The Fire Sisters (Brilliant Darkness 3) (28 page)

In a flash, a Sister moves in close to me. I hear her inhale, as if she’s raising a staff or pulling back a spear. I jump back, but too late. Her weapon slices through the air toward me with a
whoosh
. I stiffen, but instead of pain, there’s a loud crack in front of me, as if the blow was blocked.

“Attacking an unarmed girl, Golnar?” Kai says. “Coward. Try me on for size.”

The Sister doesn’t need another invitation. By the sound of the impact, she strikes hard and fast. Kai must parry her blow, though; at least she doesn’t cry out. Their weapons clash again and again, and their feet move against the rock of the cliff, shifting side to side, each trying to find a weakness, an advantage.

Amarina grabs my arm, pulling me away. The firmness of her grip sends a message: we have no part in this fight. Kai has a score to settle with the Sisters. But to protect me, Kai had to let Alev go. Adar has no incentive to listen to us now.

Bear must have managed to dislodge his gag, because he calls out, “Watch your left, Kai! Keep your staff up.” Sisters urge Golnar on.

The women dart around the area, attacking and parrying. Neither stops, and neither falls. The fight seems to go on forever. Still, as the minutes drag on, the frequency of their blows and the ferocity of their counterattacks slow, until I hear them both gasping for air. The cracks of their weapons finally stop.

“Golnar, stand down,” Adar says. Her voice is hard, flat, difficult to read. Someone staggers toward us, smelling of exertion.

“Well done, Kaiya.” Amarina sounds proud.

I grip the bird at my neck, wondering what Adar will do, praying she’ll listen to us. At least the skirmish seems to have sucked some of the tension out of the air around us, like venom from a bite.

“Where did you learn to fight, Initiate?” Adar asks. “Golnar is one of our best.”

“The Teachers.” The defiance has left Kai’s voice. She sounds exhausted. “I… I never forgot.”

“Stranger or not, I wouldn’t care to see a warrior of such ability felled.” Adar is silent. When she speaks again, her voice is firm. “Fennel, I will not make any decisions tonight. Tomorrow, you will meet with Alev, with myself, and with others, to tell us your ideas for an alliance. You will not be harmed so long as we are in negotiations.”

“And the children?” I ask.

“They will remain in our protection—for now. But I will consider the possibility of their release.”

My heart leaps and my body thrums with excitement; this sounds promising.

“What do you say, Amarina?” I murmur.

“Yes. Definitely.”

“Derain says to take the deal,” Bear calls to me.

“As a show of good will, Adar,” I say, “please release the men.”

She hesitates, and then does what I asked.

I hear a little shoving and a few snarls, but soon the men are freed and beside us. Peree takes and squeezes my hand, giving his silent approval. I’m relieved he doesn’t seem injured.

There’s one more person I need to check with. The wind pulls my dress tight against my legs as I turn to find her. Her ragged breathing makes her easy to locate.

“Kai, I don’t want to agree to this without you.” Of everyone, I think she’s lost the most to the Sisters.

I wait patiently when she doesn’t answer right away. No one ever bothers to ask Kai what she thinks, what she wants. She needs to be heard; she needs to have a voice. We all do.

“Go ahead.”

Bear murmurs something comforting to her.

“Thank you, Adar,” I say. “We agree to the negotiations.”

“Then you may make camp outside the Cloister gate,” she says. “Come in the morning, Fennel, and we will speak.”

“Can Frost join us outside?” I ask.

There’s a pause. “If she chooses to.”

Why wouldn’t she?
But I leave it. I think Adar would tell me directly if they were holding her against her will. The Sisters are fierce, but they aren’t really the scheming types.

They leave as a group, torches gliding forward, footsteps echoing as they move. They must use the path that Kai said led toward the corner of the eastern wall and the Eternal Flames.

The others cluster around me, their bodies thankfully cutting the wind.

“So… they still have the children and Frost. Not sure what that accomplished, but good work, ladies,” Moray says.

His voice holds a note of teasing, but I throw up my hands. “What it accomplished was keeping you and your big mouth alive.”

