Page 68 of Shadow Wings

She bit her lip while he spoke and then said, “That wasn’t your decision tomake.”

He winced, and I felt a zing of pride for the Phaetyngirl.

“You’re right,” he said, bowing his head. “I apologize.” He dropped to a knee before the young Kamini and said, “I will pledge my allegiance to you, Kami, and serve however you deem best. I only want what is best for ourpeople.”

I flicked a glance at Dyter and hesitated, thinking back to what the tree had shown me. I may not see Kamoi or Kamini for a long time, or ever again. Where I was going, I couldn’t be sure I’d even survive. This information shouldn’t go with me to the grave. Despite the terror I’d experienced in this forest, Iknewthere was good in Phaetynville worth saving. The Phaetyn deserved to have a queen with ancestral powers if she was still alive. “What if there was another child? What if Luna had a child before Kamini? Anotherdaughter?”

Dyter looked at me as if I’d lost my mind, but Kamoi and Kamini only raised their brows in an expression that proved they were related. It also reinforced the fact they’d both made the same connection longago.

Kamini’s eyes widened with excitement. “Did the trees show you an elder child?” When I nodded, her eyes lit. “Are you sure?” she asked, before whispering to herself, “I have asister.”

Kamoi glanced at his adopted sister and then smiled widely at me. “Where isshe?”

His excitement relieved me. I’d worried he might resent Kamini being replaced. “I don’t know. The trees don’t know.” The eldest daughter’s location was the crux of the problem. With an aerial view, it probably wouldn’t be difficult to find her. She was a land healer in a realm drained of life. “But we can findher.”

Kamoi stood and brushed my cheek with his fingers. “Yes, we can.” He turned to Kamini. “If you want me to search for her, you know Iwill—”

Kamini held up her hand. “First we need to secure Zivost. If Ryn hasn’t found her by then, we’ll reassess. I want her here as much as anyone . . . trust me. But I want there to be a Zivost sanctuary,too.”

I nodded at the wisdom the childlike rebel had shared. If we never found the other Phaetyn, Kamini would still make a greatruler.

“Which is why,” Kamini continued, “I’d like to ask you to put up the barrieragain.”

“The gold one?” I asked, shaking my head. “I don’t know how to dothat.”

Kamini shrugged. “You have ancestralpowers.”

“And yet I still don’t know how,” I replied, arching abrow.

Kamoi took his sister’s hand. “All we ask is that you try. We can control the rock barrier around the forest, that offers some protection, but the other barrier protects us from the sky, from Drae. If you can put it back up, Kamini can do her best to keep the barrier there, as my mother did beforeher.”

Were they kidding? I grimaced and, shaking my head, asked, “You want to be bed-ridden your whole life,Kamini?”

A ghost of a smile crossed her lips. “Once my older sister is found, I won’t need tobe.”

No pressure, Ryn.I sighed heavily. “Al’right, I’ll give it a go, but I’m warning you that it probably won’twork.”

I walked back to the tree I’d been touching and rested my hands on its rough bark. Closing my eyes, I waited for the usual assault of images, but the only vision the trees provided was of the gold hovering above their tops. “Yes,” I muttered. “Buthow?”

Queen Luna stood at the outskirts of the forest, her palms on a tree. A golden hue spread upward, coating the Zivost with a shimmeringglow.

“Great, that’s super helpful. Thanks,” I spoke to the tree. Looks like I was on myown.

I squeezed my eyes, reaching for my Phaetyn power. The vibrant energy answered my call and rushed to my fingertips where I directed the flow into the forest, willing the energy to reach high, to embrace the trees and people within its midst, to keep all enemies outside, and to shine gold like the barrier before it. I poured everything into my hands and then cracked an eyeopen.

“Have you done it yet?” Dyterasked.

I scowled at him. There was no iridescent golden cover over Zivost. From what I could tell, nothing had happened. “No. It didn’t work.” I turned to Kamini. “I’msorry.”

She swallowed. “You tried. That’s all we askedfor.”

A guard a few feet away yelped and tumbled back as the ground exploded beneath him. We stared at the giant tree root which had appeared aboveground.

“How much energy did you put into the tree?” Kamoiwhispered.

I turned and blinked at the trunk which was expanding before our eyes, the tree’s limbs shooting into the sky. “Umm. Abit?”

Kamini grinned. “I wonder how big it willget.”