Moon had to point out, “The Hians don’t know how to use it. We don’t even know if they know where they’re going with it.” Obviously the Hian scholar in the river trade city had been an important part of Vendoin’s plan. Not having access to her or her writings had already thrown Vendoin into confusion. That was probably the reason that Lavinat had seized control, not any change of heart on Vendoin’s part.
Rorra, who had been listening quietly up to this point, said, “Jade is right. You and Moon crossing the outskirts of Kish and the far south is one thing. But we’ve already seen one forerunner ruin and we know the forerunners and the foundation builders fought something terrible. Something could still be trapped up here.”
Stone eyed her for a long moment, while Rorra glared at him. Moon could tell she was actually glaring this time, that it wasn’t just her habitual frown. Then Stone said, “All right.”
Rorra lifted her chin a little self-consciously. “Then will you come and tell the kethel to get away from the stern hatch so we can set up a weapon placement?”
“Sure.” Stone followed her away down the deck.
Jade watched them go, brow furrowed. “What just happened?”
“He likes her,” Moon said. Stone would have obeyed Jade, though there would have been more arguing and growling first. But while Stone listened to groundlings and gave their opinions weight, he had just given Rorra’s fear for his safety the same consideration that he would have given to a queen. His queen.
Chime nodded agreement. “He does.”
Jade stared blankly at them. Niran shook his head and turned for the door to the steering cabin. “Don’t tell grandfather, he’ll write a monograph on it.”
As Niran left, Jade said, “But Stone wouldn’t sleep with a groundling.”
Moon snorted.
Jade turned to him. “What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Chime was still thinking it over. “How would—I mean, what if your parts aren’t compatible?”
Moon told him, “There are ways around that.”
Jade was still watching Moon, scaled brows drawn down. Moon wasn’t sure if it was Raksuran sensibilities being offended or the fact that Stone was a consort, even if he was a line-grandfather. He sighed and clarified, “In all the turns Stone’s been away from court, wandering around, you don’t think he’s ever done that.”
Jade had looked down the deck toward where Stone and Rorra had disappeared. “This is not something we’re going to tell Pearl. Or anyone. Whatever happens on this wind-ship, it doesn’t get back to the court.”
Now Jade had gone up atop the cabins to take over the watch so Balm could get some rest. Moon thought it was also so she could see as much of this strange place they were traveling through as possible, to get some idea of the dangers. It was why he was out on the bow deck.
As the wind-ship angled further from the ruin, it was more apparent the structure stood on tall narrow pillars that stretched up out of a lake. The mist still lay across the water, an indication that there wasn’t much air movement near the ground. At least finding water isn’t going to be a problem, Moon thought. It was a lack of game he was worried about. They couldn’t even start looking for a way down until they got the artifact back, and they had no idea how long they would be stuck up here.
He heard a faint scrape of claws on the deck behind him, and turned. It was Root.
His spines drooped as he stared at the receding Kishan boat. Moon said, “You all right?” Moon hadn’t really had a conversation with him since he and Stone had left the others to search for the Hians. Maybe since Song had died.
“Yes.” Root absently dragged his claws over the deck. It left faint scars on the tough plant fiber.
“You don’t look all right.” Moon wasn’t good at this. He hated to talk about what was wrong with him, and so never felt inclined to make other people talk about what was wrong with them. Stone was better at it, but he was down in the stern staring intimidatingly at their kethel. He wrestled with his reticence, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Root was quiet for a long moment, the wind playing with his frills. Hesitantly, as if he had to choke the words out, he said, “It’s like no one thinks about Song but me.”
Moon turned all the way to face him, startled. “That’s not true.”
Root’s spines flicked. “I know it’s because you’re busy. But no one talks about her but Briar and that’s just because she feels guilty.”
Moon felt that needed to be unraveled. “So we don’t think about her because we don’t talk about her and Briar talks about her but that means she doesn’t care?”
Root glared at him. “I’m not stupid.”
“I know you aren’t.” Moon let out his breath, trying to think how best to handle this. Jade had said Root’s behavior was uncertain at best. But he hadn’t had to come over here and loiter around Moon, hoping Moon would start a conversation. Which meant Root wanted to talk, if Moon could just think of the right things to say. “Not talking about her doesn’t mean we don’t think about her. Jade and Balm . . . You know how they felt about Song. They trusted her like . . .” Jade had other favorites, but Song had been with her on her most harrowing trips away from the colony. Queens were always closer to female warriors than to the males, and Jade had trusted Song, been sure of her, in a way she wasn’t with most of the others. And Balm had felt the same.
It was why Jade and Balm had gotten so angry when Song had challenged Jade back on the foundation builder city’s island. And Moon knew how responsible Jade felt for Song’s death, how Pearl might react when they got back to the court and Jade had to tell her how Song had died. Not in battle with Fell, but in a trap set by groundlings. “But Jade can’t show things like that, and neither can Balm. Not while we’re still out here.”
Root twisted away, as if he couldn’t bear to hear it. He stepped back from the rail. “I have to go. It’s my turn on watch next.”
“Root—” Moon called after him, but Root pretended not to hear, and leapt up to the cabin roof and disappeared.
Shade stepped out of the cabin doorway and moved to stand at the railing beside Moon. “Is he all right?” Shade asked.
“No.” Moon let out his breath in exasperation, mostly at himself. He had made a bad job of that, but he had no idea what to say to make anything better for Root or anyone else. Shade was in groundling form, so Moon shifted to lose his scales and wings. The damp cool air settled on his skin and clothes. “He thinks we don’t care about Song.”
Shade winced in sympathy. “It’s not as if you can have a ceremony for her until you get back to your court. Your Arbora would be furious.” He shook his head a little, looking out over the view. “I don’t think warriors that young really understand how queens feel about their warriors and Arbora. There’s a connection that they just haven’t lived long enough to feel and understand, yet. And Song was in Jade’s bloodline, wasn’t she? She looks—looked like Balm. Jade and Balm can’t afford to show weakness now, no matter how upset they are. They have to be strong to show the rest of us that everything is all right, or at least under control. Even if it isn’t. Especially if it isn’t.”
Moon wished he had been able to say all that to Root. Though he wasn’t sure it would have helped. He said, “Are you all right?” He jerked his head toward the stern, where the kethel lurked under Stone’s watchful eye. “After the thing with the . . . Last night.”
Shade lifted his shoulders, uncomfortable. “Not really.” He glanced down the deck. “I guess we can’t just tell it to leave, since Malachite’s made an alliance with the Fellborn queen.”