“Shut it, Moray,” Bear says. “They did great. Fenn and Alev can talk Adar into letting the children go. I think she wants to say yes.” His voice grows warmer. “Kai, nice move when you ducked under that Sister’s staff and rolled in to grab Alev. I wasn’t sure how we were going to get out of this alive until then. And that fight with the big one—” He whistles. “You’ve got skills.”

She thanks him, sounding tired but pleased.

“They’re gone. Let’s get out of here,” Cuda says. Peree guides me along the path behind the others, and I’m happy to let him. The moon gives a faint glow to the air, softening the darkness. The wind suddenly doesn’t seem as harsh.

Peree pulls me into his side as we walk.

“Were you hurt?” I ask him.

“Roughed up. Nothing serious.” He pauses. “Amazing.”

“What?” I ask.

“You.”

I’d normally say something about how I got lucky, or that it could have gone a different way, but I don’t. I only squeeze his waist gently. No one was hurt or killed tonight, and it was at least partly due to my efforts.

“You seem really… calm,” I say.

“Do I?”

“Yeah.” Normally, he’d be fretting over me, checking if I was hurt, chiding me for stepping into danger.

“You know what you’re doing, Fenn,” he says. “You always have. It just took me a while to trust that.”

I beam up at him, and he slings an arm around my shoulder. “I’m really proud of you.”

I think of Kai. “I had some good advice earlier, and I took it. But I hope I can get them to let the children go.”

“I think Bear’s right. Adar—is that her name?—clearly listens to Alev, and Alev seems like she’s on our side. We’re a lot farther along than we were when we got to the Cloister, anyway, and it’s thanks to you. If you hadn’t taken the risk to go in there and try to learn more about the Sisters, I’m not sure we would’ve survived this. They seemed to respect you.”

“Yeah? How do you know?”

“Apart from the fact that they listened, I could see it on their faces.”

I groan; apparently, I can’t escape it. “I wish they’d let you be part of the negotiations. I think you could singlehandedly change their minds about all men being dangerous and untrustworthy. They don’t need to allow men in their lives if they don’t want to, but if they don’t learn that you’re not all bad, how will an alliance with the
anuna
work?”

“So, in other words… you think I’m amazing?” Peree asks.

I sigh and kiss him again. “I do.”

We decide that Kai should stay outside with the men. No matter what the Sisters might think of these negotiations, they probably aren’t too pleased that she threatened to throw Alev over the cliff and that she took on Golnar. So Amarina and I will talk to the Sisters, work for the release of the children, and find out what’s going on with Frost. She never came out.

The gate limps open. I run a hand through my dirty hair as I remember
why
it sounds that way.

“The gate. How bad is it?” I ask Amarina.

“Not good. Sections are burnt out, and what remains would not keep rabbits out.”

“Hold on; I’ll be right back.” I walk back toward Peree, who came with us to the edge of the forest.

He takes my hands. “I know what you’re going to say. And yes, we’ll help the Sisters rebuild the gate while you’re talking to Adar.”

I push up to my tiptoes to kiss him. “Now you can read my mind, too?”

“It’s not that hard.”

Maybe that’s not so bad. If my intentions are all over my face, then the Sisters will see how much I want this alliance to happen.

“Don’t get your feelings hurt if they won’t let you,” I joke.

“Good luck in there, and be careful.” His mouth lingers on mine.

Two Sisters escort Amarina and me into the Cloister, following a respectful distance behind us—much different from the wary reception when we first arrived. They take us to the great hall, where Adar and Alev wait. Golnar isn’t there; I don’t ask why. The sisters’ reception is guarded, but friendly enough.

As we talk, I tell them about peaceful Koolkuna, about the generosity and openness of the
anuna
, and how I think we can help each other. I offer to bring a small group to the Cloister to meet once a year, discuss our problems, and find solutions. Help each other, if needed. And that they can do the same. Alev asks repeatedly what we know about the wailers, but I’m not willing to tell them that until they agree to release the children.

We seem to make some progress, but it’s hard to be sure. The best news is that at the end Adar gives us permission to see—and actually
talk
to—the children tomorrow.

“May we speak with Frost?” I ask, standing, as Adar dismisses us soon after the midday meal. I’m worried about her and the baby. We haven’t heard a thing from or about her. Moray and Conda were ready to blame the Sisters for keeping her from us, and part of me wonders if they’re right.

