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.I settled on a soft blouse of woven raw silk the color of dark sage honey, and a pair of slacks of lightly tanned lambskin that would provide adequate warmth against the slight chill of the night.I reached for the boot knife the merchant had given me, but if I was going in peace I would need to go unarmed, as Irene Cobriana had arrived in avian land.Unfortunately, I had no natural defenses to rely on, like a serpent's gaze or venom.I had wings with which to flee and hand-to-hand training that would never match a professional soldier's or guard's.A natural hawk takes its prey with talons and beak, striking too swiftly for resistance, and that is how my kind preferred to fight: from the sky.If I was attacked on the ground, any serpiente opponent would make it a point to keep me there.Still, I put the knife aside.There was, as always, a vase of flowers on the table beside my door.Remembering a signal I had developed with Rei when we were both mischievous children and I had constantly been sneaking out of the Keep, I moved the flowers from the doorway to the trunk at the foot of my bed.If he came looking for me, Rei would see the flowers and know I had not been abducted.He would still worry, but this was the best I could do.There was no way I could ask him to come with me; bringing the Royal Flight would be suicide.Even if Zane had given his guards express orders to let me come with an entire regiment, no loyal guard would allow the cream of the avian army to enter serpiente land.Taking a deep breath to gather my thoughts, I changed shape, luxuriating in the wonderful feeling of sliding from the awkwardly shaped human form into the beautifully streamlined, graceful one of a golden hawk.Swift wing beats took me over my balcony, and within moments I was gone above the treetops.I LANDED AND returned to human form several minutes' walking-time south of the serpiente palace.I knew there were archers stationed on the roof of the palace; if I tried to fly closer to the building, I doubted that even Zane's promises of safety would keep them from shooting me down.Of course, Zane's promises still might not protect me on the ground, if he had even been honest in the first place.By this time, he probably did not think I was going to answer the invitation.If he had posted his loyal guards, the ones he trusted to greet me, he would have done so in the days after he had spoken to me.Now…The woods were too quiet, and as I moved through them toward the palace, gooseflesh rose on my arms."What do we have here, Ailbhe?" I jumped at the sound of the voice, and turned just in time to see a fair-haired woman step out of the forest shadows behind me.Her white-blond hair was tied back in a loose braid, and her slender body was sheathed in smooth leather that laced down her back and both legs, tanned and darkened in a pattern so as to make her nearly invisible in the forest.Knives rode in sheaths on her thighs and at her mid-back, and a stiletto was bound in her hair.She also carried a stave as long as she was tall, the end of which was tapered and affixed to a silver blade.I recognized her as one of the guards from the Mistari palace and saw her eyes narrow as she recognized me.Before I could move, I felt the sharpness of a blade at my mid-back."What are you doing so far away from your flight, little bird?" a male voice inquired from behind me.The woman stepped forward and nodded toward a wide tree nearby; a light prodding from the blade pressed against my skin moved me against the wood."Turn around," the woman commanded, and I did as ordered.The guard behind me wore a similar outfit to the first, altered to fit his gender, which I knew was the traditional uniform for the serpiente equivalent of the Royal Flight.He had the same striking white-blond hair as the woman, and features that suggested they were related."I'm trying to reach Zane Cobriana," I attempted to say as I turned."He — " The woman pressed the tip of her blade against my throat."Quiet, hawk.Ailbhe, search her."The man moved forward, and I tensed as he skimmed his hands over my body.The search was thorough; had I attempted to hide a weapon, it would have been found.As it was, the man seemed dissatisfied to find me unarmed.He ran his fingers through my hair as if I might have hidden a knife there, frowning at the feel of the feathers that grew at the nape of my neck.As he passed his palms over my chest, he found the pouch I wore underneath my clothing.I had hidden Zane's signet ring within it in order to avoid awkward questions in case I ran into another avian on my way here.The guard tucked the pouch into the bag he had slung across his back without looking into it.I opened my mouth in another attempt to explain myself, but the woman shot me a glare that stilled my breath.She spun her stave and struck me in the backs of the knees, smacking the joint with enough force to bruise.I tumbled to the ground, teeth set against the moment of pain, and the serpent addressed her fellow."Ailbhe," she ordered, "tie her wrists." To me she added, "I'm tempted to kill you here, but Zane would be cross if I didn't let him interrogate you first."With my wrists bound behind me, I was led by the two guards to the serpiente palace.Another pair eyed us dubiously at the front gate and followed my guards in.Four guards for one unarmed hawk?I remembered how Irene Cobriana had been treated when she had visited the Hawk's Keep, and realized that I was receiving the serpiente equivalent of that treatment.Did I really seem so dangerous to them?I was led along winding paths I would never remember later.Finally we turned into a larger hall, but before I could take stock of my surroundings, one of the staves struck me in the back, knocking the wind from my lungs and sending me stumbling to my knees.Only Ailbhe's stave, positioned carefully in front of me, kept me from tumbling to my face on the mosaic floor.Despite abused knees that protested the action, I attempted to stand, only to be struck again, this time across the shoulder.I bit my lip against the pain, trying to keep my chin up and my expression calm even though every cell of my being was screaming at me that I was deep in the serpents' nest and not likely to get out alive."Fetch Zane," the woman ordered one of the two guards who had tagged along at the doorway.He nodded and left the room without a sound.She spun the stave menacingly, and I returned my gaze to the golden, copper and red marble that made up the snakeskin pattern of the floor.A few moments later the door opened, and the guard nodded sharply to one of the others to take her place as she went to greet Zane at the doorway.Her "greeting" included sliding her arms around his waist and kissing him thoroughly enough that my blush overcame the ashen paleness of my terror; no one but me seemed surprised at the display.Zane stepped easily into the hall, his hand lingering on the woman's waist with affection for a moment as he stepped away."Adelina, what on earth is important enough to — " He saw me, and instantly fury rose in his eyes; I flinched, waiting for another blow."Get your hands off her," Zane hissed, moving with the grace I had associated for so long with killing that my heart leapt into my throat and told me death was imminent.However, Zane dragged the guards to the side, tossing each inelegantly away from me.Then his eyes lit on the guard he had ad dressed as Adelina, who was protesting loudly.She was silenced when Zane fixed his hot red gaze on her, cut off as surely as if he had held a blade to her pale throat
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