Reign of Beasts (Creature Court) - By Tansy Rayner Roberts Page 0,70

to a crisp,’ he said lightly after a while.

‘I can control it more now, the heat,’ she said. ‘Garnet — being around him helped, I don’t know why. Ashiol, too. I think because they’re both so used to having so much power in their skin. I can almost … borrow control from them.’

‘Can you see inside their heads?’ asked Macready, alarmed at the possibility.

‘Sometimes. I’m not sure if it’s their thoughts or my anticipation of events.’ Rhian sighed deeply. ‘Two minutes from now, you’re going to try to kiss me.’

‘I wouldn’t do that,’ he protested, his cheeks flaming with embarrassment. Damned Seers.

Rhian smiled, as if his sense of honour made her sad. ‘And yet.’

‘What’s going to change in two minutes?’ Macready demanded. ‘Are you planning to hit me with a rock or will I just randomly take leave of my senses?’

‘You do have a flattering tongue on you.’

‘It’s not that, love. You know it wouldn’t be right.’

‘What’s right means so much to you. You’re the last honest man in the world.’

‘Oh, I hope that’s not true,’ he said fervently.

They sat together for some time. The silence wrapped around them like a blanket. Once Macready was sure that two minutes and then some had passed, he said, ‘See? We can change the future.’

Rhian turned to him, her eyes so dark and melancholy though she was smiling. ‘You can,’ she said.

It took every ounce of control he had not to kiss her. The future was not going to make him its bitch. He reached out, though, and touched her face. ‘Fighting is the best thing we have. It keeps us sane and in one piece. Sitting still and letting the bad things happen — that’s what kills your soul.’

‘I lied,’ Rhian said softly. ‘You were never going to kiss me.’

He leaned in towards her.

A very definite sound of a throat being cleared filled the alley, louder than any thunderclap.

‘Velody wants to know if you’re coming back,’ said Delphine. Her eyes were bright and cold.

26

Velody had never seen Rhian so sad. Scared, panicky, climbing the walls with misery, yes. But not this quiet melancholy.

Rhian stared at the tabletop, avoiding the eyes of them all as she explained the situation in a low voice. ‘After Ashiol left the Court, Heliora refused to see the futures on Garnet’s behalf. Once he gave up on her, he consulted every fortune-teller and card-reader he could find in the city. They all said the same thing: death by fire. That’s why the salamander frightens him.’

‘We can fight it,’ Macready said determinedly. He was hovering protectively close to Rhian. ‘We can beat him.’

Velody wondered what made him so sure.

‘Just as long as we start by saving my lamb,’ Livilla reminded them all.

‘What about the others?’ Velody asked. ‘They’re safe from Garnet, aren’t they?’

Livilla gave a little frown. ‘He knows to keep his distance from my rooms.’

They all stared at her.

‘Because the salamander lass is there to frighten him away?’ Macready said finally. ‘I’m pretty sure that threat doesn’t work any more. What with him having her locked up.’

Topaz awoke in a cage. She could still feel the harsh lines of the net that had been used to capture her. It had left a pale web of scars across her brown skin. Her hands shook as she levered herself up into a sitting position. Her foot brushed the side of the cage and she pulled it back with a yelp. More pain; she couldn’t take more pain, not now.

She tried to bring the flames up, but her body hurt too badly for her to concentrate.

‘Good morning, salamander. I trust you slept well?’ said Garnet in an overly cheerful voice. ‘Look, we brought some friends to keep you company.’

Topaz looked around, fearing the sight of the other lambs imprisoned alongside her. She only saw one: little Freddy, shackled to the wall. No skysilver near him, but his creature was a bear, so he couldn’t change into many smaller forms in order to escape the cuffs. Her heart turned over when she realised how bruised he was.

‘He runs with a limp,’ she remarked aloud. ‘Was he the only one you could catch?’

Freddy’s face lit up. ‘It was keen, Topaz,’ he said, his chin crusted with blood from a split lip. ‘Belinny’s slingshots worked a peach. Told you it’d be worth stealing one of those shiny swords to break into bits.’

Topaz swallowed a startled laugh. Garnet’s face looked hard and displeased.

Poet came in a short while later, several scratches on his arms and