by A. G. Henley
"I'm . . ." I wave my hand around.
"Fenn doesn't like heights," Peree says. From the sound of his voice I'm quite sure he has a huge grin on his face.
"Oh, no, and you two were so well matched in every other way," Petrel says sarcastically.
"How is Moonlight feeling?" I ask. His partner is expecting their first child soon.
"Grumpy as a thrasher and about as puffy. The little one can't get here soon enough. Come meet her; she could use the distraction."
We're only a few paces farther down the walkway when a high male voice confronts us. "Who gave you permission to bring them up here?"
"Back off, Osprey. I don't need permission," Peree says.
"The Covey says you do," the man insists. Peree told me the Covey is what the Lofties call themselves when they gather to make decisions.
Peree snorts. "Nobody told me that. And I don't care."
"Stop," I hiss. I don't want him to fight with anyone, especially his own people. And I definitely don't want Eland in the middle of it. "We'll leave."
"No way. You're staying." Peree is nothing if not stubborn. Persuading an impending thunderstorm to change course would be easier.
"Cool it, Osprey," Petrel says. "They're just here for a visit."
"They shouldn't be up here!" the man snaps.
"Hey, Fenn's my future cousin," Petrel says. "And Eland's my . . . I don't even know what, but something family-ish. I'm with Peree on this one."
"You're with Peree on every one," Osprey growls. "This won’t end here." I slide Eland closer to me, but Peree only laughs.
"And that was supposed to be . . . what? A threat? I'm sweating. How about you, Petrel?"
"I'm shaking over here. You're good at that, Osprey. Keep it up. C'mon, Eland, let's give you a tour."
Peree throws his arm around my shoulders and snickers as we follow Petrel and Eland.
"Was that funny?" I ask him.
"Yeah, it kind of was. You'd have to see Osprey. He has this weird thing he does with his tongue. Like a frog catching flies or something. And he's skinnier than Eland."
"What does that have to do with anything? Small people can still be dangerous. Like Shrike." The words pop out unbidden, scalding drops from a pan. I instantly regret them. Peree doesn’t need a painful reminder of his father’s death.
"Totally different," he says flatly. "When Shrike threatened someone, he could back it up."
I squeeze his waist. "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be." His lips brush the top of my head. "I hate that my people are acting like this."
"It's not like mine are being any better."
We take a walkway to the left and another to the right, this one going up. The paths sway under my feet, making me clutch the handholds even though I know Peree won't let me fall. The caves might be freezing and dangerously disorienting, but at least they’re stationary.
Petrel calls to Moon ahead of us. A moment later we enter some kind of dwelling. I haven't been to their home before. The couple of times Peree and I have come up in the trees together, we were pretty much by ourselves.
I wish I could see—and not for the first time, either—as we enter their home. I'm as curious as Eland about the Lofties and the way they live, but I can't exactly barge in and start feeling people's furniture. The space feels cooled by a light cross-breeze, and the smell in here is nice: floral, but shot through with a peppery scent. It must be a combination of Moon and Petrel.
"Well, who are you?" a female voice asks.
"I'm . . . Eland. Fenn's brother."
He sounds a little star-struck; Moon must be pretty. She's a Lofty, so she probably has fair hair. And Peree compared the color of her eyes to the Myuna, the untainted water hole in Koolkuna, which is supposed to be an amazing shade of blue. He called my eyes muddy, but he said it like mud was even more beautiful to behold. That’s one of Peree's many talents—insulting me in ways that make me feel special.
"Come on in, Eland. Are you hungry? My little brother Thrush is always hungry.” Moon sounds like a hovering hummingbird, barely pausing between words. “He's probably a year or two younger than you, but he's almost as tall. You'll have to meet him."
Petrel laughs. "Watch it, little man. Moon'll stuff you till you're sick. And she's in full nesting mode, too. You might be trussed up and tucked into bed next to Thrush before long."
