Moon hissed in frustration. He knew he could have handled an aggressive, arrogant maybe-sealing without resorting to violence. He couldn’t tell Jade in front of groundlings that she was overreacting, but he badly wanted to.
Rorra’s gaze went to Jade. She said, “I don’t like being threatened—”
“I’m not threatening you.” Jade bared her teeth. “But if you want a fight, say so.”
Vendoin said hastily, “No one wants a fight.”
Callumkal shoved to his feet. “It was a misunderstanding.”
Sounding bored, Stone added in Raksuran, “I came for the forerunners and the foundation builders and the groundling-eating monsters; if there’s going to be a fight, I’m leaving.”
In the same language, Jade hissed at him, “Promises, promises.”
Speaking Raksuran too, Moon said, “She’s not a queen, Jade. She doesn’t even realize she’s acting like one.” He would have to save asking what is wrong with you? for later.
“Moon’s right, Jade,” Balm added, watching with concern.
Jade’s spines quivered in irritation. “I know that.”
Pointedly, Vendoin plopped down on the ground. “I’m showing everyone where the city is now. Those interested please look.” She turned to Chime and Heart. “You see, these figures indicate sea-mounts. You are familiar with those formations?”
Chime and Heart leaned closer, and Heart said, “They’re mountains?”
“Possibly natural formations, possibly constructed by former inhabitants of the region,” Vendoin told her.
Rorra took a step back, still watching Jade warily. Callumkal looked from Rorra to Jade, and sat down again next to Vendoin. Moon found himself meeting Kalam’s gaze. The boy was wide-eyed. Moon thought about trying to smile reassuringly, decided it was more likely to look like a threat, and eased back to sit beside Stone. Stone stared up at the tree canopy and shook his head in resignation at how stupid they all were. Moon muttered to him, “You’re not helping.”
Low-voiced, Stone replied, “If we can’t get through looking at the map without a fight, how are we supposed to work with these people?”
Moon grimaced. Stone had a point. No one else heard except Delin, who rubbed his eyes wearily.
Trying to pick up the fallen threads of the conversation, Callumkal told Jade, “As Delin suspected, we hoped to ask some of you to travel with us to the city, to help us enter it.” He looked around at the others, his expression conveying exasperation. “I hoped to work my way up to this request more gracefully, but there you have it.”
Jade settled her spines deliberately. Sounding more reasonable, she said, “You haven’t mentioned the signs of Fell presence.”
At least none of the groundlings glared at Delin this time. Callumkal said, “There is no proof that the Fell were in the area because of the ancient city, or that they were still there by the time we arrived. The settlements that were destroyed were travelers’ outposts, as far as we could tell.”
“Travelers’ outposts?” Moon asked.
Vendoin answered, “We couldn’t identify them from the . . . remains. It may have been a sea-going race who seeded the settlements as supply depots as they moved through the area. Some do this to extend their reach through the oceans or the empty seas, where there are no other ports or habitations, like stepping stones, you see?”
Moon did. It meant these people would return at some point and find their friends dead and no fresh supplies. It was a grim picture to imagine.
The scales of Jade’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. Heart took up the questioning, asking, “Did you find the destroyed settlements on your way there, or the way back?”
Chime added, “And could you tell how long ago they had been destroyed?”
“The way back,” Callumkal said.
Vendoin answered Chime, “We couldn’t tell how long. The remains had been exposed to weather and carrion feeders.” Anticipating the next question, she said, “We knew it was Fell because there were dead dakti, also partially eaten.”
Moon exchanged a look with Stone. So the Fell could have followed the Kishan ships out to sea, and fed on the settlements while they waited for the groundlings to find the way into the city.
Sounding frustrated, Rorra said, “But if the Fell are there, and want the city, why haven’t they entered it already? They are fliers like you, they could have made it through the winds at the top of the escarpment.”
Jade managed not to sound too annoyed. “They might be in the city already. We don’t know that any more than you do.”
In Raksuran, Stone muttered, “Or they can’t get in because they don’t have a key.”
A key. A forerunner or someone enough like one to open it for them. Also in Raksuran, Moon said, “Maybe they don’t know what they need.”
Chime turned to them. “In which case, if we go there, and can’t get through the entrance, we’ll know there’s something terrible inside, and that we shouldn’t keep trying.”
Following the conversation closely, Delin waggled his hands. “That is a point. But I am not sure the logic follows completely.”
Jade flicked a warning spine at them. Callumkal’s expression was impatient. In Altanic, she told him, “They’re discussing the idea that the Fell may not know how to enter, so are waiting for you to open it for them.”
Callumkal clearly didn’t think it worth discussing. “That’s assuming the city is sealed in some way. The entrance may simply be hidden.”
Jade tilted her head. “We’re all making a great many assumptions.”
Callumkal glanced at Vendoin. Moon had the idea they hadn’t expected a Raksuran queen to be quite so interested in debating their conclusions and theories, at least during this discussion. Callumkal said, “I . . . assume you will want some time to make a decision. I hope you will not refuse us outright but will take some—”
“I’ll return here to tell you our decision tomorrow morning.” Jade twitched her spines, a signal to the warriors, who all immediately moved to the edges of the platform and leapt into flight. Chime and Heart shifted, and Chime stood and picked her up.
Jade nodded to Delin. “Are you coming with us or staying?”
“For tonight, I will stay with them.” Delin got to his feet. “I will see you in the morning.”
Vendoin hastily knelt down to pick up the map and fold it. Stone just got up and walked off the edge of the platform. Callumkal stared after him, but Stone didn’t reappear; Moon guessed he had shifted lower down and didn’t want the groundlings to see his other form right now.
Jade turned and strode for the edge of the platform. Moon followed with Chime and Heart, not wanting to spoil the abruptness of Jade’s exit.
“So we’re going,” Chime said, low-voiced. “To the city, I mean.”
Heart, her claws hooked around Chime’s collar flange, said, “We were always going. There wasn’t really another choice.”
Moon said, “I hope Pearl knows that.” He shifted, heard a startled gasp from someone behind him, and leapt into flight after Jade.
They flew back to the colony tree and went on through to the greeting hall, where many curious warriors and Arbora waited to hear what had happened at the meeting. Moon shifted back to his groundling form and stretched, trying to shed some of the tension while Jade and Balm answered the anxious questions.
Chime murmured to Moon, “Well, that was interesting. Why did Jade get so angry?”
“I don’t know.” Moon kept his voice low, watching Jade to make certain no spines pointed in his direction. “She wasn’t when we got there.” Thinking about it in retrospect, Jade had contributed almost as much hostility to the situation as Rorra had. Delin hadn’t exactly been his usual even-tempered self, either.