“But you think he should stop.”
“Yes. I do.” Moon shook his head. He knew he was a fatalist. He had spent most of his life not expecting to be particularly happy or comfortable, looking for the basics of shelter, food, and company that wasn’t actively trying to kill him. Maybe he just didn’t understand what Chime was really looking for or why. But Moon had gotten the answers he had needed from Opal Night, so maybe he was right that he didn’t understand Chime’s situation as much as he thought he did. “Maybe that’s just me.”
“I don’t know.” Jade sighed. “This court has had so many changes in the past few turns, but nothing has been as strange as what happened to Chime when he changed.” She gathered the jewelry into a heap and set it aside. “He’s going to have to work it out for himself, to try to find a mental place where he can live with it.”
“So you think I should just shut up.”
Jade smiled. “I think you should shut up and come over here.”
Later, half-asleep and sated, Jade sleeping on top of him with one leg still pressed possessively between his thighs, Moon decided Jade was right and he should just keep his mouth shut about it. Chime would be leaving tomorrow with Jade and the others, and by the time he came back there would be other things to talk about. Moon’s opinion wasn’t going to change, and Chime needed to work this out for himself.
TWENTY DAYS LATER
Moon circled the pond. Maybe he should bring the Sky Copper clutch out here to teach them about drains, since that was apparently going to be the main concern of the Indigo Cloud colony for the rest of their lives.
Snap surfaced with a spray of muddy water and gasped. “I think I see the problem.”
Blossom sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I think I see the problem, too.” She was an Arbora teacher, and rightfully should be inside doing something more important, but had been dragged out here to give her opinion. Moon was out here just because he was bored.
Bramble and Blaze, both female Arbora hunters, flicked their spines in a particularly disparaging way. Blaze said, “We’ve heard that before, Snap.”
Snap shook water and mud out of his frills, spraying Moon and Blossom. “This time I’m sure!” He took a deep breath and went under again.
Blossom brushed the mud off her scales and said, “I hope he’s right about this. We don’t want to lose those lower platforms.”
Moon ignored the mud and absently raked his foot claws through the grass. They were on one of the colony tree’s higher platforms, the great dark wall of the tree’s trunk looming behind them. The sunlight was green-tinted from the spreading canopy hundreds of paces above their heads, and it held the other wild mountain-trees at bay, so they formed a large clearing around the colony tree. The platforms were made by intertwined branches and heavy vines and turns of windblown dirt, now supporting gardens or fields or whole forests of smaller trees. This platform hadn’t been replanted yet and was too overgrown with grasses and wild saplings to tell what it had once been used for. Blossom thought it was too high up in the tree for root vegetables or orchards, and that it might once have been a pleasure garden, with elaborate plantings and water features. Now it was just waste ground, buzzing with clouds of gnats that hung in the humid warm season air of the suspended forest. Whatever this platform had once been, Snap, one of the Arbora in charge of the colony tree’s ancient, extensive, and recalcitrant drainage system, thought the pond here was a key element in the blockages they were trying to clear.
Moon just wished there was something to do that was a little more distracting.
He looked up and realized that everyone was staring at him sympathetically. Blossom smiled. “They’ll be back soon.”
Moon tried not to twitch at being read so easily. He said, “I’m not worried.” Jade had taken not only Chime but her clutchmate Balm, plus Song and Root, all of whom were Moon’s best friends in the court. She had taken Coil, one of the reigning queen Pearl’s warriors, with her as well, but Moon wasn’t attached to him. When they had first left, it had been easier to resign himself to missing them. Now that he was expecting them back any day, he was just restless and impatient.
Then Bramble said, “Hey, how long has he been down there?”
Moon glanced at the water, where a few bubbles broke the surface. Too few bubbles.
Blossom’s eyes widened in horror. She dove in head first and Moon jumped in after her.
