Page 68 of By the Moonbeam and the Mist
“I wasn’t expecting Pedwill today, but he showed up right after Mrs. Wildenberg’s class to tell me that some…some…”
Just as I was wondering if I should drop my blockade to try to access the thoughts that seemed stuck in her throat, her blue cotinga chirped in her stead, “Those monsters breached the shield and started ravaging the town with Magic! Magic I’venever seen before! The villagers tried to defend themselves, but by the time I left to tell Emelle, half the town was already burnt to a crisp! Or torn to pieces!”
My heart seemed to stall, then pick up again with a resounding beat against my ribs, pumping the first surges of rage through my heart.
Becauseburnt to a crispandtorn to piecessoundedexactlylike what Dyonisia had described in the Testing Center all those months ago.
“Your family?” I managed to breathe.
Emelle shook her head, and Pedwill chimed in again.
“I couldn’t spot them in the chaos!”
God of the Cosmos. Emelle didn’t know if her family was dead or alive. When would the attack end so she could find out? I knew the pirates—faeries—wanted to break their original Good Council out of prison, but Merkwell was at least a hundred miles south of Bascite Mountain. If they’d managed another breach, why thehellwould they destroy an innocent village on their way? Just to get Dyonisia’s attention?
My hands twitched around Emelle’s neck, itching to drag my fingernails down Steeler’s treacherous face. Who else could have helped the pirates bypass the shield besides someone with the literal power to surpass space itself? If he’d been directly involved in this attack, I wouldnothesitate again before shoving my knife straight between his clavicles.
“Where’s Lander?” I asked, pulling back from my hug with Emelle before she could feel the hateful quiver traveling up my legs.
Wren answered from behind my shoulder.
“Gileon went to fetch him.”
Okay.
Okay.
All I had to do was wait until Lander arrived before I let that pumping rage propel me into action, spur me forward, and—
Lander came sprinting through the open doorway on elongated legs mere seconds later, surging through everyone to scoop Emelle up against his chest.
As soon as I heard Emelle’s muffled sobs finally unleash themselves against his shirt, I scrambled to my feet, hurrying for that doorway just as Gileon came lumbering in with Rodhi following closely behind.
“What’d I miss?” Rodhi asked, panting.
“Everything,” Wren spat. “Where have youbeen?”
“That’s a private matter, darling, but I appreciate your interest.” Rodhi blinked at the blue cotinga zipping around Lander and Emelle’s conjoined form. “Is this a new mating ritual, or something?”
I didn’t wait to hear Wren’s outburst to that.
I was already out the door, sprinting across the estuary bridge and through the Wild Whisperer sector until I crashed into the jungle, letting all the leaves and bristles and branches reel me in.
“Jagaros?” I called.
The trees hummed. The thistles at my feet nudged my ankles. Some nearby monkeys giggled as they peeked at me through the leaves. But not a single sarcastic growl ripped through the wildlife.
Of course not. I’d told him to not bother coming back. Jagaros was probably on the other end of the island by now, and honestly good for him. Because the accusations I wanted to scream at him would make even the top of the food chain cower and curl their tail.
But I still pushed myself forward until I was sandwiched between two colossal surface roots of a nearby tree and pressedmy forehead against its moss-slick trunk, inhaling the heavy, sappy scent of it.
“Is Jagaros nearby?” I breathed into it.
The tree’s humming intensified, springing into a chaotic melody that told meyes, Jagaros was, however inexplicably, nearby.
“Where?” I asked.
Again, that humming increased its tempo, and suddenly a branch was curling around my waist, another one wrapping around my legs.
