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The queen seemed to have been expecting the question. “In exchange, we ask that you keep our secrets so we can protect our people and our land. Speak to no one of what you have seen here and swear to never return.”

His eyes flicked to me briefly. “Does that mean we can leave?”

“If we have an agreement,” she said, glancing between me and Jeddak.

“Yes,” Jeddak and I said in unison. I wondered if Skyler had already made this same agreement with the Bramblemen, though for some reason, he’d been invited to come back. If we ever made it out of this forsaken place, I vowed to never return.

After our brutal introduction, the Bramblemen had become—surprisingly—decent hosts, but that didn’t make me want to linger in Nekhanan any longer than we had to. I was desperate to get my magic back and find my brother. Every day that we delayed meant the chances of finding him alive were lessening. If he wasn’t already dead. I swallowed the thought, not letting my mind travel there.

“Cheers,” Jeddak said, raising the goblet in a mock toast. “We look forward to leaving your lands as quickly as we’ve come.” He drank the nectar in one long gulp, furrowing his brow when the liquid turned sour on his tongue.

The queen and the other Bramblemen in the room chuckled at this.

Beside me, Skyler sat up on his knees. “Thank you for this wonderful evening, Queen B’kara. I must retire.”

“Good night, Master Skyler,” the queen said.

“Wait,” I whispered, touching his sleeve. I needed to talk to him.

He leaned close to my ear. “I’ll find you.”

Jeddak eyed us from across the table.

I started to tell Jeddak that Skyler was a Zavien, before remembering that I hadn’t told him thatIwas a Zavien. I’d have to explain everything to him later when we were alone.

The candles along the wall flickered as Skyler collected his bow and strode toward the door. For a moment, my muscles tensed like they were telling me to run after him. Just like when I picked up the sword in Javan, my body seemed to remember something about this stranger that I didn’t.

“Raven—” Jeddak’s voice pulled my attention back to the table. “I need to talk?—”

“My queen—” a Brambleman guard rushed into the banquet hall moments after Skyler exited, breathing hard. “The Kovak bear—he’s taken one of our men hostage.”

Murmurs spread across the room. The queen glanced at Jeddak, raising her eyebrows.

“Blazenhell,” Jeddak muttered, though I detected a ghost of a smile on his lips. He jumped to his feet. “Take me there,” he told the guard.

I stood to go with him.

Queen B’kara touched my arm. “Raven, I wondered if we could continue our conversation from earlier. I didn’t have a chance to tell you something that you might find important.”

“I—” I glanced between Jeddak and the queen, feeling torn. I didn’t want to be parted from Jeddak again, but I couldn’t miss the chance to learn more about my tribe from the queen. If she had any information that would help me find my brother and return to my family, I needed to know. That was the reason I was on this journey in the first place. “I can stay.”

Jeddak stared at me. “I’m not leaving you,” he said, his voice a low growl.

“I’ll be fine,” I told him, wondering if I was trying to convince him or myself. The Bramble tribe hadn’t exactly been trustworthy so far.

“I’ll have someone escort you to your sleeping quarters for the evening afterwards,” Queen B’kara said to me. “Master Jeddak can join you there once he’s … subdued his companion.” There was an edge to her voice, telling me her tolerance for foreigners was quickly dwindling with every second Jeddak delayed. She’d only spared our lives because she didn’t think us a danger to her tribe. If Kah killed a guard—I had a feeling we’d pay the consequences.

Jeddak didn’t move. “Raven, I can’t …” His eyes were pleading.

“My queen—” The messenger’s tone was urgent.

“Go,” I said to Jeddak. “It’s all right. I’ll meet you later tonight.” I knew he wouldn’t understand my need to talk with the queen, and I didn’t have time to explain.

Without any other options, Jeddak turned and stormed out of the Hall of Candles.

The moment he was gone, I started to second-guess my decision.

Before I could think about running after him, the queen spoke. “Raven, there’s something I wanted to tell you about your tattoo.” Suddenly, she had my full attention. “From what I know, Zaviens have three feather marks on each arm. Where you have four on one arm and none on the other …”