Obsidian and Stars (Ivory and Bone #2)(62)

“You tried to kill me and Morsk,” I say. “How can I trust you now?”

“You tried to kill us too,” Thern says, running a hand over his wounded shoulder. His fingers come away red, but the bleeding has slowed. “But then you defended us. You saved both of us. I don’t know why you did it—I never thought I’d owe my life to an Olen—but we owe our lives to you now.”

“Who were those fighters?” Pada asks.

“The Tama clan. There’s a girl hiding on this island. They killed her mother and now they’re coming for her.”

“And you would fight to protect her?”

“I would.”

Pada winces, touching the wound in her arm, and for a moment I see something familiar in her—the girl I looked up to when I was small. “So then,” she says. “What we believed about you was wrong—”

“What you believed?” Seeri asks. “What did you believe?”

Thern turns to her, but when he takes a stride in her direction, Pek comes between them. “You can answer her from where you are,” he says.

A flash of something lights in Thern’s eyes—anger or defensiveness—but it leaves as quickly as it came. “Lo and Orn, and then Dora and Anki, talked about Chev and his family as if they cared only for themselves,” Thern says. “We believed that the Olen clan had no compassion for anyone—would never help anyone outside their clan—no matter how bad their need. But when Mya and Morsk came to our aid—risking their lives to save ours—”

“It became clear that everything we’ve been told about the Olen is a lie,” Pada says.

“You fought to defend us. We fought to defend you, too,” Thern adds. “And we promise to defend you from now on.” A slight smile curls the corners of Thern’s lips, and I’m reminded of his speech at the meeting of clans.

“You asked Chev to be the High Elder of the Bosha again,” I say. “But you weren’t sincere with that request—”

“He was sincere in asking on behalf of the Bosha,” says Pada. “They sent us to ask Chev to be their High Elder. They wanted Chev to take them back. They still do. They had no idea what Dora and Anki were planning. Only Thern and I knew. Only Thern and I supported them.” She pauses, looking down at her empty hands. “Lo was my cousin,” she says. “I guess I trusted her too much.” When she looks up, her eyes are damp. “We were family.”

I glance at Seeri, who gives me a small nod. I turn to Pek, too, and he does the same. He even takes a step back so he is no longer standing between Thern and Seeri.

“All right,” I say, “but while we’re here you’ll remain unarmed.”

I turn toward the place Morsk and Lees went in search of Kol and Noni, the need to see Kol growing more urgent the longer we are separated. But even as I hurry toward Kol, my thoughts spin with memories of my brother, Chev, and the belief he lived by—clan always comes first. I can’t help but wonder if my brother would have come to Pada and Thern’s aid, or if he would have allowed the Tama to kill them.

We are almost to the trees when Morsk comes out, striding toward me. My heart rises in my throat, but he puts up a hand when he sees my face. “They’re all right—both awake—but they are both weak. Travel tonight might be difficult for them—”

I push past Morsk and run back to the place where Lees bends over Kol and Noni. Noni is sitting up, propped against a tree, but Kol is stretched out on the ground. His eyes are closed. I rush to him, and he opens his eyes when I touch his cheek. His skin is hot. His eyes open and close twice before he sees me. “Mya,” he says. “They came. Pek and the others. The signal fire worked.” The faintest of smiles flickers across his lips before his eyes close again.

“We need more feverweed,” I say. “I’ll go gather some. Morsk, come with me—”

“Of course—”

“Pada, Lees, Thern—each of you needs to rest and heal. Everyone will need to row, even the injured. We’ll dress your wounds when we return with the feverweed.” My eyes shift to Seeri and Pek.

“Don’t worry about Thern and Pada,” Pek says. “Resting is all they’re going to do. Seeri and I will make sure of it. And we’ll keep watch for Dora and Anki.”

Kol’s eyes fly open. He’s more alert than I knew. “Dora and Anki are dead,” he says before letting his eyes close again. “Mya killed them both.”

A taut silence stretches as if every breath is held, until all at once the wind gusts. The leaves shiver. “Anki is dead?” Lees gasps. “Mya, you’ve avenged our brother.”

She runs to me and throws both arms around my shoulders. I stiffen. I don’t want to be forced to talk about what happened.

I don’t want to be praised for taking another life. But also, I don’t want to admit how good it felt. How satisfying it was to take the life of the person who killed someone I love.

“They attacked us,” I say. “I responded.” My voice shakes. Seeri comes up beside me and wraps her arms around both Lees and me, so that I am at the center of a tangle of my sisters’ arms, protected from the stares of the others. Only Lees and Seeri can truly understand my heart right now, so I let them shelter me for a moment more before I pull back and break away.