me, a mock-threatening look on his face.

“Woman! You’re impossible!” He groans dramatically, and though it’s not clear to me whether he’s talking to Ellie or myself, we’re both grinning, faces tilted toward each other, shared affection obvious. I’m about to answer when the rustle of pine needles draws my attention.

It is both the luck of the Gods and the curse of the Ender that Axton chooses this exact moment to walk out of the dense woods and into the open shoreline, Kylabet trailing on his heels. Both are barefaced other than the typical paint that the People of the Blood wear, so it is easy to see Kyla’s astonishment, and Axton’s anger.

“What is this?” Axton is trying to keep his tone level, as though he recognizes his fury is disproportionate to the moment, and is making an effort to tame it. Kyla’s eyes are narrow, brow furrowed; she studies us in a way that is uncomfortable. There is nothing that shouldbe too unusual about us, other than our surprising closeness, but Teo’s nostrils flare in barely contained panic, and though he attempts to keep his breathing casual and calm, his chest is rising and falling in shallow, almost panting motions. Ellie’s bone is hot, trapped between our palms. “Such an unexpectedly…friendly…scene, Blood Rider.”

Teo nods, not looking away from my face; if eyes could ask for help, his would be begging. Lorcan whispers a suggestion against my back, and I smile softly at Teo, before pulling my hand from his, Ellie still in my grip.

“I’m being taught a skill, BloodLetter,” I say, purposefully keeping my tone light, unbothered.There is nothing suspicious in this momentI repeat to myself. “But being made fun of, despite my many admirable endeavors.”

“A skill?” Mistrust drips from his words like rain from the trees, and he strides towards us.

“Of sorts,” I reply, reaching into my pocket and pulling a few small stones from it while leaving Ellie behind, hidden. “Teo says a pastime. But it seems to require more effort than that.”

“You’re wasting time on skipping stones?” Axton directs to Teo, voice hard with judgment, and Teo bows under the weight, casting his eyes toward the ground.

“Is joy ever a waste?” I ask softly, remembering the words that were said to me by a kind woman who laughed so hard she cried. It seems an innocuous thing, but all three look at me sharply before Kyla replies slowly, “What an odd saying, Binder. Is it something from your people?”

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