The Deadlands by Skye Melki-Wegner

Author:Skye Melki-Wegner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

SOFT AS SECRETS

Zyre clung to Tortha’s neck as they scrambled up through the tunnels of the Stronghold. The earth around them was cool: stone and dirt, solid and silent. It was a far cry from the chaos of the battlefield.

“Thank you,” Zyre said.

The phrase felt awkward in her mouth. She had never quite jelled with Tortha—not like the other members of the Grotto herd. The triceratops had long regarded Zyre with suspicion, viewing her as a spy and a traitor.

In the early days, she hadn’t been wrong.

“You’re my comrade, ain’t you? It’d break the Laws of Noble Combat to leave you there to die.”

Tortha’s words were matter-of-fact, but there was a tangle of emotion behind them. As if she was unable to admit that saving Zyre hadn’t just been an act of chivalry.

Perhaps it had been one of friendship.

“It must have been hard for you,” Zyre said. “Going onto the battlefield, I mean.”

“Hard? Nah. I was born for battle, bug muncher.”

“Not against your old kingdom.”

Silence.

Now that Zyre had spoken the words, she wished she could snatch them back. It had been the silent sting in every conversation between the exiles lately: the fact that Tortha and Sorielle were fighting against their kin.

“That horde ain’t my kingdom,” Tortha said. “Not anymore. There ain’t nothin’ left of what the Alliance stood for.”

“And your herd?”

Tortha shook her head. “I … I didn’t see ’em out there.” Her muscles clenched, and Zyre had to adjust her grip on her neck to keep from slipping. “I mean, they can’t all have joined this invasion, can they? If my folks are alive, I reckon they would’ve stayed out of it.”

For a long moment, Zyre didn’t speak. Despite their differences, she understood the moonchaser. Both had been born into families with high expectations. Tortha had been destined to become the ruler of her herd—and Zyre was supposed to earn a nest on Lightning Peak. When she did, her parents would doubtless have revealed the truth to her … and she would have become just like them.

Pitiless. Ruthless.

“I’ve told you about the Scorched Lords,” Zyre said quietly. “About the windwhispers who have been working with the carnivores. About how they imprisoned Caelith, and tied a stone to his leg to keep him from flying away.”

“Yeah,” Tortha said.

“There’s something else. Something I haven’t told you. Not because I don’t trust you, but because … it’s too much. I can’t…” Zyre trailed off. “When I saw the Scorched Lords, I recognized them.”

“Go on,” Tortha said.

“They’re my parents.”

Silence.

Tortha stopped walking. Zyre felt the moonchaser’s muscles clench beneath her—and with a deep breath, she braced herself for the explosion. She could imagine it now: a roar of fury, a cry of betrayal, and a roil of terror as Tortha hurled her from her perch …

Instead, the world stood still.

“Your … parents?” Tortha said, faltering. “They’ve been workin’ with the carnivores, all this time?”

“Yes,” Zyre whispered.

“The ones who locked Caelith in the Fire Peak?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t know? Growin’ up, you had no idea?”

Zyre swallowed.

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