“I sent Ahuat back to Kun, to put riders in the air.” Peyana flexed her wounded hand. “I fear Nuuma will try to flee.”
“And I the same with Water Strider,” Ieyoue said. “If she leaves by river, we will find her first.”
It was sound reasoning, but Naranpa was unconvinced. “Nuuma is clever and had likely already planned her escape before she came to the Lupine. If there is a way to elude your patrols, she will know it. We have likely lost our chance to hold her.”
“Then we will find another way to make her pay for her crimes against the clans and the city.” Peyana’s look was dark, and Naranpa knew she meant it. But intent would not be enough, not against a woman like Nuuma.
Okoa cleared his throat. “Now that you are here, Sun Priest, there is news I must share.”
The young warrior looked uncomfortable here on these opulent cushions in this house of decadence. He kept folding and unfolding his hands, and his broad shoulders hunched under his cloak. He was a boy, she realized. A man grown, yes, but young. Younger than he had seemed at his mother’s funeral, where loss and pain had made their mark on him.
All is loss, she thought miserably. Nothing stays. Even this man in the prime of youth will die, and sooner than he deserves. Can he feel it? Death, already tightening its fingers around his neck?
Okoa glanced at her as if aware of her dark thoughts, and she did her best to shake them off. He gave her a hesitant smile, as if unsure of his welcome, even after the events of the evening.
She rallied. “I am glad you came, Okoa. I did not know how my message would be received. Last time we met, I thought you might kill me.”
“You will have to forgive me.” He hesitated, as if caught in a remembrance. “It was a different time.”
“There is nothing to forgive.”
“Then I am grateful for your trust.”
“More hope than trust. I did not know, but I hoped, that the leadership of Carrion Crow might not have entirely fallen under the shadow of your dark god. I saw him, you know. On the roof of the celestial tower. He, too, wanted to kill me.” She shivered at the memory. “I could feel it. But he was already injured and could not follow when I ran. He sent his crows after me. His arm… shattered… and became those black-winged birds.” Her voice caught somewhere between horror and wonder. “They chased me through the tower until I found shelter in the kitchens. When I emerged, he was gone, and the flock was heading west.” She was convinced he had let her go, but she could not say why. Perhaps his injury or some other reason she could not fathom. Whatever it was, it left her trembling all over again.
“It matches what we know.” Okoa pulled a cloth bag into his lap. His hand slipped inside, but he did not pull forth the contents. His shoulders seem to settle in resignation, and he looked infinitely sad, as if whatever was in the bag had the power to break his heart. “I speak to you plainly now, as myself. I cannot speak for my matron or for the Odohaa, but I believe I act for their benefit. For the benefit of all of Carrion Crow, and for Tova as well.”
Peyana leaned forward. “What is it?”
His expression was solemn. “We bear no ill will to the clans. The Watchers”— his eyes flicked to Naranpa—“we did not love, and the Knives least of all. We will not mourn them, although…”
He hesitated, as if his diplomacy had run dry.
“I walked that killing field on Sun Rock. I saw the bodies turned to ash, others left in strange contortions. And I have seen other deaths at Serapio’s hands.” His voice was quiet, intense. “As much as we Crow mourn those lost on the Night of Knives, one slaughter cannot justify another.”
“Your Odohaa prayed for his coming.” Ieyoue’s reminder was a soft rebuke.
“They are but a small faction within the clan.”
“I have seen what gathers at your doorstep, Crow.” The matron of Winged Serpent was more blunt, her tone less forgiving. “They are not so small anymore.”
Okoa’s dark eyes brimmed with conflict, but determination set his jaw. “I think you have found the heart of the matter, Matron.” He pulled his treasure from the bag.
Naranpa gasped. Her hand trembled as she instinctively reached for it, hovering just short of touching.
The Sun Priest’s mask.
“I retrieved it from Sun Rock and have not known what to do with it. But I believe it can be used… as a weapon.”
“No!” The denial was instinctive, and Naranpa regretted her outburst immediately, as they all turned to stare—Okoa surprised, Peyana curious, Ieyoue sympathetic. Even Sedaysa fixed her with an enigmatic look.