Kel nodded slowly and reached up to brush her hair from her face. Suddenly she froze and haltingly explained, "I tried to take my natural form, to face her. But I couldn't." She shook her head, grasping a dusky blond strand of hair in her fist. "Once I had beautiful pale blue streaks like Syfka's... but not now. I've lost that. My skin's too dark, too. I can't remember how it was. I don't know if my face is right; I can't remember Kel, not exactly. I've been Erica too long. Are my eyes right?"

"They're violet," Andreios answered. "Dark, blue-violet."

"At least I still have that." She lifted her head, suddenly defiant. "And I have my freedom. That is all I ever wanted." Then she turned to look at me, with a bit of a smile.

"That and to serve a royal house I respected and trusted." After the tumultuous scene I had witnessed, I barely had the energy to deal with the supposed traitor whose actions had revealed Kel to us in the first place. Especially if she was innocent, as Kel had claimed.

"Andreios, if Kel can assure us that Syfka's influence is gone from her, you may release the woman your flight is holding. She should be harmless now." The crow nodded, but he looked preoccupied. He took Kel's arm to help her stand, and she leaned against him for a few moments before she took her own feet. The immediate trauma was over, but I still felt as if I was falling. Syfka had promised that someone would come. Would we lose even more to that search?

We had already lost too much.

"Sir, is Danica well enough to receive visitors?" Rei asked. He had hardly finished speaking before Danica hurried down the stairs and joined us. Gerard shadowed her in avian form, shifting a discrete distance behind her. She brushed tousled hair back from her face, then held out a hand to Kel.

"It's so good to see that you remain with us, Kel," she said. "Dare I hope this means I have seen the last of your people?"

Rei tensed, but Kel answered, "I wasn't the falcon they were looking for..." She shook her head. "Someone else will come. Maybe not soon, but someday." Rei cleared his throat. "Milady, I..." He dropped his gaze. "With your permission, I would like to resign from the Royal Flight."

I was as shocked by the unexpected request as Danica looked. She answered instantly,

"Permission not granted. Why, Andreios?"

He shook his head. "I've failed you more than once. You have nearly fallen to assassins, and you and your child were both just almost killed. Further, I lost objectivity regarding Kel, and would have endangered you further. I should have told you about the falcon. I should have  -  "

Danica interrupted him. "Rei, I know you. I have known you all my life." He looked away, but she took his hands and forced his gaze back to her. "You are the best captain the Royal Flight has ever had. You couldn't have done anything differently regarding Syfka, and though you posed your objections vehemently, I don't believe you would have endangered us even if we had not spoken against them. May I also point out that I am not dead?"

"Milady, please," he answered. "I am good at tactics; I served you through war and could defend you there. More often now you face deception and disguised enemies, and that is not the art I know."

"And who knows better than you?" Danica argued. "You aren't making sense."

"If you are willing to accept a falcon into your ranks, Kel would be a worthy leader. She is the best fighter we have. And, while this might not seem like a glowing endorsement, her former position on Ahnmik has given her more experience dealing with problems by means less direct than battle. If you have any questions about her loyalty  -  "

"I don't," Danica answered.

"Or, if you would prefer another, Gerard has always served well; he is the oldest of the Royal Flight, and  -  "

"Rei," Danica interrupted. "I will allow you a temporary leave of absence, so that you may consider this decision, but then I expect you to return to your duties. The falcons are powerful adversaries, and I have a feeling your faith in yourself has been somewhat shaken. But I remember the day you decided to join my guard; you told me your dream the instant you woke up, after fighting a serpent's poison for days. You took that poison to save my life. You proved yourself that day, and I will not allow a crisis of faith to destroy you." He looked away again, and his eyes met mine, pleading. I shook my head; this was Danica's decision.

"Leave granted," Danica answered. "In the meantime, if she will serve, Kel may fill in for you. You," she finished affectionately, "may come back as soon as your senses have returned."