"Speaking of beds, did you finish the cradle yet?" Moon coos, sounding like she already knows the answer. Petrel doesn’t respond. "That's what I thought. At least someone is getting ready for the changes around here. So! You must be Fennel. You were right, Peree. She's beautiful." I smile awkwardly, embarrassed by the compliment. "We've been waiting to meet you. Where are your manners, Peregrine? You should introduce us!" Her tone skips from scolding to welcoming and back to scolding with dizzying speed.
"You didn't exactly give me a chance, cousin." He puts his hand on my low back. "Moonlight, this is my intended, Fennel. It’s strange to say that, you know?"
I chuckle. "It's strange to hear. I’m pleased to meet you, Moonlight." I hold out my hand, and she takes it. Her hand is petite and her skin surprisingly silky, but I can feel the hard bones lying underneath, like grass-covered tree roots.
"Call me Moon. Oh—and feel free to laugh." Her voice turns sly. "Peree already told us you think our names are funny."
I turn on him. "Peree! I can't believe you told them that!"
"Sorry." He sounds totally unapologetic. Like he's trying not to crack up, in fact.
"They're just . . . different," I stammer. "I'm sure our names sound strange to you, too."
"No doubt about that," Petrel says. "Then again, there's nothing that's not strange about you and Peree getting together.”
"There's someone else for you to meet, Fenn," Peree says. His voice is more sober. "This is my grandmother, Breeze."
Someone makes a noise—kind of a rattling breath. I turn toward the sound, smiling at her.
"I'm glad to finally meet you,” I say. Breeze doesn't respond. I bite my lip and try again. "I'm so sorry for your loss . . . Shrike was a good man. My foster mother, Aloe, respected him very much."
"Thank you." Her voice is terribly weak. After an awkward silence, she shuffles to the door, muttering something to Moon that I can't make out.
"Don't mind her," Moon says after the door closes. "She's really upset about Shrike."
"I understand."
And I do. I’m familiar with the bleak landscape of loss. Even with Peree and Eland to comfort me, I feel its wintry wind against my own skin.
Peree told me the Lofties often looked to Breeze for leadership. She was strong, opinionated, and fierce with a bow and arrow. But since Shrike, her son, was killed in the Reckoning, she's been almost paralyzed with grief. She sure doesn't sound like the confident woman Peree told me stories about.
"I wish this was only a social visit," Peree says, guiding me to sit with him on a low, planked bench along the wall.
He tells Petrel and Moon about the dead animals in my shelter. I worry a fingernail as he describes how the rabbit and the bird—a dove—were sliced open and nailed to the wall, their bodies splayed out grotesquely. I could've done without the details. Falling asleep tonight with the scent of a blood-splashed wall, no matter how clean they get it, won't be easy.
"Who do you think did it?" Petrel asks.
"Had to be a Groundling," Peree says.
I frown. "It could've been a Lofty."
"Not likely. I stick out like a flesh-eater down there. Someone would have noticed if another Lofty was wandering around."
I don't like to believe the culprit was a Groundling—other than Moray, maybe—but Peree has a point. And yet a small part of me can't help wondering if he might be unconsciously prejudiced against my people, the way I'm trying not to be against his.
"Why did they do it?" Eland asks through a mouthful of food. Moon must have made good on her offer.
"I'll bet someone wanted to s
care your sister a little," she says. "It was probably just a cruel joke."
"I don't think it was as simple as that," a gentle, familiar voice says from the doorway. It’s Kadee—Peree’s foster mother and my natural mother. I’m trying to forget that our relationship to her makes Peree and me sort-of siblings. Our tangled history is a not-uncommon consequence of the Exchange.
The Exchange began generations ago, after the Fall of Civilization, as an attempt to divide and preserve the meager resources in the treetops. It insured only light haired, fair skinned babies were allowed to remain safely in the trees with Lofty parents. Lofty babies born with dark hair and dark skin went to Groundling parents to be raised on the forest floor . . . with the constant threat of the Scourge.
Peree was a Groundling baby born with a thatch of blond waves; he was given to Kadee and Shrike to foster. Kadee gave birth to me a few years later. When my eyes grew as dark as the bark of greenheart trees, she had to give me up to Aloe. Aloe had Eland several years later, and Eland’s father died soon after; I barely remember him.
