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Meg stood by the window studying the raven in the cage. She wondered why her sister would want to keep it. The bright eyes seemed to plead with Meg to let it go. It hopped from its small perch to the floor, lifted its head and gave a small call.
“Hello,” she said, strangely tempted to push her fingers through the bars and pet it.
The raven moved to the small door and tapped it.
“I cannot let you out,” she said. “Elalia would not like that.”
The bird started to scream and screech. Flapping her wings in the small space, distressed and desperate.
“If only Kellin were here,” she whispered. “She could sweet-talk you.”
The bird stilled and Meg stood up again. The raven watched her closely.
“Where is Kellin?” she asked the bird.
It screamed again, but was still, not beating itself about the inside of the cage. Meg sat back down and sucked in a deep breath as she peered into the cage. “Where is Kellin?” she asked again. “She was so sad, so lost, and now I fear she has gone forever.” The bird screamed again.
“If only I could understand you,” she said as the wind rattled the window. She stood, distracted for a moment as the window shook more and more, and it seemed to whisper, calling to her as it had in the forest that day she had met Water.
Meg looked from the bird, now quieted in its cage, to the window and back. She had wanted to talk with Elalia again about Kellin and the child and why she hadn’t sent for her. But the room was empty when she had arrived, except for the bird.
The window continued to rattle and the whispering voice of the wind grew louder.
She stepped forward and threw the window open, and the wind stopped immediately along with the whispering. A butterfly fluttered slowly through the window and perched on the cage. Meg looked at it and then back to the window. “Where would a butterfly come from in winter?” she murmured.
She closed the window and waited for the strange noises to start again, but they didn’t. Meg froze. The raven stared upward to the top of the cage, where a little woman with the wings of a butterfly sat quite comfortably, swinging her legs back and forth.
“Hello, little raven,” she said.
Meg looked from the bird to her and sat down slowly in the chair.
“It is polite to return a greeting,” she said, leaning towards Meg.
“Hello,” she whispered.
Her little face lit up with a smile. “It is nice to see you well, little raven,” she said. “I did not mean to scare you in the chapel.”
Meg nodded slowly. She had met Water, she thought, but she worried the memory was confused. “Air,” she said.
The little woman nodded.
“Can you talk to ravens?” Meg asked.
She climbed to her feet, balancing easily on the narrow bar. “I am talking to you,” she said.
“I am not a raven,” Meg said quickly. “I think the raven in the cage knows where my sister is.”
The little woman looked down at the bird still looking up at her. Then she looked back at Meg with a smile. “The raven is a girl.”
“It is a raven,” Meg said slowly.
“Ravens come in different colours,” Air said. “This raven is a girl.”
The raven screamed again.
“You see?” she asked Meg.
Meg shook her head slowly. She was starting to feel the anxiety she had at the Keep that she would never be quite right again, that she had lost her mind.
“Do not look sad, Raven,” Air said. “You can talk to girls yourself.”
A sudden rage burned in Meg’s chest. She was talking with one of the Followers, possibly. And she needed her help, but the little woman talked in riddles.
“I thought the bird knew where Kellin was,” Meg said, trying to focus on the creature in the cage in case she had lost her mind.
Air fluttered down from the top of the cage and lifted the latch, allowing the raven to push at the door and step out onto the table. “I thought I was clear,” she said, lifting herself up off the table and running her hand over the bird’s feathers. “She is Kellin.”
Meg looked between the two of them as they nodded in unison. “How?” she whispered.
The raven screeched and the little woman nodded. “Something is not as it should be,” she said.
The raven screeched again.
“Only you can find him,” Air said.
“Rainger searches for you here,” Meg said.
Air shook her head and then stepped quickly to the end of the table. “You need to go now,” she said.
“Wait,” she said, “I need to talk to Kellin.”
“Now,” Air said more urgently, flying to the window, and she pulled at the latch, disappearing as the window opened.
“Go to my room,” Meg whispered to the bird as it hopped awkwardly across the table and leapt out the window. She dropped from sight and panic gripped Meg’s heart, and then large wings lifted her into the sky.
Meg latched the window just as she heard the door click, and she ducked behind the heavy curtains pulled back from the window. I am the wall, she told herself. The cool, hard, stone wall.
She could hear Elalia gasp. “Damn you, Kellin,” she said. “How did you get out?”
Meg bit down on her lip and focused on the hard wall at her back.
Silence followed, and Meg wondered if she had walked away, but then she heard the cage crash to the floor. “Where is that girl?” Elalia muttered, and then the door slammed shut.
