Moon swallowed his anger. It wasn’t exactly an unwelcome interruption.
“It’s all right.”
He plunged into the undergrowth and went on toward the stream. He reached a clearing where the Arbora had scraped the moss back to bare dirt, but built a canopy of branches and fronds overhead. From the air, the open space would appear to be just another stand of trees. Jade, Flower, Balm, and some of the hunters sat on fallen logs and rocks.
In the center of the cleared space, they had dug a large pit in the forest floor. It was partially covered with tree fronds, and Flower stood over the open side, using a stick to poke dubiously at the dark contents. Waterskins, round river rocks, broken water reeds, and a pile of dark foliage that must be the three-leafed purple bow lay nearby. Steam was rising off the pit, leaking between the fronds; Flower must have used her magic to heat stones, dropping them in to boil the water. The weedy odor of the poison hung damply in the air.
Jade and Balm sat on a fallen log, talking to Bone who, even in groundling form, looked almost toad-like compared to the more delicate Aeriat. River and Drift sprawled on the ground nearby, bored and restless. Song, Root, Sand, and the other warriors slept under the tree roots.
Chime sat a little apart, near Flower’s pile of ingredients, studying the poison-making instructions. Moon took a seat next to him, and Chime glanced up, then frowned. “Are you all right?”
“Sure, just... tired.” Moon self-consciously avoided looking toward Jade. Across the clearing, Pearl stepped out of the ferns. Showing absolutely no interest in Moon, she walked over to sit down near Bone.
Chime grunted and went back to the leaf. “Don’t breathe the fumes. If anyone stands too close, it makes them woozy.”
No one else seemed to be listening, so Moon asked, “Is it true that queens mark their consorts?”
Chime nodded. “It’s something only other queens can scent.” He peered at Moon a little uncertainly. “Are you worried about that? I mean, it wouldn’t hurt. It just tells other queens that you’re taken, so they don’t fight over you.”
“I just wondered.” If Pearl wasn’t lying, it meant that Moon had given up his only advantage, that there would be no reason now for the others to stop Pearl from driving him out. He didn’t even blame Jade. Not much, anyway. He had refused her gifts, and after that she had asked him for a clutch, not to be her consort. It was just that after hearing about the other queens and consorts, he had assumed it was the same thing.
But it didn’t change anything. He had known that he would have to fight Pearl and her allies if he wanted to stay. Now it would be harder. If it’s true, he reminded himself.
He glanced up to find Pearl watching him, and looked away, resisting the urge to bare his teeth at her. Then he found himself staring at Chime. Under the bronze of Chime’s skin, on his forehead and cheek, there were green-black discolorations, bruises on top of bruises. In the shadows last night, Moon hadn’t noticed, but in the daylight it was obvious. “Did you have another bad landing?”
“What? Oh.” Chime frowned at the ground, scratching absently at the moss with his heel, as if he had forgotten he was in groundling form and didn’t have a claw there. “No.”
“Somebody hit you.” Moon felt a growl building in his chest. “Pearl?”
Chime snorted. “Pearl doesn’t know I’m alive.” He twitched uncomfortably under Moon’s continued stare, and finally admitted, “It was River.”
“Balm didn’t help you?” Moon looked across the clearing. He had thought Balm and Chime were friends, at least from the way they had played together in the lake. She sat near Jade, her chin propped on her hand, listening to the others talk. Her expression was glum and her body drooped with exhaustion.
Chime shrugged wearily. “When she’s around. But she and Vine were gone to Wind Sun for days, and... I don’t want to ask her for help. I don’t want them to gang up on her. She’s Jade’s clutch-mate, and they’ve always been together, and with Pearl at odds with Jade, Balm’s position is hard enough. What are you doing?”
Moon stood and crossed the clearing to stand over River.
River looked up at him with a smile. “Was Chime begging you for help?” It was as if he had overheard their conversation, or been waiting for Moon to notice Chime’s bruises.
“You’re going to be begging for help.” Moon was certain his first mistake at Indigo Cloud had been not beating River insensible at the earliest opportunity. But he had just enough sense left to know it would be better if River attacked him first.
“What do you care?” River shoved himself upright, sneering, leaning forward in challenge. “You’re a mongrel solitary, acting like you think you’re first consort when you’re not even part of this court.”
That stung more than River could know. Moon kept his voice even. “I’m still a consort. That’s something you’ll never have, no matter how many queens you sleep with.”
River snarled, flushing a darker copper. “You’re the one who came here to hide. You’re the one who brought the Fell down on us. They followed you to the mountains thinking you were running away again. They came here for you, because you went to them!”
Moon fell back a step. The whole clearing went silent; even the wind stopped. The hunters exchanged uneasy looks, whispering to each other. Woken by the commotion, the Aeriat were watching, startled and wary. Flower and Bone both stared at Pearl.
Pearl’s spines lifted and she snapped, “River. That’s enough.”
Jade came to her feet. She glanced at Pearl, her expression tight with fury. In a growl, she said, “Moon, leave it. We can’t afford a fight now.”
Maybe not, but they were going to have one. And if he wasn’t her consort, then he had no obligation to listen to her. “Then keep us from shifting.”
Jade’s eyes went hooded. “Done.”
“What?” River looked from Jade to Pearl. Moon saw his eyes narrow when he tried to shift and failed. He glared at Jade, hissing in annoyance.
Moon asked, “Afraid?”
“You’re too much of a coward to fight in the air,” River began. Moon shut him up with a punch to the face.
Moon didn’t know how to have a serious fight as a Raksura without killing or crippling his opponent. But as a groundling, he knew plenty. River staggered back, then surged forward with a snarl, tackling Moon. Moon landed hard on his back but brought a knee up and rolled, throwing River to one side. They both scrambled upright and River, growling in earnest now, ducked a punch and nearly slammed a blow into Moon’s throat.
They fought across the clearing, smashing into the undergrowth, slamming each other into trees, sending hunters scrambling away. Then Moon caught River with a hard punch in the gut, and kicked him in the chin when he doubled over.
River dropped in the dirt, tried to get up, but sank back down, panting with effort. Moon leaned over him, grabbing his hair to lift his head up. His voice rough from the blow to his throat, he said, “Talk all you want. But if you want to fight, you fight me.”
River bared his teeth, but it was a half-hearted gesture.
Moon dropped him, turned his back, and walked away. He had no idea where he was going, just away from the clearing, away from the stares and accusations. His hands hurt, though he couldn’t feel his other bruises yet; Raksuran heads were harder than groundling, so he had had to hit River hard enough to bruise his knuckles.
He was barely past the first stand of trees when Chime caught up with him. Sounding bewildered, Chime said, “Is it true?”
Moon didn’t stop, didn’t look at him. The hurt tone in Chime’s voice just made it all the worse. “Yes. Some of it.”
“But you went to the Fell?”