Peree and I found Kadee living in Koolkuna after disappearing from the trees almost ten years ago. She’d left Shrike and Peree, devastated by the knowledge that the Groundling Council of Three of the time intentionally blinded her child—me—so I could serve as the Water Bearer one day.
The Exchange spun a messy, tangled web between the ground and the trees and wove generations of heartache. I had hoped it would be one of the first issues tackled by the Confluence. I’m not feeling as optimistic now.
"The news spread up here already?" Peree asks in the cool tone he reserves only for Kadee. I guess there's no time limit on bitterness after your mother abandons you.
"I'm sorry, Fennel, Eland," Kadee says. "What a terrible thing for someone to do."
"I'd like to believe it was a joke," I say to Moon. "But it feels like a threat." Peree leans closer, putting a hand on my knee.
"The choice of a bird and a ground animal sure wasn't random," Petrel says. "And the way they mounted them over Fennel's bed . . . you probably shouldn't leave her alone too much, cousin. Not that you leave her alone that much as it is."
"Now I have another excuse," Peree says with grim satisfaction. "But he's right, Fenn. You and Eland shouldn't be by yourselves anymore."
I lay my hand on top of his. "We did manage to keep ourselves alive for years before I met you, you know."
"I can protect her." Eland sounds a little hurt.
"I know you can," Peree tells him. "You're lethal with that spear. And with more practice they'll have to watch out for your arrows, too."
I can almost hear Eland's face crack open in a wide smile. If someone could glow with pride, he would probably be burning like the sun. Peree is the only person who has that effect on him these days, and I love him all the more for it.
"More bread, Eland? Or squirrel meat?" Moon asks. “How about some water? Petrel, pass the plate around to Fennel and Peree. Maybe what happened today will help. It could give us a common problem to solve." I struggle to keep up with her rapid-fire speech.
"I don't know," Peree says. "Our little thrown-together group here might be the only ones who care."
"I don't think that's true," Kadee says. "We have some allies, even if they aren't as vocal. Fox seems sympathetic, and there's Breeze."
"It would be even better if our ally hadn't kind of lost it," Petrel mutters about their grandmother. There was no love lost between Breeze and her grandsons. Peree said she adored her son Shrike, but Peree and Petrel were born Groundlings, not Lofties, and Breeze never let them forget it.
"Peree, I'd like to talk to you and Fennel," Kadee says.
"Now?" he grumbles. “At least let me eat first. I'm starving."
"When you're ready." She’s careful not to stray too far into authority-figure territory with him.
"They grow up," Moon says with an exaggerated sigh, "but there's always a part of them that stays thirteen years old— their stomachs. Leave a little bread for Fennel, cousin. She could do with a few more curves."
My face flares. I lost some weight when we were stuck in the caves, but I didn't think it was that obvious. And I'm not used to people talking about how I look right in front of me. I'm getting the feeling the Lofties are less formal with each other than we are. Or maybe it's only Peree's family.
"She's perfect, curves or no curves," he says around a bite of food. I smile and sample the bread Peree handed me. It smells freshly baked, with a crisp crust that reluctantly gives way to the softer center, and it tastes just as good as it smells. Lofty bread is almost as delicious as ours, I have to admit.
"I need to do a repair on the perimeter,” Petrel says. “Wanna come, Eland? You've been staring out at the walkways like a caged squirrel."
"Really? I can go with you?"
"Sure thing."
"Find Thrush and take him, too!" Moon urges, as Petrel and Eland head for the door. "He's been helping in the storeroom today. Driving everyone batty. Which reminds me. Will you collect more fenugreek and blessed thistle from the herb garden so I can make some teas?" She steps closer to me, half-whispering near my ear, "For after the baby's born. Good to encourage your milk." She continues in a louder voice, "Oh, it was so nice to meet you two. I want you to consider this your home now."
