The girls stayed back a respectful distance but dared to draw close enough to gather what the chancellor had to say to Keegan and Enva’s army.
“This road needs to remain clear and passable,” Verlice was saying. “And Oath is still declared neutral ground. I cannot permit you and your forces to infiltrate the city.”
Infiltrate? Iris nearly breathed fire at that word. She ground her teeth together as she stared up at the chancellor. He wasn’t going to allow Enva’s army to find shelter and provisions in the city. He wasn’t going to allow the army to protect the people within the city walls.
Keegan was silent, as if she too was shocked by the chancellor barring their entrance. But she only said in a strong voice, “If that is what you have decided for Oath, then so be it. We will make camp here on the outskirts. All I ask is for my wounded to find care and shelter in the hospital.”
The chancellor narrowed his eyes. It was apparent he wanted Keegan to return from where she had come, taking the trail of lorries and troops with her. But he only inclined his head and said, “Very well. As long as the road remains passable, and your troops cause no inconvenience for the citizens of Oath, remaining outside of the city limits, you may camp in this field.”
“And my wounded?” Keegan pressed. “They have been traveling for days and need medical attention.”
“I will take this up with my council,” the chancellor replied. “In the meantime, the wounded will need to camp here with you until I gain approval for their admittance.”
Iris set her jaw. She couldn’t believe this was happening until the chancellor sensed her stare and glanced up to find her and Attie standing side by side, ankle-deep in mud. Irritation pulled his mouth into a thin line, made his brow slant heavy over his beady eyes. Iris could almost hear the trail of his thoughts. How annoying the journalists at the Inkridden Tribune were, writing about things he didn’t want the people to know.
A wordless challenge was set down between them, and the chancellor took his seat in the back of the roadster. His driver stirred the engine to life and drove away, and Iris shivered as her damp clothes chafed against her skin.
The mist was growing thicker, transforming into a hushed rainfall. But she watched the chancellor disappear into Oath, and she knew exactly what article of hers would be in the paper tomorrow.
* * *
“Are you sure, Marisol?” Iris asked for the third time. “You and Lucy are more than welcome to stay with me and Forest.”
Marisol smiled as she set down a crate. Her black hair shined in the rain, falling loose from her long braid. “I’ll be fine here. I want to stay with Keegan, you know.”
Iris nodded, although a knot of guilt and anger soured in her stomach at the thought of leaving Marisol and Keegan and all the soldiers behind to sleep in tents on wet ground. They didn’t even have a way to stoke campfires and cook a warm meal or make a pot of coffee, and Iris wondered what she could do to help.
Marisol read her thoughts.
“You must remember that they’ve been through much worse than a little rain, Iris,” she murmured as tents continued to rise from the ground like mushrooms. “A little foul weather won’t hurt us. Perhaps the sun will be shining tomorrow.”
Iris couldn’t hide her grimace. The weather in Cambria was notorious for being ornery.
“Do you still have the bird book I gave you?” Marisol asked suddenly.
“Yes. It’s in my coat pocket.”
“Have you read the page on the albatross?”
“A few lines,” Iris replied. “I remember that they can sleep while flying.”
“As well as fly into the strong wind of a storm, rather than having to avoid it and head to the shore like other birds would do,” Marisol said, snapping wrinkles from a blanket she found in the crate. “It’s safer for them to fly toward the storm than away from it, as counterintuitive as that may seem to us. But they can soar for thousands of kilometers without ever touching land, and they know their strengths. They lean into them in times of trouble.”
Iris fell quiet, mulling on those words.
“Are you suggesting I be counterintuitive?” she eventually asked.
Marisol smiled. “I want you to remember that you have already flown through a strong storm, as have most of us here. And a little rain from the chancellor won’t unsettle us now.”
“I hope you’re right, Marisol.”
“When have I ever been wrong?” She tapped Iris’s chin affectionately before turning away, passing the blanket off to a soldier.