“She should be waiting outside for you,” Alev says.

The sun is shining, and the smoke of the Flames is not quite as irritating as usual, when Amarina finally leads me down the steps of the great hall. From down the hill, in the direction of the gate, I hear the sounds of sawing and hammering.
Good
, they’re repairing it. As we reach the bottom of the stairs, Frost runs into our arms. Amarina and I hug her to us.

“We’d like a few minutes,” I tell the guards as I thread my arms through one of Frost’s and one of Amarina’s and lead them a few paces away.

“What’s going on? Are you alright?” I ask her in a low voice.

She clears her throat, but she doesn’t answer straight off.

“Frost?” Amarina asks.

“I… I might stay here.”

“What? Until when?” I ask.

“I don’t know.”

“Frost, why?” I ask. “Is it the Sisters? Are they pressuring you?”

“No, no, nothing like that. I just… I think I want my daughter to grow up here.”

Amarina and I both gasp.

“Your
daughter
?” I struggle to keep my incredulity under wraps.

“I can tell she’s a girl.” Her voice is dreamy for a moment. “Grimma told me I can stay if I want to, have my baby, and if it’s a boy, or if I’m not happy, she’ll bring us back to Koolkuna. She’s being really nice about it. She told me what happened with you all last night. I thought my staying could help you. I can help strengthen the alliance from inside the Cloister.”

“What if the Sisters don’t do as they say?” Amarina asks. “What if they keep you and your child?”

“I trust Grimma. And Alev. They want to help,” Frost says.

“But, Frost, are you willing to take that chance with your baby?”

She sighs. “I knew you two wouldn’t understand. To you, Koolkuna is the best place on earth. But I like it here. The Cloister feels safe. The Sisters watch out for each other and for their daughters. I want my baby to grow up in a place like this, where she’ll be safe and protected.”

“She will not know you’re her mother,” Amarina says. “The Sisters won’t allow it.”

“That could change. Grimma said there hasn’t been a baby born in the Cloister in a long time. I’ll be able to keep her with me until she’s weaned. And in the meantime, I’ll know she’s safe. I’ll know she’s wanted, by me and by the Sisters.”

I hear something in Frost’s voice for a moment, something deep and painful, the echo of a gaping hole of hurt. I suddenly realize I know so little about her: who she really is or what her life was like in the Lofty trees before I met her. There hasn’t been time. But I remember her father, Osprey, and his reaction when he learned she was pregnant. He didn’t even try to understand or support her. He only cared that she consorted with a Groundling, the worst kind of scum.

The fact that Frost turned to
Moray,
of all people, in hopes of finding love and companionship tells me something about how she sees herself and her self-worth. Maybe I do understand her decision a little, after all.

I slide my arms around her. Her belly presses against mine, a reminder of her hopes and dreams. And what she has to lose.

Amarina hugs us both. “Send word if you change your mind, if you wish to return with us to Koolkuna.”

I take Frost’s hand. “What do you want me to tell Moray? And Conda?”

“If—when—we form the alliance, then maybe they can come the next time you do. Meet the baby—and see me. This may not be forever, but it feels like the right decision for us for now.”

I hope she’s right. She’s taking a big risk with so much undecided between the Sisters and us. But she wants to protect herself and her unborn child, and she’s doing what she thinks is best. I can’t fault her for that.

Amarina and I embrace her one more time, and then we’re escorted out. Peree greets us at the gate, which he tells us is well on its way to being whole again—with their help.

“What did they say when you offered a hand?” I ask, grinning, as he leads us back to our new campsite in the trees. The smoke from the Eternal Flames drifts into my nose as we walk, and I sneeze.

“The Sister in charge of the repairs turned red as a cardinal and started stammering. She had to go ask someone for permission, but they eventually agreed. They seem more comfortable now, but at first, you would’ve thought we were a pack of wolves. Several guards were assigned to watch us. Moray was flirting with them.” He snorts. “It was kinda funny.”

I scrunch up my face. “Wolves?”

“Like dogs, only fiercer. I have a good story about them if you want to hear it.”

“Yes, please, but later.” I hear the brothers talking together near a small cooking fire, and I smell some kind of stew. They must have hunted today, too. “There’s something I have to do.”