Fall

Piper

Finch could not find a Western town this close to the border. The plains around them had slowly been giving way to lower, dense brush and dirt that held to a shade of night.

“There’s nothing on the map,” Finch said from his horse. Piper was on the ground with Reine trying to figure out if the berry bush near them was poisonous. They were in disagreement.

In my kithood, I ate berries such as these, Reine thought.

Yes, but that was in the North, and they were called blueberries, Piper said. We’re almost to the East now. It’s literally a few miles away, and I don’t think these are blueberries.

I don’t think they would kill me, Reine argued. Berries are made to be eaten.

Don’t be ridiculous! Piper jumped to her feet, and stormed back to her horse. Come on, let’s go.

“Are you even listening?” Finch sparked from his mount. “We may need to go to the East to find food now. We’re at the end of the West.”

Piper paused, her foot in the stirrup. It would take too long to double back to the plains. But who knew if the East would accept any traditional currency they had? What if they found that killing them would be easier than haggling?

The true danger settled into Piper’s bones. They didn’t know anything about the East, and yet they were going to enter it willingly. A new world, one with unfamiliar rules, lay just in reach.

And they needed food. The clench in Piper’s stomach confirmed it. Reine had been less and less successful in her hunts. Now they were considering berries---

Piper whipped around. “Don’t eat those!” she hissed to Reine with her voice and mind.

The leopard snapped her teeth shut just shy of one of the berries.

You may die if they’re toxic! Piper thought shrilly. Do you understand?

Reine growled. If I die, that will be my fault.

Fuming, Piper pulled herself up on her horse. Then don’t let me see it. She turned to Finch. “Where’s the nearest town?”

Finch seemed a little pale from her outburst. “There is no current map of the East. We’ll have to find it ourselves.”

Piper went forward, past Finch, past Reine. “Then let’s find it quickly.”

Kane

His two-day outing had apparently been a minor hiccup in his house arrest. The next time Kane asked to leave the palace, Bishop came back with a shake in his head.

“Afraid your luck’s run out,” the guard said.

At least we were allowed those two days before, Flint said helpfully.

I don’t want to hear it. Kane went back to his room and read more of the histories. They were all starting to become muddled in his mind, and he began to wonder why he cared about the deeds of the dead.

Thea invited him to lunch with her, and he went reluctantly. She kept the chat light and in the realm of weather and crops until the end.

“When are we going to fight?” she asked quietly. The servants cleared their plates from the small dining room, and left without a whisper. They knew when topics became too serious for their presence.

Kane worried his fingernail on the table, going against the grain of the wood. “We’re waiting for something to happen. I don’t know if I can tell you what.” Especially with ears around we can’t see.

Thea pet Sadie, and nodded. “I see. And then?”

Kane looked up. “Then we act accordingly.”

A diplomatic way of putting it, Flint said. Very princely.

Kane brushed the compliment away. I don’t know if that’s a good thing right now.

His mother folded and refolded the napkin on her lap. “Have you heard anything about Kit?”

The question sank like a stone in Kane’s stomach. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. “King Asher… doesn’t think she’s in Elbe anymore. He doesn’t know—isn’t certain—if she’s…if she’s…” Kane wished he could tie what he was going to say in a neat bow to place on the table. Then he could leave without the repercussions. It would be so simple. “If she’s alive or not.”

Thea’s face was impassive at first, like she didn’t hear him right. Then his words registered, and he could see her thought process as her face crumbled like wet sand. “What?” A sob wracked her voice.

“I—he—we, can’t find Kit. She’s gone.” Kane felt his own face furrow in regret, although his feelings were oddly detached. He had already grieved so long in private, now he was scraping a well with no water. His mother’s open sorrow cracked something in Kane, however, and a pang hit his heart. Kit should be with us right now.

Flint said nothing, but let his head droop in the shared sadness.

“No. This isn’t right.” Thea wiped her tears with her napkin. “I’m going to speak to Asher. He can’t give up on my daughter. He can’t.”

These words echoed in Kane’s mind long into the evening. He assumed the next day Thea’s fight with the king had ended the same way as his, because there was no update about Kit’s search.

Kane and Flint were called to the throne room at noon. They found Donovan, Poppy, Cooper, Griffin, and many other officials seated at vitrum tables around them. The tables glittered like jewels in the sun. Kane found a seat with his name in front of it, and waited uneasily. He was the closest to the dais.

Apparently, he had been the last to come. King Asher gave him a knowing look, then opened a thin, tightly wrapped parchment Levi had held in his mouth. “I’m afraid right now we do not have the luxury of ferrying in our Northern Council. I feel a sense of responsibility for this, and have gathered our fine Elben leaders here in their stead, men and women of courage who serve every day to make our territory safe.” He met eyes with each of them, getting to Kane last. “And now, you will all be in witness of our latest report in the Nora and East-West threat. It is from here, that we will decide what action to take next.”

The soft crinkle of the parchment was the loudest sound in the room.

King Asher cleared his throat. “By our scouts reaching from here and the Nora knots all the way to the woods of our recent allies in Trene, they have concluded that the joint alliance between the East and West has come to full fruition, and they are in a war mindset. They mean to attack us again.”

Kane held his breath. Flint blinked slowly.

“We will mobilize our troops, and protect what is ours. Those who are in disagreement, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Casting his gaze around the room, it seemed the group was in general unison. None of them wanted to do this, but what else could they do? Nora would act as a battering ram until the East and West arrived, and then they city of Elbe would be outnumbered and overrun. They were cornered.

“Then it is decided.” King Asher rolled up the report. “We will start our counterattack today.”