The progenitor widened her jaw in a grin, revealing her fangs. “Where’s your companion?”
Pearl’s hiss was all sharp amusement. “Guess.”
Beside Moon, Jade’s growl was almost voiceless. A heartbeat later he realized Malachite stood behind the progenitor, that she had dropped out of the figured stonework above. Moon had a picture of it in his head, a dream image, but he couldn’t actually remember it happening.
“You want the groundling alive?” the progenitor said, and her voice was warm and even, as if she couldn’t give up the deception, the belief that they might still be seduced by her. She flexed her hand and Ceilinel made a keening sound. “What will you give me in exchange?”
Malachite said, “You’re weary, and hurt.”
Her power curled around Moon’s heart and his breath hitched.
The graceful coil of the progenitor’s body moved, turned to face Malachite. She opened her jaw to speak, but stopped, a sudden stillness in her body. Jade tensed to move but Pearl flicked her claws, a warning to be still.
Malachite’s head tilted and the progenitor’s head tilted with it. This is what she did, Moon realized, fascinated. When she had broken and killed the progenitor who had destroyed her court, when she had rescued Shade and Lithe and the others.
The progenitor’s grip on Ceilinel loosened, its claws leaving livid streaks on the soft gray flesh of her throat. She slid to the floor and half collapsed, catching herself with bloody palms braced on the floor. She tried to crawl away and Moon crouched down and sidled toward her.
The progenitor said, “We shouldn’t have run. We became prey.”
Malachite said, “There was nowhere to go. There was never anywhere to go.”
Moon caught Ceilinel’s arm and pulled her further away from the progenitor. He tucked her against his side and stayed in a crouch, ready to bolt. Ceilinel clung to his side, shivering with reaction.
The progenitor twitched, breaking the hold, and lifted her arm to strike.
But Malachite was already in motion. The crack of bone snapping made Ceilinel flinch and gasp.
The progenitor’s body slammed down on the paving and Malachite wrenched the head off with a single sharp twist.
“Finally,” Pearl snarled, impatient and irritable as always. She straightened and shook out her spines, as if they were in the colony and the Arbora were agitated about the tea harvest, and not at all as if she was facing the terror of the western Reaches over the mutilated body of a Fell progenitor. “Are you happy?” she asked Malachite.
Malachite said, “I’m mildly gratified.” She turned her attention to Moon, her cool gaze flicking over him.
“Then we can go.” Pearl turned to Jade. “Who else is with you?”
Jade snarled so hard her spines rattled. “What are you doing here? What—The court—”
Pearl’s spines rippled at Jade’s reaction, equal parts amusement and annoyance. Moon let out a pent breath, feeling light-head with relief. If the colony was attacked and the court fleeing in remnants, he doubted Pearl would find anything funny, no matter how much she enjoyed making Jade angry.
Rise and a dozen more warriors dropped down from the trapdoor. Moon spotted Fair, Sand, and Spring from Indigo Cloud, along with others he recognized from Opal Night. Malachite moved one spine and they dove down the stairwell. Pearl answered, “Celadon.” At Jade’s expression, Pearl dipped her spines in irony. “Yes, I’m sure Emerald Twilight will be throwing it in our faces ten generations from now. Are the others with you?”
Jade took a sharp breath and settled her spines. “Just Stone, and two groundlings. The rest are with Niran on the wind-ship, which went to Jandera for help. I sent Balm with some warriors back to the Reaches to tell you where we were.”
Pearl flicked her spines. “They missed us. We had news of you from someone else.”
Moon shifted to his groundling form so his scales wouldn’t poke Ceilinel. He stood and picked her up. He didn’t care who Pearl had left in charge of Indigo Cloud, it was just a relief to hear that all had been well when she and Malachite left. He interrupted the queenly posturing to say, “She needs help. Did you bring any mentors?”
Pearl’s spines angled with irritation, possibly because Moon was talking to her and thereby ruining her good mood. More Opal Night warriors poured down from the trapdoor, and Pearl said, “Heart will be below with the others, they came in through the lower level.”
Malachite, still eyeing Moon, moved a spine and a dozen warriors broke off to surround him as he carried Ceilinel down the wide stairwell. The Fell stench was fading but the smell of groundling death hung in the air. The remains of the Kish garrison must be all through these rooms.
“Are you all right, consort?” a female Opal Night warrior asked.
“Yes,” Moon said, having no idea how else to answer. “It’s been a long day.”
Ceilinel held onto his arm, and croaked, “Who were they?”
“The queens? The gold one was Pearl, Jade’s mother, the reigning queen of Indigo Cloud. The big scary one was Malachite, reigning queen of Opal Night, my mother,” Moon told her. She blinked up at him, not really comprehending. He added, “That was why it was a bad idea to hold me prisoner.”
“We weren’t holding you prisoner,” she muttered, stubbornly. “The conclave—”
“This way, consort,” another warrior said from below.
The stairs ended in a big space with double doors now open to the balcony and the boarding scaffold, or what was left of it after the flying boat had yanked itself free. Warriors were stationed around on guard at the windows and doorways, others dumped dead dakti out the window. Moon saw Heart first, hurrying toward him. There was a dakti behind her and Moon stopped short, startled, until he realized it wore a braided leather and red cord necklace that was clearly Arbora work. It must be one of the half-Fell dakti, wearing the necklace as a marker to prevent accidents.
Heart said, “Moon, we were so worried—” She shifted to her groundling form and pulled her bag off her shoulder, kneeling as he crouched to set Ceilinel down. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”
“Me too.” Moon hesitated. Malachite would have told Heart and the others about Song. “This is Heart,” he told Ceilinel in Kedaic. “She’s a mentor, a healer, and she’ll take care of you.”
Ceilinel nodded distractedly to Heart, then asked Moon, “Can those queens speak for the Reaches?”
“Parts of it,” Moon said. Ceilinel’s focused determination was almost as bad as an Arbora’s. He asked Heart, “Is the court all right? Did you leave any warriors there?”
“It was fine when we left. Celadon brought over two hundred warriors when she came. Plus Sunset Water and Emerald Twilight and the other courts were patrolling the fringe.” Heart gently turned Ceilinel’s face towards her, wincing at the gashes in the gray skin of her collarbone.
That was good to hear. Maybe Pearl and Malachite hadn’t lost their minds after all. Moon caught a glimpse of Stone and Rorra outside and pushed to his feet again. “I’ll be back.”
He went out onto the balcony. Kalam stood with Stone and Rorra, watching the broken flying boat. It still hovered in the air, though the stern rested in the tree canopy. The Solkis scrambled around on the broken deck, putting out the still smoldering fire. Thiest balanced atop the stern cabin, injured but alive, pointing and shouting orders.
Moon squinted up at the towers. Warriors had settled all over the sides and conical roofs, familiar faces from Indigo Cloud and strangers from Opal Night. Spines flicked everywhere as they sighted Moon. “They brought half the court,” Moon said, not sure if he was complaining or not.