The pond was deeper than it looked, the water clouded and muddy. Moon followed the thrashing down to the bottom and found Blossom in the process of extracting a struggling Snap from a hole in the wall of the pond. All Moon could see was churning mud and struggling bodies. He caught hold of a root and felt Blossom’s claws rip at a bundle of smaller roots and debris jammed into a channel outlet. The bundle must have trapped one of Snap’s arms. Blossom had managed to loosen the debris and partly drag it out of the channel, but Snap still struggled to free himself. Moon used his longer reach to work his way further down the channel, got a better grip on the roots, and wrenched backward at the same time as Blossom.
The obstruction came loose with a rush of more muddy water, and all three of them shot to the surface. Moon shook mud out of his head frills to find Bramble crouched on the edge of the bank, hissing urgently at him. “Moon, Moon, stay down!”
He blinked at her, but sunk lower down into the water so most of his head was concealed. Snap coughed and sputtered as Blossom dragged him up onto the bank. “You idiot,” she said, shaking off the root tendrils trapped in her spines. “You could have—”
Blaze, standing and facing away from the pond, hissed at her to be quiet. Moon lifted up just enough to get a view past her.
Five strange warriors and a queen were landing on the platform about thirty paces away. Moon hissed under his breath and sunk further down under the water, so only the top of his head and his muddy frills were visible. What a time for visitors to arrive. Consorts were expected to behave in certain ways, which didn’t include sloshing around in muddy ponds clearing drains.
The group wasn’t attempting to approach the pond. Raksuran etiquette demanded that strangers be greeted by a female warrior, so they were politely ignoring the two hunters and Blossom, who had just punched Snap in the stomach, apparently to help him bring up the last of the muddy water he had swallowed.
Two warriors from Indigo Cloud’s patrol circled and then dropped toward the platform. They landed at an angle so the visitors turned toward them and away from the pond. It was Serene and Sand, both warriors of Jade’s faction, and their slightly fixed expressions told Moon they knew he was here.
Moon debated staying underwater, but as the only Aeriat who had matte black scales, consorts were distinctive. It was much harder to tell the difference between a consort and a warrior in their groundling forms, and Moon’s clothes wouldn’t betray him either. He had come out here expecting to help with the work, so was wearing an old pair of pants cut off at the knees due to the acidic red mud patches on the lower garden platforms, and a light-colored shirt with tears and stains acquired while playing with the kids. And he had left his consort’s jewelry in his bower. He decided to chance it, and shifted to groundling.
Bramble edged sideways as Moon pulled himself out of the pond, sitting where she could partially block the strangers’ view of him. Moon crouched on the bank to wring the muddy water out of his shirt, keeping his head down. Serene had just shifted to groundling to greet the strangers, and was young enough to show her nervousness at the responsibility. She had the coppery skin and reddish curly hair that ran in one of the Indigo Cloud bloodlines. She was dressed in a light shirt and pants, wearing only some copper bead jewelry, but then she obviously hadn’t expected to be doing this when she had come out this morning. “I’m Serene, of Indigo Cloud.”
The foreign queen was young too, with emerald green scales and a gold web overlay. Her jewelry was moderately impressive, with a belt and pectoral that were all polished opals to keep from competing with
the brightness of her scales. There were three female warriors in the group, all larger and more physically impressive than Serene. One stepped forward and said, “I’m Muse, of Ocean Winter. Our daughter queen has come to greet your queens, and to discuss trading between our courts.”
Moon froze. Ocean Winter? Bramble hissed in surprise. Blossom and Snap stared, startled. Blaze turned to Moon, drawing breath to speak, but Blossom thumped her in the shoulder and she subsided. Sand looked confused, and Serene frowned, and started to say, “But our sister queen—”
Moon caught her eye and gave one sharp shake of his head. Serene swallowed the words and finished with, “—is not here, today, and—
But of course our reigning queen will greet you, if you follow us to our greeting hall.”
Muse consulted her queen with a look, got a nod, and told Serene. “We’re happy to follow you.”
Serene and Sand leapt into flight and the Ocean Winter group followed. They all flapped up to catch a draft and ride it down toward the knothole of the colony tree.
