Shadow Wings (The Darkest Drae Book 2)(61)

“Come on, Dyter,” I said, hefting Tyrrik upright. “We need to leave before the rest of Phaetynville decides to come visit.”

I pulled the Drae over my shoulder, hunching as I strode into the trees. I didn’t care how or what direction, I was leaving this place right now. I tried to shift back to my Drae, but my emotions made it impossible to focus.

“Ryn.”

I looked up to see Kamini staring out from between the trunks.

“You must leave now,” she said.

I tensed, but Kamini was someone the trees had shown me many times. They didn’t see her as a danger to the Phaetyn which meant she wasn’t a danger to me . . . right? “And I suppose you’re going to help us?”

She tilted her head. “Yes.”

I shook my head once before I remembered my visions from the ash tree.

“Ryn!”

I spun to see Kamoi emerging from the rubble.

“If you wish to leave, it must be now,” Kamini said urgently, her eyes flickering to Kamoi.

I looked at Kamini, but the Phaetyn girl shook her head. I didn’t know if that meant she didn’t trust Kamoi or if she didn’t want him to overhear this conversation.

I deliberated. I really didn’t want to linger here or want to trust anyone else, not even with the tree’s assurances, but Dyter and I could wander for hours lost in this place. “Fine,” I said. “Let’s go.”

We backed into the trees, Kamini leading the way.

We walked for what felt like an eternity to my weary body. As the branches of trees brushed my skin, I caught glimpses of Phaetyn running, hiding in clusters, royal guards giving chase. Dyter walked alongside me, silent as a mute.

I cleared my throat, shifting Tyrrik on my shoulders, and asked, “Can we stop for a minute? Are we far enough away from . . . wherever that it’s safe for us to take a break?”

Kamini turned, the fear on her adult-child face smoothing to an impassive expression.

Creepy.

“If we stop now, we might not make it to the border in time.”

“In time?” I demanded. I wanted to scream. “How about if I shift again and carry us all to the border?”

“Then we definitely won’t make it in time. If they see your Drae form, we’ll have too many visitors for you to tree-talk,” she said. “How long did it take you to get to the center of Zivost when they brought you in?”

“About four hours,” I said. The idea of carrying Tyrrik for another four hours made me want to curl up in a ball.

“We’ve been walking for twenty minutes,” Kamini said. “We’ll be to the border in another five minutes.”

Wait . . . What? I tried to catch up with the Phaetyn’s plan. Get to the border and tree-talk. Right.

“They do it to confuse visitors.”

I was confused now. “You get visitors?” I asked, glancing at Dyter, who looked just as baffled as me.

“Not often, but leading newcomers a longer route to our city is protocol,” Kamini said.

Seriously, having a conversation with an eight-year-old that sounded like she was thirty was so creepy.

“Why are you helping us?” I asked, helplessly. “I just killed the queen and king.”

Her gaze slid to me. “I should be thanking you for killing the queen; that certainly helps our cause.”

This time when I shifted Tyrrik it wasn’t really because he needed it. “You’re a rebel?”

She dipped her head. “Correct. Now, this is of utmost importance. I must know what the ash tree told you.”

Since entering the Zivost, the only things to tell me the absolute truth had been the trees. And the trees trusted Kamini. She was Luna’s daughter. That meant something. I glanced to Dyter, who didn’t give me any sign of what to do . . . so I trusted my gut.

In a halting voice which grew stronger, I told the story of her mother leaving her with her aunt. I finished the story by asking, “Did you already know?”

She shook her head. “I suspected Alani wasn’t my mother. I knew Kaelan wasn’t my father.”

“Wouldn’t the trees tell you?” I asked. If the trees tell Phaetyn what they’ve seen, wouldn’t she be able to see it, too.

She shook her head again, a slow smile spreading across her face. “I don’t have a tree here, and I don’t have the ancestral power, so I can’t talk with all the trees as you can.”

I tripped over an exposed tree root. “But your mother was Luna Nuloa.”

“So you say. That’s why I want you to talk with the trees at the border.”

“To confirm she was your mother?” I was missing something. Granted, I was physically and mentally exhausted. Actually, I think I’d passed exhausted on the spectrum and was rapidly approaching delirious.

But if Luna Nuloa was Kamini’s mother, wouldn’t that make Kamini the new queen? Shouldn’t she also have ancestral powers being born before me? The eldest daughter inherited them after all. I only had ancestral power because Luna had poured hers into me so my mother wouldn’t miscarry. Surely if Kamini had ancestral powers, that would be common knowledge.

“Do you dream?” she asked, changing the subject.

I stumbled again and growled. “I’ve been too tired lately to dream.”