Page 45 of Shadow Wings
When I looked up, Dyter was washing Tyrrik’s otherarm.
“I’m pretty sure our arrival didn’t start anything, but your presence is definitely flaringtempers.”
“I never would have come here if I’d known,” Isaid.
“I doubt Kamoi would’ve brought you here if he’d knowneither.”
I craned my neck to study Dyter, watching the way the ropey scar on his face pulled when he pursed his lips and cleaned the Drae. “He didn’t know? I guess that makessense.”
“I don’t believe he knew all the details of Queen Luna’s time in the emperor’s power, not enough to guess why you were Phaetyn and Drae as his parents immediately did. I was watching him as Alani spoke of that time . . . But he had to have guessed you had the ancestral power when you were able to get Tyrrik through the barrier. He made a point of mentioning that to his mother. That’s my guess,anyway.”
“Holy pancakes,” I groaned. “I can’t believe we’re in thismess.”
Dyter handed me the cloth, jerking his head at Tyrrik “I’m not doing hisfeet.”
I shrugged. “Neither am I. He’s unconscious; he can’t smellthem.”
“I can, and they stink.” Dyter pointed at Tyrrik’sfeet.
I glared at the old man and snatched the cloth, rinsing it once more. “You realize this Drae stole my dignity and hurt my feelings . . .really bad. I shouldn’t have to wash his feet; it’s demeaning. Sometimes I think you forget I’m no longer a farmgirl.”
“Didn’t he wash your feet a few times in the dungeons? I don’t see why you wouldn’t return thefavor.”
I stiffened but didn’t reply, avoiding Dyter’s gaze as I rinsed the cloth extra, extrawell.
“Sorry, my girl, that slipped out. You know I didn’t mean to becruel.”
Tears stung my eyes, and too many emotions to name squeezed at my heart. “No, I know,” I said hoarsely. “And you’re right, really. Tyr did;hedid many times. He just . . .Healsolied.”
“Aye, he did at that.” Dyter’s gaze rested on the unconscious Drae. “Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a slave for one hundredyears?”
A tear fell, and I dashed it away. I was exhausted and overwhelmed, making me extra weepy, not to mention I had just learned a number of mind-boggling things about myself. “No.”
“I would think,” Dyter spoke as he took the cloth from me and began washing Tyrrik’s feet, “That I would hardly know myself after that. I would think remembering what my parents taught me at nine years old would be near impossible. I’d do whatever I could to be free, but I’m not sure I’d know how to be freeeither.”
I rinsed out the cloth for him and continued to listen as I watched Dyter wash the otherfoot.
“Rynnie, he should have only had thought for himself when he discovered you were Drae. But it sounds like his thoughts were mostly foryou.”
“But, why, Dyter?” I whispered. “Why would he dothat?”
“You can’tguess?”
I avoided his piercing gaze, changing the subject. “We’ve dragged him into the heart of enemy territory. We’ve got toleave.”
Dyter finished and stood with a weary moan. “What you said, in the queen’s chamber, about not knowing whether this realm was worthsaving—”
“Isaidit was the right thing to do,” I snapped, defendingmyself.
“Aye, but knowing what is right and doing what is right are vastly different. You don’t know whether you want to go up against the emperor, and I can respect that even if I can’t understand it after what you’ve gone through. However,” he said, holding up his only hand to stop my interruption, “I told my king I’d do my best to form an alliance with the Phaetyn, and I mean to do just that. In the meantime,youhave an opportunity to learn about your Phaetyn powers. I know this situation is uncomfortable, and if you didn’t hold a trump card, I wouldn’t suggest staying, but I feel we need to . . . for a little longer.” He dropped his hand and with his snarling smile said, “What do you think, ex-farmgirl?”
What did I think? There was a deep calling inside me to be in the forest here. I was not beholden to these people, but my connection to Queen Luna, whether because I seemed to possess her power or because she’d helped to give me life, was undeniable. More than learning about my powers—or forming an alliance with these people—was the feeling that the trees had more to tell me, that they were desperate for myhelp.
And then there was the more tangible concern ofTyrrik.
“We can stay until Tyrrik is better and then go,” I said, keeping my other agenda to myself. “You’re right. I may never get another chance to learn about the Phaetyn and my powers.” I’d rather give up pancakes for the rest of my life than come back at the rate things weregoing.
“We’re agreed then,” Dytersaid.