The Crow King's Wife(137)

“And everyone says you are a terrible liar. My how you have them all fooled.” Zoelyn whispered as she turned back toward the great hall. The knots in her stomach were gone replaced by a strange hollow feeling and a tight throat. She knew Shade believed he was doing what was best, but she didn’t see any way this could end well. He was facing a point in his life where he needed his friends more than anything else, and he had chosen to face it alone. “The Aspects keep you well Shade Morcaillo. I will pray for you nightly.” She promised in the same hushed voice and kept her steps slow enough to give herself time to force back the worst of her grief before she entered the hall. It was better if no one realized she had even seen Shade’s speech let alone spoken with him.

Dray would be the only one she would have to explain anything to that way, and she wasn’t even sure what she could say to him. Shade had sacrificed everything in his life for his friends, and now he was sacrificing his life as well, and somehow she was supposed to keep that knowledge buried in her own heart while she listened to everyone around her scorn him. It was the kind of secret that would sit like a lead weight in her mind, and she had no idea how she was going to deal with it, especially when Shade died because of her silence.





*





“Are you paying attention to me at all, Zoey?” Neph snapped and Zoelyn turned away from her window to gaze at her brother in confusion. Her attention had been so focused on the outer city that she hadn’t even heard him speak.

Her room was one of the few in the inner city that actually had a window to the outside world and she wondered if anyone else even realized the entire outer city was covered in crows. She had forced herself not to think about Seth after seeing him in Rivana. She didn’t want to remember how he had looked when Finn had taken him back to the Darklands, but the crows outside her window had forced the memory back to the surface.

She doubted if anyone else in Delvay would realize what it meant, but she couldn’t help but be reminded of an old story from Glis every time she looked at the birds. If she was right the next part of the story would be the appearance of a spirit, and then the disappearance of her people would follow. Silently she prayed she wasn’t right and she wasn’t witnessing the first part of The Crow King’s Wife being displayed outside her window

“I’ll take that glazed look as a no.” Neph said dryly and shook his head at her in mild reproach. “I asked you if Grim has woken yet. It’s been three days and I haven’t heard any mention of him being on his feet. Was the damage he suffered permanent?”

Zoelyn shook her head slowly and sank into a chair by the wall. “Jala healed him before she left, but I asked her to make sure he rested a few days more. I need time to sort things out before he wakes. I don’t know what to tell him about Shade.” She felt bile rise in her throat as she spoke and turned her gaze back out the window before Neph could see the expression of grief on her face. After everything Shade had said in the Great Hall no one in the city would understand why she was grieving over his absence.

“Tell him that Shade is a backstabbing little wretch and be done with it. You can’t keep Grim like an invalid to spare him the truth of the matter. I know he considered Shade a friend. We all did and Shade spit our faces with his actions.” Neph snapped with obvious irritation.

“Maybe I should let you explain it.” Zoelyn mumbled, though she had no intention of letting Neph be the first to speak with Grim when he awoke. If Neph explained what was going on it would end in blood and she knew it.

“Perhaps I will, but it’s something I will worry about later. I came here to fetch you for other reasons. There are a few things I need to explain to you, but it will be easier if I just show them to you instead.”

The tone of his voice drew her attention back to him once more and Zoelyn frowned at the look of hesitation on Neph’s face. He was nervous about something, and she couldn’t decide what it would take to make Neph nervous. Her brother was usually either calm or angry, she rarely saw him in any other mood.

“Show me what?” she asked cautiously and her imagination immediately supplied her with images of Shade’s broken corpse. It was possible that Neph had ignored Jala’s request to leave Shade be for now and gone after him. Shaking her head she cleared the image from her mind and let out a sigh. It was a silly thought. She knew Neph hadn’t left the city.

“As I said, it’s easier to show you than tell you. Come to my room for a moment and you will understand what I mean.” Neph sighed and turned for the door.