Meg released the breath she had been holding, slowly pulled away from the wall and peered around the edge of the curtain. The room was empty, and she raced through the door and towards her rooms.
She pushed open the door to find them empty, and she wondered if she had only heard what she wanted to. And then something tapped on the window. She opened it a little and the raven flew into the room.
She smiled and laughed as the bird circled the room and then landed on the mantle. It opened its beak but before she could scream, Meg held her finger to her lips. Kellin closed her beak and then flew over to sit on Meg’s shoulder.
“I flew,” she whispered in her ear.
“And quite well,” Meg said.
“My son.”
“The baby died, Kellin. I am sorry.”
She shook her feathers and bobbed up and down. “I heard the cry; Elalia knows where he is.”
Meg sat slowly at the table with Kellin still on her shoulder.
“Help me.”
“I don’t know how,” she said.
“You will find a way,” Kellin whispered and then flew to the open window.
“No,” Meg said. “I can try.”
The raven landed on the window frame, her bright eyes shining, and then flew away.
Meg stood in her room, looking about her and feeling extremely lost. How did Elalia know that the bird was Kellin? Had she done something, and did Air know what that was? She turned to the fire and focused on the flickering of the flames. Could the baby still be alive? And if he was, did that mean that Elalia had taken him and tried to deceive them with someone else’s dead child? She swallowed slowly, trying to focus on the flames rather than the sick feeling growing in her stomach.
This was not something Elalia could have done alone, and Meg wondered if Brother Erasmus had been misled and that the Silent Mother was still somewhere within the castle.
She jumped with fright when Brent raced through her door.
“Sorry Meg,” he said stiffly.
“What is it?” she asked too harshly, even for her own ears.
“I cannot find Rainger.”
“I have not seen him since...” She struggled to remember when he had returned. “I thought you were at the border.”
“Called back to help find a princess. What was he doing?”
“Looking for Kellin, what else would he do? And now, I don’t know if we can get her back.”
He stepped forward, his face concerned, but he stopped short of her—stopped short of putting his arms around her and dragging her to his chest. It seemed like a calming place to be—against his chest, for a moment. She shook her head and refocused on what he was saying. Rainger was missing.
“He said he had an idea of where she might be,” she said, stepping out of his reach and towards the table. “But he didn’t come back, and I thought...” She turned and looked at Brent seriously.
“Thought what? Where was he going to look?”
“I don’t know, but I found Kellin this morning.” She turned back to the flames and he was there behind her, his hands on her arms.
“You found her?”
“She’s gone,” Meg said, trying to keep her voice even. “I don’t know where. But I know she searches for her child.”
“We could have helped her,” Brent said.
Meg shook her head. “It was all too strange; I cannot explain it.”
“Try,” he said, his grip tightening.
“I do not know where to start, or what to tell you.”
“By the gods, Meg,” he said, and pulled her to him. His strong arms tight around her shoulders, his chin rested on her head. She allowed a few tears to spill before she took a deep breath and pushed from his hold.
“You are a good friend,” she said.
He nodded slowly.
“Perhaps prayer will help,” she said. If Air could help her with Kellin, perhaps the gods knew where she had gone and could help bring her back, as well as Rainger.
Brent sighed as she moved across to the wash stand. She slowly poured the water into the basin.
“You found Kellin but cannot tell me, and now Rainger is lost.”
She nodded but dipped her hands into the water and splashed the cool water over her face, then patted it dry. “Oh Water,” she whispered into the ripples in the bowl, “where have they gone?”
She let out a small squeal as the image of a small boat appeared in the water. On the edge of the boat, a raven sat looking into its hidden depth, and she could just make out a hand above the oar ring.
Brent was at her side. “By the gods,” he breathed.
“They are in the water,” she said. “He is in the water.”
“How?” he asked, looking down on her seriously. “How did you do that? Do you have magic?”
She shook her head. “The Followers,” she whispered.
“Water,” he said slowly, looking into the bowl, now a basin of water and no more. He shook himself. “I know that place.”
Meg thought about the details of the image she had seen. “A small stream where the willow grows thick along its banks.”
Brent nodded and headed towards the door. With his hand on the latch he froze, and she watched him stand still for some time. When he did turn back, he looked more uncertain than she had seen him before. “Did he look...?”
Meg shook her head.
“You said they were in the water.”
Meg swallowed hard and gave a little nod. “Kellin is the bird.”
“How? Did you do this?” he asked quickly.
She shook her head, uncertainty threatening again. “No, I think Elalia did.”
