Page 94 of Shadow Wings
“Your elderly are eating each other to stay alive,” I said again. Now that I knew Zakai wasn’t the monster I’d thought, a part of me sympathized with his shock, but I hardened myself, thinking of the way his people were living outside thiskingdom.
For a moment, it seemed he would lose the contents of his stomach, though I wasn’t sure if there was anything significant inthere.
“I had no idea,” he said, brushing a hand across hiseyes.
I reached across and took his hand; his thin skin was dry and pale. “I’m glad you had no idea,” I said. “Or I would’ve killed you for letting your people live thatway.”
He looked up, and his torn soul was evident in his lapis lazuli eyes. “Perhaps I still deserve to die. Ignorance is no excuse. My people do not do such things . . . What kind of sickness or desperation drove them to do such a thing to eachother?”
The king bowed his head as he muttered under his breath about hisfailure.
I closed my eyes, unable to resist a quick search of his body with my powers. Not that you could put on ‘emaciated,’ but I was interested to know how much he’d suffered on behalf of his people. I nearly gasped aloud as the tally of the damage to his body hit me. Several of his organs were failing, some just barely getting by, and there was permanent damage to all of them, including his heart. I sent through a subtle stream of my healing power, hoping it wasn’t toolate.
When I let go of his hand, he stared at it with a furrowed brow rubbing his fingertipstogether.
I grabbed his plate and loaded meat and vegetables onto it, and then I shoved it back at him. “Eat.”
“No,I—”
I snarled at him, some of my Drae entering my words. “You’ll be dead in a week if you do not. Who will lead your peoplethen?”
He blinked. “Y-you just told me my people are eating each other. I don’t have anyappetite.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, well, you can suffer as you eat if you want, but that won’t make anythingbetter.”
“Ryn!”Dytergasped.
Scales erupted up my arms, and I snapped my growing fangs at the old man who didn’t look scared in the slightest at mydisplay.
The king had more sense, slamming back into his chair. He swallowed hard, but when he noticed Dyter wasn’t fazed, Zakai relaxed enough to take a good look at my scales. He looked at the plate of food, and then the case, and eventually back at my vibrant bluescales.
“I knew you were our salvation as soon as I saw you,” he said with a curious smile. His gaze slid to Dyter. “Gemond is with Verald and the Phaetyn. We will fight Emperor Draedyn alongsideyou.”
The King of Gemond picked up his knife and fork and began toeat.
* * *
“You handled that quite well,my girl,” Dyter said as we walked back through the sapphire-encrusted halls to our rooms. “The king’s eyes brightened when you touched him. Did you healhim?”
“I tried,” I said, my eyes drifting to the gems glinting behind Dyter. “I'm not sure how well my Phaetyn juice works on humans; it seems to work better onTyrrik.”
I had a difficult time keeping my attention fixed on the old man. The sconces’ light made the valuable stones twinkle, teasing me with their preciousness. I really needed a few minutes alone with one of thesewalls.
My hand went to the billowy folds of the dress I wore and the knife concealed therein. I’d managed to borrow one of the golden utensils from supper and was counting down the minutes until I could pry one of the cut stones out. The sapphires were especially nice, and I liked their deep-blue coloration. Too bad there was no such thing as a black diamond; it might be nice to have a stone that looked like Tyrrik'sscales.
As my thoughts went to the Drae, I quickened my pace. I told myself I was just excited to share with him the information I’d learned. That, and I held a small basket with the meager leftovers for him from our meal. Guilt prodded me as I reflected on how much food I’d consumed compared to how much Tyrrik would get. He needed afew. . .
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I said, shoving the basket toward Dyter. “Tell Tyrrik this is a snack and I’ll bring him more in a littlebit.”
Dyter furrowed his brow, and then a slow smile spread across his face. “Of course. And, while you’re in their gardens, if they have strawberries, will you help them along,too?”
I waved my hand at him as I scurried down the hall, and then I came across a guard on the levelbelow.
“Excuse me,” I asked the guard. “Could you direct me to the nearestgarden?”
The gold-plated Gemondian bowed. “Certainly, Mistress. I will take you to them. Please, followme.”
I trailed after the guard up level after level, increasingly grateful for his guidance as I became lost in the mountainlabyrinth.