The Silver Siren (Iron Butterfly, #3)(37)

He nodded his head once and gave me permission.

“Joss’s own sister Tenya was kidnapped. These people infiltrated his home, used mind control, and manipulated his family. And they were a family of strong Denai. I believe this same group—the Septori—are behind the missing students here.”

“What can we do?”

“How can we protect ourselves, when the Jesai family couldn’t protect their own blood?”

“I wanna go home,” someone wailed.

“You should leave and don’t come back,” another voice hollered.

More and more shouting began, and I felt overwhelmed. Syrani sat silently in her chair and looked at me thoughtfully. Her calm demeanor bothered me.

Joss ran between the tables and jumped up onto the table with me. If anyone could speak reason to them, Joss could.

“We weren’t prepared before. You’re prepared now. It is obvious that they are now actively pursuing Denai. But you are not defenseless. Your whole body is a weapon. You were raised to be peaceful, but you know that peace is only an illusion of the mind. Last semester you began training in combat.” He turned and pointed a finger at an older student. “How many ways can you take down an armed attacker?”

The student was taken aback at the direct question. He stood up, pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose, and thought about it. “Um, four?” he answered.

“Wrong!” A strong, angry voice interjected. A thrill raced through my body just hearing it.

I turned to see Kael’s tall form stride into the room. Eyes followed him as he moved forward, and he turned a furious gaze on each of them. “I taught you twenty four ways to disarm an attacker without using your power. Thirty-two if you had a weapon in your hand. You are Denai and are strong. You shouldn’t cower from these men who hide their faces behind masks and robes. You could destroy them before they ever touched you. The only thing stopping you is fear.”

“That’s right. We will find these monsters and they will be brought to justice. Now all of you, get back to your studies,” Joss demanded.

I could hear the groups grumbling about how we didn’t answer more of their questions. If Lorna or Pax had heard what we had just done, we would have been in serious trouble. But since they were gone…

When the room emptied out, Kael turned on me, his voice deep with frustration. “You shouldn’t have told them.”

Joss stepped nimbly between Kael and me. “I think she should have. If someone is targeting them, they should know about it. Thalia’s right. They have a right to defend themselves.”

“What do you think I’ve been teaching them? How to knit? I’ve been preparing them for this. But now you’ve made them terrified.” He looked at me, his dark eyes filled with emotion. “You should have known better.”

I pushed Kael hard in the chest in anger. “I only did what I thought was right. If there are monsters out there, then they should know about them.”

Kael sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “There are always monsters out there. Thieves, murderers, slave traders. And you can’t protect everyone.” He stared at me and I noticed the light stubble on his chin and the dark circles under his eyes exhibiting his lack of sleep. Something was bothering him, but he hadn’t come to talk to me about it.

“Kael, I’m sorry.”

His shoulders stiffened and he spoke to Joss, ignoring me. “I bet that tomorrow morning, we will lose more students. And it won’t be because they were taken in the night.”

~~~

Kael was right. The next morning, there were fewer students at breakfast. News had traveled fast and concerned parents arrived that morning with carriages to take their sons and daughters home. Letters arrived by messenger, pigeon, and even an eagle, demanding that the Denai students who lived farther away be escorted home.

Kambel was at his wit’s end. Without Lorna and Pax, he had no choice but to release the students. Queen Lilyana had organized a guarded caravan to leave in three days to escort the others home. She had seemed truly disheartened, and I couldn’t help but feel responsible. Over half of the Citadel’s students were leaving with the caravan.

I was going with them.

Queen Lilyana was angry at the change in attitude and the loss of students. Her presence at the school was becoming routine, so she stepped in and helped handle the dismissal. Physically, she was tensed and a bit high strung.

I approached her quietly. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Haven’t you done enough helping?” she snapped. “Go with the caravan for protection and go home. Please.”

I was heartbroken. I was going home a failure. I hadn’t found Joss’s sister. I hadn’t found the Raven, and Mona had escaped.

On our day of departure, I found myself at the back of the caravan on Faraway with my packs. Garit had been commissioned to lead the caravan, and Kael was hired on as an extra guard. Joss chose to come with me, to see me home back to my clan. I had a feeling he wanted to talk to my father and try and get him to reconsider the agreement concerning Kael and me. Hemi was excited about returning home, but saddened that he wouldn’t get to say goodbye to Fanny. I knew how much he liked the copper-haired Fanny, but I also knew how much my family despised outsiders.

The rear of the caravan was the dustiest and dirtiest place to ride. I was literally eating the dust kicked up by the horses. But I chose to ride rear because I could ride in silence. Behind me, four guards rode. If I slowed my pace at all, they would kick their horses and force me to speed up.