Dawn of Cobalt Shadows (Burning Empire Book 2) by Emma Hamm (free novels to read TXT) 📗

them was the greatest of all Beastkin. Maja. Mother of all, and the eternal matriarch who was the first to give flight to the great phoenix of old.

“She was the one who first breathed life into the other Beastkin. It’s said her tears could heal even mortal wounds, and that she watched over all her children with a shrewd eye. That’s where the great river comes from, the one that runs from Bymere all the way through Wildewyn. Legends say when the first Beastkin climbed down from the mountains, Maja cried so much that the world overflowed with her tears.”

Sigrid had shifted, looking up at their shared mother with large eyes. “Why did she cry? Isn’t it a good thing that the Beastkin came down? We live in harmony with the humans now?”

Shadows darkened Mother’s eyes. She’d shook her head, reached down for Sigrid’s hands, and squeezed them tight. “You are far too kind for your own good, little Sigrid. Someday, that will be your undoing I worry.

“Maja cried because she had seen the future. She knew what the humans would do to her children, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. They would put them in gilded cages, only taken out to fight in defense of a people who did not truly love us. That is the greatest story of them all.

“For even though she didn’t agree with the choices her children had made, she let them go. For the love in her heart was far greater than the worry in her stomach.”

Sigrid squeezed Mother’s hands back and looked at Camilla. “But, if she knew it would be bad, why wouldn’t she just tell them?”

Mother had shrugged and released Sigrid back to Camilla’s arms. “No one knows. Perhaps she didn’t know it would be like this. Or perhaps, she knew there was a greater story coming and that she couldn’t intervene. Someday, one of us will travel back into those mountains and find the ancients.

“It’s said they know secrets that the Beastkin have long forgotten. Secrets that could change the world forever.”

Mother’s voice faded from her mind and melded with Camilla’s on top of the keep. Her sister pulled her hands out of Sigrid’s.

“What are you thinking? Sigrid, those are just stories! There’s no such thing as ancients. There’s no secret power in this world that will make the Beastkin better. Don’t you see? Mother used to tell us those stories just to get us to quiet down. We were unruly children. It was hard enough to keep us entertained without stories that would make us have nightmares.”

“I don’t think that’s what it is.” Sigrid shrugged. “In any sense, I can’t stay here.”

“Why not?”

“You’ve seen that I’m different from the rest of them. They don’t look at me like a Beastkin. They already look at me like I’m some kind of paragon. The longer I’m here, the sooner they’ll discover that’s entirely false. Then where will they be? The dragon female who saved them is just a woman, and they’re just Beastkin. And the world isn’t what they think it is.”

“Sigrid…” Camilla’s voice trailed off, and she stared down at the Beastkin below them.

In some way, her sister had to realize Sigrid was right. She didn’t belong here in this house filled with animals. The mere dirt offended her, more than it had when they were traveling. This place was supposed to be a home, and instead, it felt like a barn.

Finally, Camilla cursed and nodded. “What’s the plan then? What are you thinking?”

“We’re supposed to have a gathering in an hour or so. Jabbar wanted to address the crowd, something about his new plans for how we’re going to engage any human who comes to our doors. He doesn’t want the Earthen King sending any more messengers without us knowing.”

“And?” Camilla asked when Sigrid paused.

“There’s a rise over where we usually meet. Up on the mountain peak, where I can be visible and seen. I’ll address the rest of them over Jabbar, let them know that humans are friends. That we cannot view them as an enemy or they will become one. Then, I want you to shoot me with an arrow.”

The long pause between them stretched until she thought Camilla had stopped breathing. Her friend stared at her in shock before shaking her head.

“What?”

“Not fatally. Just through the shoulder but close enough so it’ll look as though I had died. Something like that should do well enough to convince people that we were attacked, and that the matriarch was the target.”

Camilla scoffed. “They’ll think it was the humans. This will backfire tremendously.”

“Not if you convince them that you saw a Beastkin with the arrow. We’ll carve a mark on it, one that the Wildewyn beasts will recognize from Bymere. It’s a simple thing to do, really. Cause a little bit of mistrust between the two groups so they all take a step back and look at their actions.”

A chip of the stone roof loosened beneath her foot and skittered down the steep edge. Sigrid listened for its strike to the ground, the shattering sound similar to the pain she felt in her chest.

“I—” Camilla hesitated, then licked her lips. “Then what?”

“We’ll tip the arrow in verdant poison. You remember the frogs we used to catch when we were little? Those will send someone into a deep sleep. It’s like death, but they’ll wake up after a time. Dangerous, perhaps, but I remember the amount that we’ll need to use. You’ll bury me with the rest of them, and then, when all is said and done, I’ll dig myself back out.”

“Are you going to tell Raheem?” Camilla asked. “You know he’s not due back for a little while.”

“I sent a message.” The pigeon had been disgruntled at being used so early in the morning, but Sigrid was confident it would find Raheem in time. “If he gets back, then he’ll help dig me out of the grave. If not, I think I can manage on