“Go to the Brotherhood. Stay close to Brother Erasmus. It is not safe for you here and I cannot watch you while I search for Rainger. I will send Kiam.”
She shook her head again. “You will need him to help in the search. I can find Erasmus. Go.”
He gave a short nod. “Princess,” he said, and then left.
How had she told him these things? Why had she told him these things? She was sure that he would not look at her as Meg in the yard again. It should not matter, she told herself, but it did. He was a good friend, and she did not want to lose him and his support.
He was right about Erasmus. She looked into the bowl now containing nothing but water. She raced from her rooms, Brent nowhere to be seen, and she hoped she wouldn’t see anyone else.
She ran, lifting her skirts, across the courtyard and through the open doors of the Temple. It was eerily quiet, and she moved forward to rub the feet of the gods. She was sure she heard footsteps on the flagstones behind her but was too scared to turn around. What would she tell them? What if it was Elalia? Her fingers dug into the stone before her as though she could anchor herself safe at their feet. But then she couldn’t hear anything other than her heart beating loud in her ears, and her breath echoed off every wall. She didn’t know if she was alone or not, and she couldn’t convince herself to release her hold and turn.
She gulped down the lump in her throat and prayed for calm, for safety. Instantly regretting asking for such a thing for herself.
“You let her out,” a soft voice said behind her.
“Who?” she asked, trying not to allow the lump to reform.
“The bird, in the cage.”
“I didn’t touch her,” she said.
“Him,” the voice said. “Was the bird a him?”
“I do not know,” she whispered. “I know very little of birds.”
The unfamiliar voice was silent and Meg turned very carefully, her hand still on the foot of Kion. The Sister she found was a surprise. One she did not know or recognise. Not that she could know all of the Sisters, she assured herself. And for a moment she felt the strength of Kira’s hand on her shoulder, protecting her.
“You are a Silent Sister,” Meg said, her voice strong and confident. “How did you come to be here?”
“I was invited. Were you?”
Meg remained frozen where she was, unsure how to answer such a question.
The Sister looked pointedly at her hand on Kion’s foot. “Do you think such a statue will protect you?” Her voice was soft and friendly.
Meg nodded. “If they deem me worthy.”
The Sister looked up at the faces above her and then back to Meg. “You would dare to ask of the gods?”
“I ask for guidance,” she said.
“Where do you want to be guided to? For I could show you a new way.”
“No thank you,” Meg said quickly.
“Elalia knows that you are here, that you know of your sister. But I wonder if you know where she has gone.”
Meg shook her head but was sure she heard the rush of water. She peaked over her shoulder and smiled at Water.
“Does she guide you?” The Sister stepped forward, her calmness evaporating, and her gentle face hardened. She took another step closer but was focused on the faces above Meg, studying the features of the statues of the gods.
“Elalia should have dealt with you first,” she said, her voice soft again as her slow advance continued, her focus back on Meg. “You are the dangerous one, not that silly sister of yours. All she wanted was the child and the soldier. It would have been of no consequence to allow her to have them. It was spite, jealousy, and it is a weakness in our queen. One that needs to be harnessed and used properly. So much skill to turn a girl into a bird.”
Meg watched her creep closer, wondering if anyone else would enter the Temple before this woman reached her or used her magic on her. Someone like Brother Erasmus, who would never believe Meg that the Silent Sisters would do ill.
Meg held her breath, and the smile that crossed the Sister’s face was more unnerving than anything she had said.
“Kira,” she whispered.
“You do not ask for help, do you? The gods are not interested in you. They will not help you. I could help. I could make a difference. I could see that you are where you should be.”
“You would not help me,” Meg said.
She cackled and the strange sound echoed off the walls. “I know what your hair means, and I will not allow you to endanger our queen.”
“I don’t want to hurt Elalia; I just want to find Kellin.”
“You want no such thing,” she hissed. “You want happiness and family and power of your own. You cannot have it.” She clenched her fists at her sides and slowly lifted her arms to shoulder height. Quite quickly she opened her fists, flicking her fingers towards Meg.
Meg closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands.
She had the strangest sensation that she was surrounded by the gods. That they had their arms around her and she was safe. But she was frozen and unable to move. She heard the cackle of the Silent Sister again, and she wondered what they really were.
She tried to call out, but she couldn’t. Her hands still at her face, she was lost to the darkness she feared the soothsayer had talked of. She started to panic. Her heart beat loud in her ears. She wanted to cry but she couldn’t even do that.
“Do not fear, little one,” a soft voice whispered in her ear. Her mother’s voice.
“We love you,” her father’s voice said in the other.