The Arbora all turned to Moon at once. Blossom whispered, “What does it mean? Are they lying about what court they come from?”
Bramble’s spines rippled worriedly. “Maybe they left before Jade arrived.”
The timing was wrong. Unless this group had been making a tour of foreign courts, or had decided to sit out in the forest for days, that just didn’t make sense. Moon pushed to his feet. “Get back inside. Pass the word to the others, tell the Arbora to get off the platforms for now, and warn the warriors that something might be wrong.”
The visitors had reached the knothole and disappeared inside it. Moon shifted, bounded off the edge of the platform, and snapped his wings out.
A few flaps took him down to one of the largest platforms, tucked up against the trunk of the tree. When they had first arrived here it had been a weedy overgrown plot of encroaching jungle. Now it was covered with neat beds filled with roots, berry vines, and tea plants. There weren’t any Arbora working out here today, most of their efforts being concentrated on the other still overgrown platforms. The bridges and ladder structures all connected here, since it had a doorway into the trunk. During the day while the Arbora were out working, the heavy wooden plug that sealed it would be open.
Moon took the paths through the beds and bounded through the round doorway. The young soldier who sat nearby on guard duty leapt to her feet and hissed in reflex. “Something wrong, consort?”
Moon paused to say, “A daughter queen from Ocean Winter just arrived to talk about trade with us.”
She stared. “But … Oh.” Her expression went grim as she realized the possible implications. “I’ll send someone to tell Knell!”
“Tell Stone, too!” Moon had already turned away, headed down the nearest passage into the colony. He was tempted to look for Stone first, but he knew if he didn’t go straight to Pearl she would be furious. And he needed Pearl’s temper working for him right now instead of against him.
He took the back way up, half-climbing, half-leaping up one of the winding stairs that paralleled the central well, past the carvings formed out of the smooth wood, detailed depictions of plants, huge landscapes, stylized images of the wind, of Aeriat in flight or battle or Arbora at work. He went all the way up to the passages that joined the queens’ and consorts’ levels. There was a back way into Pearl’s bower from here, though Moon was reluctant to use it. He didn’t like using the front way that led from the queens’ hall either, but he didn’t want to risk being seen by the visitors yet.
He took the back passage into Pearl’s territory, shifting to groundling as he passed the carved arch of intertwined warriors and Arbora that guarded the anteroom. This was only the second or third time he had seen these rooms, but he didn’t take the time to look around.
He stopped in the doorway of the main room, which held a lavish bathing pool and in the back, a large hanging bed draped with fine fabrics. Pearl sat in the center of the room, near the hearth bowl, on a pallet of furs and cushions. She was in her winged form, not her Arbora form, so she wasn’t all that relaxed, despite appearances. It made it much less awkward that she wasn’t alone. Her new consort Ember sat beside the hearth, pouring out tea, and some warriors sat nearby, Drift, Floret, and a few others. But not River.
Moon cleared his throat, which was as close as Raksura got to the groundling customs of knocking or clapping your hands or stamping a foot to request entrance to someone else’s space. He knew Pearl wasn’t going to like the fact that he was wet and muddy, but he didn’t care.
Everyone in the room stared at him. The warriors’ expressions ranged from dubious to anticipatory amusement. Ember just set the teapot down and looked worried. Pearl flicked a spine in annoyance. Her scales were brilliant gold, overlaid with a webbed pattern of deepest indigo blue. The frilled mane behind her head was like a golden sunburst, and there were more frills on the tips of her folded wings, and on the triangle-shape at the end of her tail. She eyed Moon. “What have you done?”
Moon stepped further inside. “A daughter queen from Ocean Winter just arrived.”
He didn’t have to explain what that meant. Pearl’s spines flared and she uncoiled and came to her feet in one motion. “With what news?”
Moon said, “They said they were here to talk about trade.”
