"Danica, are you..." I trailed off, because there was no reason to ask such a question. She was not all right, and if I asked, she would simply continue to deny that she wasn't.

"My mother told me today that one of the Royal Flight has begun to court her," Danica said, and for a moment the statement seemed so inane and out of place that I hardly realized the importance.

Then I made the connection. "Gerard?"

Danica nodded. "I told her there was no reason for him to leave the Royal Flight. He is sworn to protect the royal house anyway, and has always been one of her guards. Swearing his vows as her alistair does not seem like a conflict." I could see many reasons for it to be perceived as a conflict, but Danica continued before I could voice them.

"She says she is too old to hope for more children," Danica added, "but I doubt that is true. Maybe it would be better for her to have more. Life is safer now that we are not at war, but having only one potential heir to the throne is... hazardous. And we will not have another."

The words, and the offhanded way in which they were spoken, made me cold. Logically, yes, I understood the desire for multiple children in the royal house. However, any child of Nacola Shardae would be a pure-blooded hawk and, as such, as capable of usurping the throne as safeguarding it. Danica must have thought of this, but just as she remained silent about her feelings on losing Rei and Kel, she refused to speak of it. I broached the first painful topic, because I had no idea yet what to do about the second.

"If you feel up to traveling, I think we should go back to serpiente lands tomorrow. I haven't given up hope that we may be able to somehow bring our people home, and I'd like to ask Valene, at least, if she has any suggestions." Danica nodded mechanically. "My mother and Gerard have things well under control here, if we travel to the palace."

Her eyes followed a natural bird as it skimmed over the treetops in the warm night air. It dove, disappearing into the forest, and Danica said, "Araceli took them so easily. You really believe that we could somehow take them back?"

"I am not ready to give them up as lost," I answered. I pulled her closer, and finally she leaned against me.

"Idiocy," she sighed, as pain leaked into her voice for the first time. "First I miss

Andreios, and then I feel foolish for missing someone who was never who I thought he was... and then I feel ghastly for being angry with him, when I think of all the times he protected me over the years, and what he is probably going through now." I stroked her back and she continued. "Then I think of Gerard, and my mother, and I think I should be happy for them. I know I should be glad if my mother has a chance at more children after having lost so many... but I hate the thought that our child might then be denied the title she should have without question." Though relieved that Danica shared my concerns, I wished this blow had not come so soon after the last. Neither of us was ready to face it.

She turned to me and rested her cheek against my shoulder. "You're supposed to be the one going to pieces, not me," she teased.

"You have every right to be upset, and every right to show it, with me if no one else," I assured her.

"It's so hard," she whispered, "adjusting to the fact that the real Rei has been dead for more than half my life. He died protecting me, and I never even knew to mourn him. I was so young, but even so, I feel as if I should have known.

I always thought his father's death and our brush with our own had changed him... but it didn't just change him. He wasn't even the same person. I grew up with Rei, and I couldn't even tell that someone else had taken his place." Suddenly she shook her head and pulled away from me. "If you want to travel to the palace tomorrow, we should probably sleep." Once again her voice was calm, and once again I hated hearing it.

"Come to bed, then."

She hesitated at the balcony, but then turned and followed me inside, keeping a careful distance. Even more than I wanted to bring Rei and Kel home, I wanted to see Danica smile again  -  or even cry. Anything would be better than this emotionless poise. Perhaps sha'Mehay and its dancers could revive her, unlike her mother and the solemn Hawk's Keep.

Chapter 17

My first stop once we got to serpiente lands was sha'Mehay. The dancers greeted us warmly, though we were hardly two steps inside the doorway when I saw the first nervous, questioning glances. We were the first to return from the Keep since Araceli had come. I did not relish the news we brought with us.

"I need to speak to A'isha and Valene." Instantly, the two were before me. A'isha started to usher us to one of the more private rooms, but I shook my head. The more minds on this question, the better.

"The falcons found their people," I said. Valene winced, and I saw A'isha pale.

"Who?" the dancer asked softly.

"Syfka organized a 'test' to out the falcon. Erica Silvermead revealed herself, while saving my mate's and my daughter's lives."

"Oh, gods," Valene whispered, dropping her head into her hands. "Is Kel... they took Kel back?"

"She wasn't the one they were looking for. Syfka would have left her here, but she went after them, when Araceli took Andreios."

A'isha let out a cry, her face going white. One of the other dancers steadied her, and I could see in his gaze the same pain.

"What was he accused of?" Valene finally asked.

"It doesn't matter," A'isha replied, speaking loudly to the whole gathered group. "He was one of ours, a dancer in this nest. I won't see him slandered, even by the falcon Empress." Instantly she turned to me, demanding, "How do we get him back?"

"He is Araceli's son, Sebastian," I explained. "Her only heir. If there is a way  -  "

"There is a way," she interrupted before I could express my doubt. "Falcon or not, her heir or not, he's one of ours, ra'o'sha'Mehay.

The Cobriana learned years ago that you don't hold a dancer against the ruling of the nest. The shm'Ahnmik might as well learn the same." Her determination was infectious. I saw the heat returning finally to Danica's eyes  -  hope. False hope or true, it was something. At least we would do all we could.

"There is a falcon in the market," I said. "The baker Seth. As he's the only local falcon I know of, he seems a good person to ask for information."

"He hasn't been in the market since Syfka was here," one of the dancers told me. "I can check his house, though."

"Please."

The dancer disappeared out the door, but all those remaining kept their attention raptly on me.