My throat closes unexpectedly at her words of acceptance. I stand and give her a careful hug, startling when the baby moves between us. She places my palm over what must be a tiny hand or foot poking out. It draws back into the safety of its watery cocoon, and I shake my head at the small wonder.
The solid swell of Moon's belly fitted between us feels like a sign of hope for our combined future. At the same time it reminds me of the last pregnant woman I embraced, Rose, who disappeared after encountering the Scourge.
I hang on to the hope instead of the sadness, because I need it. I can't shake the feeling that whoever threatened me won't stop with killing a few animals.
Peree and I follow Kadee out the door. The sun must be about to fall below the tree line; the heat is momentarily intense. Birds call to each other like old friends from different parts of the treetops while the leaves whisper their secret conversations. The sounds of the trees are so much louder here than on the ground. I wonder if the Lofties even notice.
"What did you want to talk to us about?" Peree asks impatiently.
"I'm afraid it's not good news," Kadee says.
"Of course not. What now?"
"The Confluence met again today. They decided that you and Fennel should ask for permission from the Covey or the Three before you spend time together."
Peree curses and paces away.
"That's what that man Osprey was talking about," I say.
"I'm sorry," Kadee says. "I thought you should know, before someone sees you up here.”
I thank her for telling us and hurry to catch up to Peree.
He waits for me, then hustles us along. He's moving so fast we're practically running. The path swings wildly, which doesn't help my upset stomach.
"I need to find Eland and get back to the ground," I tell him.
He doesn't answer. After several twists and turns, he stops and thrusts a thick rope into my hands.
"Hold on tight. It's a firebreak.” His voice is toneless; I can't read it. “We have to swing across."
I drop it and step back, clutching my gut. "No swinging. Please. Give me a minute to catch my breath. And to think."
He takes my hands. His are trembling. "There's nothing to think about. I'm taking you to the farthest shelter on the perimeter. I can protect you there, from your people and from mine. I'll go find Eland; we're leaving tomorrow."
"Wait, Peree. I know you're upset—"
"You bet I am. I'm not going to let them tell us when and where we can meet. Don't you see where this is going? First they put rules around how we spend time together. What's next? Preventing us from being together at all? I'm not going to risk that."
"I know. I unde
rstand. But I'm . . . are you really ready to turn your back on your people without giving them a little more time?"
"What about whoever threatened you? You think they’ll stop with a few dead animals? I can't stand by and let someone hurt you. I watched you from the trees for years. I couldn't be with you, and I couldn't do anything to protect you. Now I can, and I will." He takes my face between his callused fingers. "I love you, Fennel. You're mine and I'm yours for as long as you want me. We'll go wherever we need to, but I have to be with you."
"That's what I want, too." I stand on my toes to kiss him. I only meant to reassure him, but his mouth meets mine with a ferocity that's different from the passion I've tasted on his lips before.
There's fear in this kiss. Fear and possessiveness. It's as unsettling as it is intoxicating. Maybe he wasn't kidding when he said he would've ended up alone if I hadn't agreed to partner with him, thanks to the fever that decimated their community a few years ago. Moon is the only Lofty woman I’ve met who sounds anywhere near our age.
I'm sure I would've ended up with Bear, or another Groundling man, if I hadn't fallen in love with Peree. Even if I hadn’t partnered, I would’ve had Eland and my friends. Peree only has Breeze and Petrel. And Petrel has his own family to worry about now. Maybe Peree really was facing a lifetime of loneliness if he hadn't met me.
Just when I think I’ve learned all there is to know about my intended, something like this makes me realize there's probably much more to him. Like the fear that he keeps well hidden behind all his anger and jokes.
I pull away from him gently and touch his face. "Hey, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
He crushes me to his chest. The thumping of his heart reminds me of playing hide-and-seek as a child, pressing my ear to the earth to hear approaching footsteps. I hold him while he lets out a long breath over my head. Insects trill in the greenheart trees around us; darkness has swept away the last of the light.
"Let's go back to Koolkuna. Now. Please." His voice is soft.
"Running away isn't the answer, Peree. What will the Reckoning have meant, and losing Aloe and Shrike, if we do that?"