Floret hissed in realization, and the other warriors stirred uneasily, the amusement giving way to confusion. Pearl’s spines twitched in suspicion and speculation. Moon felt a rush of relief that he didn’t have to explain the implications. Pearl was so deliberately difficult at times, it was hard to remember that she was a battle-hardened reigning queen. Pearl said, “Someone send to the Arbora, tell the ones working outside to come in—”
“I did that already,” Moon interrupted, then wished he could swallow the words. Surely there was a more diplomatic way to say it, but he had no idea what it was. Drift, pushing to his feet to take the message, froze.
Pearl hissed in reflex, then flicked her spines again. “Did the strangers see you?”
“No. Serene greeted them—”
Footsteps pattered behind him as Heart, the chief of the mentors, arrived in a rush, sliding to a halt when she saw Moon. She was young for her position in the colony, and was a particularly beautiful Arbora, with dark amber skin and bronze-colored hair in her groundling form. Moon finished, “I tried to signal her not to mention Jade. I think she understood.”
Heart said, “She did. No one’s said anything. The Ocean Winter warriors are acting as if nothing’s wrong, as if …” She hesitated, threw a glance at Moon. “As if Jade and the others never got there.”
More noise in the passage as Knell and Vine arrived, both hastily shifting to groundling as they saw Pearl. Knell was one of Chime’s clutchmates, though he didn’t much resemble Chime. His groundling form had dark hair and his skin was more brown than bronze. To Moon’s relief, Stone shouldered past them. He stepped up next to Moon, but didn’t say anything, just watched Pearl. Like Moon, he was lean and tall, and a consort, but unlike Moon he was very old, though his groundling form didn’t necessarily show it, unless you knew what it meant when the color of Raksuran groundling skin faded to gray. He had one bad eye, partially blinded by a white haze across the pupil.
“Did the foreign queen bring a consort this time?” Pearl stepped around the cushions, her claws clicking on the polished wood floor.
“No. But she’s young,” Heart said. “The Ocean Winter daughter queen. Younger than Jade. Maybe she doesn’t have one yet.”
Pearl hissed under her breath. “Has there been any word from the patrols?”
Knell said, “No one’s reported anything unusual.”
Vine added, “I was just out there. All the Aeriat patrols are circling the clearing. No one’s missing.”
Pearl turned to Floret. “You and Vine get out there, take the patrols and make a search of the area outside the clearing. Don’t be obvious about it.”
Flore
t gave her a nod and hurried out with Vine. Moon twitched, wanting to follow, but he couldn’t be in two places at once.
“But why would Ocean Winter want to war with us?” Ember said. He was young, delicate, and perfect, where Moon was gawky, awkward, and strange. He had stayed seated on the cushions, and set the teapot aside. “They’re an ally with Sunset Water and Emerald Twilight, too. We’re also tied to Opal Night, and all their allies. It doesn’t make sense.”
Pearl tilted her head in acknowledgement, which Moon was glad to see. Ember had a better understanding of court politics in the Reaches than anyone else in Indigo Cloud. Pearl said, “We’ll see what they say when I greet them.” She nodded to Stone. “I’ll want you there. And you,” she added to Moon, while he was frantically groping for a good reason to include himself in the group. She eyed him with disfavor. “Just clean yourself up first.”
Moon raced up to his bower, jumped in and out of the bathing pool, and threw on a good set of clothes. The shirt and pants were black, because that was easier to match jewel colors with and consorts often wore dark colors. He added the sash with the red woven through it and his consort’s bracelet and had to fight down a surge of despair. Don’t panic. You don’t know anything yet.
He made it down to the consorts’ passage to the queens’ hall, a small chamber with walls carved with scenes of Arbora building platform bridges in the suspended forest, framed by towering mountain-trees. It was meant to be a private retiring room for consorts, where they could compose themselves before joining any gathering in the larger hall beyond. Moon found Stone waiting there, his head cocked to listen. He hadn’t bothered to change clothes, or put on jewelry, but then he never did. Stone said quietly, “They just got up here.”