reason Stone had bothered to save him was because he was a consort. But he had been naive enough to think that if Stone had decided that Moon was a real solitary, thrown out of a court for some terrible reason, Stone would have just left him behind somewhere. If he was willing to kill Rift just for showing Ardan the location of an empty colony tree… “You said you wanted to help me. If you hadn’t believed what I told you— You took me up there to kill me.”
Stone recoiled, snarled, and flung himself out of the room.
Everyone stared. Balm, Chime, and even Drift were appalled, Esom and Karsis confused and frightened. Flower just sighed, tired and disgusted. River looked as if, much against his better judgment, he was reluctantly impressed.
In the silence, Jade stepped forward. She jerked her head toward Rift, and told the warriors, “Watch him.” Then she caught Moon’s arm and pulled him out of the room.
Chapter Thirteen
Jade hauled Moon across the stairwell to a room on the far side. Root, who still hung from the ceiling, stared curiously as they went past but didn’t speak.
The room had a wall of tall windows, sheltered by the terrace on the floor above. Dawn was breaking, the first light spreading gray-blue across the dark sky. There was just enough light to see the carved figures in the walls glaring down with sightless eyes. Wind whipped through the room, scouring away the scent of mold.
Jade dropped Moon’s arm and went to the window. She faced away from him, her spines still quivering in agitation.
Moon watched her warily. He couldn’t tell who she was most angry at, him, Stone, Rift, or all three of them. He said, “I’m not going to let Stone kill him.”
Jade flicked a look at him. “He’s a solitary.”
Coming from her, that hurt. “So was I.” Rift had inadvertently betrayed Indigo Cloud to Ardan, not knowing the colony tree was soon to be occupied. Moon had inadvertently betrayed Indigo Cloud to the Fell, not knowing they had been waiting for turns for vengeance. Moon didn’t see much of a difference, except that he was a consort, and the court had needed him.
Jade turned to face him. He couldn’t see her expression with her back to the light, but her voice was still taut. “You weren’t thrown out of a court, Moon. It’s not the same thing.”
It felt like the same thing. “If I’d been born a warrior—” “Moon.” Jade moved to him and grabbed his shoulders. Moon was braced for just about anything, except what she said. “Stone likes you. He likes you better than most of his natural descendants.”
He tried to pull away but she didn’t let go. She said, “You didn’t give me a chance to tell you I’m glad you’re alive. I get here and find out you’ve talked your way into a groundling wizard’s tower, a groundling wizard who collects the decaying bodies of rare creatures—”
“You were supposed to give us three days.”
“I couldn’t wait.” She let him go and turned away with a distracted hiss. “Now the warriors are probably trapped out here and this damn thing is still moving. If we go further out than even Stone can fly, we can’t even—” She bit the words off.
Moon rubbed his arms where her hands had pressed into his groundling skin, jolted into remembering that Rift wasn’t the only issue. If they all died here, unable to escape, or drowned trying to reach the forest coast, it would be Jade’s fault for not waiting. That would please River, though probably not much, what with being dead himself. And why had Pearl sent River after them and not one of her other warriors? As far as Moon had been able to tell, she had always kept her favorite warriorlover close at hand. Maybe River had wanted to prove himself. Things had changed in Indigo Cloud, and maybe River couldn’t hold on to his status without showing he was willing to risk his life for the court like Vine and Floret and the other warriors.
He could worry about River’s motives later. Jade was too much of a Raksura to remember there were other ways off this leviathan than flying. Moon said, “The groundlings—Esom and Karsis—have a boat.”
Jade’s spines twitched. “Of course,” she muttered. She turned to him, her brow furrowed. “They’ve said they won’t leave without their friends. We’d have to take it from them.”
Moon shrugged uncomfortably. “I know.” Negal and his crew had