Page 109 of The Eye of the Fifth
Nysari was not amused. ‘If you tire of my opinion, should I even stay for this meeting? Or would you like me elsewhere?’
‘Stay, Nys,’ Naal commanded. ‘I would like to hear your opinion on this matter, whatever it is.’ Her Third nodded at once, rested her back against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. Waiting.
‘You received my message, then,’ Maida noted.
‘I did,’ Naal said. ‘The hawk caused quite a stir on the waterling ship.’
‘Yes, I thought it might,’ said Maida through a smile, and without a hint of regret. ‘But I knew the hawk would reach you faster than a raven, and this news could not wait.’
‘Go on.’
Glancing at Nysari, Maida leaned forward and clasped her hands together. ‘The Fire Warden came to us again, Naal. Not in attack. But in surrender.’
This she had not expected. ‘When?’
‘Two weeks past. On the back of a dragon, no less, with a fireling woman in tow.’ Maida’s gaze flickered to Nysari once more. ‘Nysari’s arrow almost killed the girl, but Zuriel got her to me just in time.’
‘Who is she?’ Naal asked.
‘I am told her name is Sunsi, though that is all I know. She is still too weak to regain full consciousness whilst she recovers from her wound. But if I am to understand from the uniform she wore, she is a queensguard. Sentry, I believe Azar calls them.’
‘And the Fire Warden? Where is he now?’
‘The ice cells,’ Maida said. ‘We have him under constant surveillance, day and night.’
‘Who else knows he is there?’
‘None but myself and those who drove them out of the sky,’ Maida told her. ‘We would have an uprising on our hands if our people knew we had the destroyer of their city sitting in custody and not rotting dead in the snow.’
Nysari muttered, ‘Precisely my point.’
Turning to look at her, Naal asked, ‘You believe he ought to be killed?’
‘Yes,’ she replied without hesitation. ‘Not just for the attack, but for the fact wecannottrust him. He said he wanted to speak to you. But whilst we await your return, what else moves in the shadows? Whilst our attention is onhim,what other schemes does the Empress have in play?’
‘What has he said since his capture?’
‘Nothing,’ Maida sighed with a grimace. ‘Nysari threatened to cut out his tongue if he spoke again.’
Naal expected nothing less from her Third. It tickled her. ‘And does the Fire Warden still have his tongue?’
Disappointment coated her voice as Nysari gave a clipped, ‘Yes.’
‘Good,’ said Naal. ‘He will need it if he is to plead his case.’
Nysari dropped her arms to her sides, her great black wings flaring with the bitterness growing in her eyes. ‘So, you want us to keep him alive? After all he has done?’
‘You are right to question me.’ Naal understood her anger, that need for vengeance, far more than she cared to admit. ‘But if the Prince of Fire wishes to speak with me, then I shall oblige him. To take the life of a Warden is not something you want on your hands, Nysari. There is much we can learn from him, and much that does not yet make sense. I know you do not like it, but until things become clearer, he must be kept alive. There will be a trial, of course, and the Four will decide his redemption. If any.’
There was an argument simmering beneath the surface of Nysari’s thin composure; Naal could almost feel it burning. Though, quietly, she agreed, ‘As you wish.’
‘How goes the search, Naal?’ Maida asked. ‘Have we found ourselves a Water Warden yet?’
‘No,’ said Naal, wishing her answer could have been the opposite. ‘But I have not lost hope.’ Kyra had been on deck with Kawai until late the night before, and though the earthling had said nothing of it yet, Naal still hoped their blossoming friendship might be enough to soon learn of Kano’s whereabouts. Aimlessly searching Loros’ islets for a lost Warden was not an efficient practice, but if it bought Kyra time to gain Kawai’s trust, then so be it.
Once they found him, there would be not three Wardens to fight against Azar, but potentially… four. Had Eraura finally guided her Warden to the right path? Though Naal had not admitted it to her Second and Third, Prince Gedeon’s appearance in Nythanor was a twist of fate that could not be ignored. If the prince was true, if his allegiance had changed, the world would see the four Wardens united against a common enemy for the first time in history.
And when that time came, Naal would have the impossible task of forgetting the prince’s past, would have to bury her hatred and fury for all the boy had done.