"Valene, you're our resident expert," I continued. "Any suggestions?" Looking the most doubtful, Valene replied, "When I

visited, I heard nothing of Araceli's having a son. Children on Ahnmik are so precious, there must have been a reason for her to let him go the first time. Considering how reluctantly changes are made by the royal house, and how much effort was put into bringing him home quickly, there must also have been a reason they wanted him now. I don't know how any of us could discover those reasons, though."

"Any thoughts on Kel?" I asked, though I knew it must be a painful subject for her. "I assume you know more about her history than I do."

Valene shook her head. "I doubt that. She told me once that knowing the reason for her exile was dangerous."

"What do we hope to accomplish here?" The voice rang out from a python in the back of the room. "We've all heard stories about Ahnmik. We all know the myths. We all know  -  or more rightly don't know  -  how powerful the falcons are. It's sickening that they can just say someone is a criminal and take that person away, but it's not as if they picked up a serpent. They took falcons.

Two people who, as loyal and wonderful as everyone keeps saying they were  -  and I'm not forgetting that Erica, or Kel, or whoever she was, hated serpents vehemently when I first met her  -  lied to everyone around them about who they were. People call them brave, but does a brave man hide who he is behind a disguise? Everyone gets venerated once they are gone. But all I know about these two is that they were cowards and liars who, a year ago, would have killed me without hesitation. Why should we risk angering the falcon Empress for people who were never ours?"

"I'm sorry, I thought we had accomplished something these last months." Danica's voice was level as a blade. "I thought maybe we were past feathers and scales. We are not talking about two falcons, we're talking about two people.

"We are talking about Kel  -  a young woman who abandoned everything she knew to save someone she loved from torture and execution. A young woman who entered our world  -  hidden, yes, because she had to be  -  in a desperate attempt to have the kind of life we all take for granted. A young woman who used to dance in her homeland, and who teasingly challenged the man she fancied to learn. A young woman who again lost everything, this time because she saved the life of her queen  -  and couldn't stand to see Andreios taken away without fighting for him. And we are talking about Andreios." Danica choked up for a moment, but before the serpent she was challenging could speak, she took a deep breath and cut him off. "The falcon who became Andreios was twelve when he first saved my life. You call him a liar, and you call him a coward, but you are oceans away from the truth  -  "

"I'm sorry," the serpent whispered, his quiet words silencing her more quickly than any angry protest could have. "Maybe I'm wrong; I didn't know them. But I still don't think we can save them."

"If they were serpents," Danica asked, "would you be so willing to give up?" Silence, broken by the return of the dancer who had gone to look for the falcon merchant.

"His house has been cleared out," he announced, oblivious to the tension that was in the room when he entered. "It looks like he ran as soon as Syfka found out who he was." Belatedly, he looked around. "Is there a problem?"

The serpent who had challenged us shook his head. "Just me, being... me." To Danica, he explained, "I shouldn't have spoken as I did. But I think I'm not the only one who still holds a little natural distrust of an avian soldier. Add to that learning they were falcons to begin with..." He shrugged. "My nest leader, my Diente and my Naga all speak for Kel and Andreios. That's enough. It's not as if I know anything helpful to you anyway; it's none of my business."

Once again A'isha took charge, though this time she did so in a decidedly cooled atmosphere. "The dancer's guilds are as old as Maeve's coven. Any obscure information we have about falcons and falcon laws would be in the texts downstairs. Even if we can't find a way to bring our dancers home, we may find something helpful for the future."

As nice as that sounded, it was less helpful than one would imagine. Of the writings done by the ancient coven, all that was left were copies of copies of words written in the old language, and much of them were obscured by mythical fancies. The sun set over the nest, and dancers around the room stood and stretched, arching their bodies as the red light trickled into the room from the open ceiling. A pair went around the room and lit lamps, then stroked the embers of the previous night's fire into full bloom again.

Danica lay beside me as I pored over one of the many inscriptions, tired eyes befuddled by the whirling designs the letters formed.

"Well, I feel useless," Danica sighed.

"I'm not doing much better," I admitted. "I studied the old language when I was younger  -  every cobra does  -  but only enough to have the barest understanding. All this is written using more complex forms, and many of the symbols seem to have been either embellished or abbreviated. This squiggle, for instance, is completely meaningless to me." Valene shifted to peer over my shoulder.

"Lar." she translated. "I think. She'maen'ne'l ar. Or  -  wait, I see it. Someone copied the breaks wrong. She'maen'nelar." Danica rolled onto her back, running her hands through her hair as she yawned.

"Valene, I'm suddenly even more impressed with you than I ever was." The raven smiled at the compliment. "On Ahnmik, it's traditional to fill the space around letters with further designs that complement the lines of the writing. I think a few of these were copied from writings like that, which means it's very likely mistakes were made. I've been reading one where half the marks don't resemble any symbol I've ever seen in my life."

"I found a description of Queen Alasdair," A'isha called. "Whoever copied it made a note that the first draft was attributed to Kiesha."

Danica brightened, moving over to where A'isha was reading. "What does it say?"

"Mana'o'saerre'la'Alasdair... the hawk queen, Alasdair... rai'maeriferat'jaes'girian .. . golden lady... hmm... Valene?" The raven took over, skimming the piece a few times before she read it slowly. "The hawk queen, Alasdair, is both a golden lady and a young girl, with too much power for her years. She is serene, but there is a sadness in her eyes I cannot speak to. She is the same age as my son, and I pity her for not ever sharing his freedom to be a child." The words were bittersweet, and familiar to us all. Everyone born during war knew what it was to see childhood fade too quickly as pain and loss stole the years away.

"The serpiente were only in Alasdair's city for a single night," Danica said softly. "How could words like those have been written just hours before the avian-serpiente war began?"