Page 114 of Swift Wings Shadowed Heart
I watch her closely, trying to find the truth in her reaction. I expect to see either confusion, due to my evasiveness, or fear, her thoughts inevitably turning to the murder investigation and her culpability in Cindergrasp’s demise. Except her expression remains neutral.
“Well,” she says, “maybe you can tell me later. Right now, you have more important things to worry about.”
Rhealyn walks away toward Skybolt Reefsong.
I take a deep breath to clear my mind. Rhealyn is right. Perhaps once we figure out what happened in Hearthdale, it’ll be easier for me to decide what to do.
* * *
RHEA
It takesall I’ve got to hide my immediate panic from Vaylen.
“…something did happen that has me worried. But we would need privacy to talk about it…”
Goddess! There’s only one possibility. They figured out I killed Cindergrasp.
I have to know. Ineedto know. Seeing no other choice, I go against all my instincts and, for the first time, use my Weaver powers to look into his mind.
—…her culpability in Cindergrasp’s demise.
I nearly choke, but I manage to keep a neutral expression.
—What is it, little one?Zephyros’s deep voice fills my head even as I stand in front of Vaylen, pretending I have no idea what he’s talking about.
“Well,” I say, “you can tell me later. Right now, you have more important things to worry about.”
I can’t walk away fast enough. First, I head toward Omari, but in the end, I veer away from everyone, wishing only to be alone.
—They know,Zephyros says. Unguarded as I am, he’s able to sift through my thoughts and figure out exactly what upset me.
—They do,I say, hoping he’ll contradict me, tell me I’m jumping to the wrong conclusion.
He doesn’t.
—It’s over, Zephyros.
—No. The truth will prevail. He was a bad man and deserved to die forallhe did.
I don’t miss the way he emphasized the word “all,” but I refuse to think about whatever he may be implying.
—They won’t let the truth be told.I invite him to look further into my thoughts, so he can see exactly what happened after my mother died because it seems he missed that part in his perusal through my brain.
—Damn them!He exclaims, making me jump at his sudden outburst.They are dishonorable. They do not deserve to walk Heratrix’s domain. I will kill them.
I take a seat on a rock, facing away from everyone to hide my distress.
—It’s my word and my father’s against a whole institution. We’ll both end up in prison.
—Iknow the truth.
—But without Weavers who will tell them.
—You are a Weaver.
—And that wouldn’t only send me to prison. It would land me in the gallows. You know that as well as I do.
Suddenly, he growls high on his perch. The sound reverberates through the mountain peaks, feeling like an earthquake. I whirl to face him and watch as he leaps off the ledge where he’s been quietly waiting for our incursion into Hearthdale. Everyone else turns too.