Chapter 13

"Excuse me." The cold voice behind us made me cringe for reasons that had nothing to do with falcons or Rei's abdication. Danica turned with a smile, and I struggled to do the same.

Despite how well the recent months had gone, Nacola Shardae still refused to believe that a serpiente man could possibly be the right mate for her only daughter. Because of that, she hated me as only a mother could.

I couldn't quite summon such a powerful emotion for such an emotionless woman, but all things considered, I did not know whether I would prefer to face the former Tuuli Thea or the falcon Empress herself. Unfortunately, I needed to tolerate Nacola for Danica's sake, despite the way her golden eyes never quite met mine. She was discreet about it, but eventually one comes to notice these things.

"Mother," Danica greeted Nacola warmly.

"You have a bad habit of allowing your guards to inform me of important events," Nacola chastised. Her tone was carefully controlled, but it held a hint of the fear she must have felt.

"I am sorry to have worried you; you have found us in the first calm moment since Syfka's plans... delayed us."

I regretted that fact even more than Danica did. Immediately our disagreement surfaced in my mind, as I realized that Nacola would ask questions we had not yet resolved. Nacola just nodded. "You are queen; you had to see to your people first. The falcon problem has been worked out, I hope?"

"For this moment," Danica said. "Kel, who you knew as Erica"  -  she nodded at the sparrow-falcon  -  "was not the falcon they sought."

Kel interjected politely, "The Empress is more than two thousand years old. She does not make decisions quickly, nor does she ever hurry. To her, a day, a month, or even a century may as well be an hour. If she is the one who pressed to have this falcon returned, then you may not see the falcons again for generations."

"If?" I queried.

"To Empress Cjarsa, time is all but meaningless. Her heir, Araceli, is more driven. People speak of the Empress's will, but often it is Araceli who gives the orders. If she is the one who seeks your falcon, you may still wait years, or her Mercy may arrive at the Keep tomorrow. And unlike Syfka, they will not be subtle with their methods, or leave until they have succeeded. The Mercy does what is necessary to fulfill their orders." She stopped abruptly, swallowing hard, perhaps as she pushed back memories of her own time in that lofty group. "I'm sorry. I'm so exhausted, I'm having trouble holding a tram of thought. Do you have any further questions, or might I be excused?"

"We can speak more of this after you rest for a few hours," I answered. And we would. Kel's descriptions had soothed none of my worries; they had given me new ones instead.

"I have a feeling Nacola wants to speak to her daughter now, anyway. Thank you, Kel."

"O'h ena," she answered. "You're welcome, always." Our conversation with Nacola was likely to be every bit as unsettling as Kel's ominous words about the royal falcons.

"Danica, you seem to have recovered well?" Nacola asked first, as we walked back toward a more private area.

"I understand that Kel saved my life," Danica replied. "I feel healthier than I have in years."

"And you, Zane?" Nacola asked, somewhat reluctantly.

"Again, thanks to Erica  -  Kel," I replied as we stepped into an empty sitting room.

"For that, I am grateful." The moment we were alone, Nacola prompted, "Gerard tells me that I am going to have a grandchild soon?"

"Yes," I answered, and for all my fears, I could not help smiling. "A granddaughter, according to Kel."

Danica moved slightly toward me, and her hand touched mine.

"I didn't think it was possible," Nacola said frankly, "for a child to be born between our two kinds."

"Apparently we've enough in common for it to work," was my terse reply. Both our kinds had human roots. In the best of worlds, the knowledge that we were not so different would dim Nacola's distaste a little.

In the best of worlds, many things would be different.

"I..." She trailed off and hesitated for a moment. "I am pleased to hear it." The words came out a bit rushed, as if her determination would only last so long. "I would not wish to see my line end, even... I am pleased."

Neither of us commented on what we knew was the reason for Nacola's hesitation. She was pleased to know that her daughter would have a child. She was not pleased to know that her daughter would have a half-serpiente child. As Nacola began her questions, I felt as if I was watching a bird of prey circle in the skies, coming ever closer to the moment when it would dive.

"You'll have the babe here, of course?" Nacola said. "Even if the father is... not, it still seems right that avian doctors should attend to an avian mother." I felt myself tense as Danica answered, "Most likely, yes." I understood Danica's desire to give birth surrounded by doctors of her own kind. The question was what would happen after that.

Nacola let out her breath softly, clearly relieved. "If you know for certain that the child will be female, have you considered an alistair?"

This time I felt Danica's body tense. She answered carefully, "Zane and I haven't decided how we will raise the child."

"Shardae, surely you understand, if you don't give the girl an alistair, she will be seen as outcast from the court. It isn't proper  -  "

"And if I do give her an alistair, she will be outcast from the serpiente," Danica interrupted. "I said we haven't decided yet, Mother. Once we make our decisions, I hope you will respect them."

The hawk respected very little that had to do with me, but she wasn't about to say that aloud. Gods forbid she say what she was thinking outright. "Of course I must," she replied. Her voice remained even as she went for the kill. "But have you considered what your people's reaction will be, if their next Tuuli Thea is raised as a serpent? The war is over, thank the sky, but it takes more than a few months for the hatred and fear caused by generations of bloodshed to end. Your child might be able to end it, after she is queen, but this first generation will be in a very precarious position. The serpiente have an heir to the throne, I believe. Would you, Zane, be selfish enough to keep this child for your world if doing so risks her right to the throne of the land that needs her?" Nacola Shardae, damn her feathers, was a true queen. In that single little speech, she managed to hit every vulnerability and fear Danica and I had regarding this child. Danica stayed silent, leaving me to answer Nacola.

"We will do what is necessary to assure our child's prosperity." The statement hurt as I recalled my conversation with Irene. "We have some time before the decision must be made. If we can find no way to raise the child so both our kinds will accept her... then she will be raised to be Tuuli Thea, and I will name Salem my heir until  -  " Until another child is born,

I had been about to say, but there would be no other child. Danica wrapped an arm around my waist and gave me a half hug, despite how scandalized her mother would be by the contact.

Nacola nodded, and for the first time, I saw a glimmer of respect in her eyes.

"We will decide what we must, when we must." Danica's soft voice cut through the silence. "I hope you will trust us to do what is best. For the moment," she said, changing the subject deftly as her tone lightened, "my most pressing concern is that this has been a long and difficult morning, and I've yet to have breakfast. Perhaps you might join me?"

One thing was true in both our cultures: When a woman carrying a child said she was hungry, people listened. Danica had no shame in ruthlessly using that fact to disengage us from her mother's interrogation.

Chapter 14

As soon as the court realized that Danica was well enough to be social, they dragged her into the midst of their gossip, advice and congratulations. The next several days seemed surreal contrasted with the encounters of the ones before. Danica handled the crowds well, though I noticed her harried expression whenever she caught my eye across the room.

I recognized her people's need to be reassured that she was all right. Rumors traveled as fast through the Keep as they did in sha'Mehay, and as much as I wanted to speak to her privately, I knew I could wait until the evening. For now, Danica needed to be queen to her people. Kel approached me at dusk to discuss falcons and her temporary position as flight leader.

"Every now and then I sense a falcon in the marketplace," she admitted when asked,

"but these falcons are always powerless. When they escape the island, the Empress lets them go. So long as they are careful not to have children here, they are no threat to her. I have never recognized one of my own here who would be worthy of Syfka's attention. Whoever it is must be well hidden, or not in our courts at all. If the falcons send anyone else, you may want to suggest they look among the wolves, or other local groups." I remembered Syfka making a similar comment regarding children when she had described Kel's sentence. "Valene told me that falcons prize children. Even you said to Syfka that the Empress would be upset that our child was endangered in her schemes. Why would a child born here be such a threat?"