The Fire Sisters (Brilliant Darkness 3) Read Free Page B

being in the hands of those women. What do they do with them?”
    “The Sisters were something else, Fenn. All painted white. Armed to the teeth. And that scream… Thrush went white as a stone.”
    I won’t forget the Sisters’ battle cry any time soon. “Why didn’t the children cry or shout? Why couldn’t I hear them at all?”
    He lets out a long breath. “I don’t know. They weren’t gagged or anything. But they looked odd. Kind of… slack-faced.”
    I shiver, and he rubs my arms.
    “It reminded me of a story Kadee told me once," he says, "about a man who came to a village and, at the request of the people, played his pipes to lead all the rats that had been bothering them away. But once the rats were gone, the people wouldn’t give the piper what they promised him in return. So the next night, he came back, played his pipes, and took all their children away. Only three children remained behind to tell the villagers what had happened. One was lame, and so couldn’t follow the other children. One was deaf, and so couldn’t hear the music. And one was blind and couldn’t find her way.”
    I make a face at that. “What did the people do?”
    “They begged and pleaded with the piper to give their children back, but he was angry, and he wouldn’t.”
    I sigh. “Peree, I wish Kadee would teach you some new stories. Ones with happy endings.” I start to move away. “We should get ready.”
    “Wait.” He draws me back into his arms. “The timing could be better, but… I don’t know when I’ll have you to myself again.”
    He kisses me.
    We’ve shared a lot of kisses now—sweet, soft, tender, steamy, seductive, intense. I never knew there were so many kinds. This one starts slow and builds, like a fire catching. My legs go weak, and my insides turn to liquid.
    I press myself against him, wanting no distance between us. His back is muscled under my hands, and his slim hips fit well against my own. His sweet honeysuckle scent makes me dizzy. If only we could lose ourselves in each other, forget everything and everyone else… let it all slip away in the heat of our passion. For a moment, I let myself pretend we can.
    But far too soon, we’re pulling apart again. He holds my face in his hands and kisses each of my eyes, a habit he’s picked up, like he hopes to kiss away the long-forgotten pain of my being blinded by my own people for no good reason.
    It’s a bittersweet gesture. I feel loved—and reminded I was once unloved—all at the same time. But I know how Peree means it, and that makes all the difference.
    “We’ll get through this,” he murmurs, “and before long, we’ll be back here, right here, kissing again.”
    I wish I felt so confident.
    My frantic pulse finally slows, and I cock my head to the side, listening.
    “What?” he asks.
    “People are gathering. We better hurry.” Nerang told the search party to meet at the allawah, the meeting place in the center of Koolkuna.
    After I change into old clothes, I fold Yindi’s lovely dress and lay it carefully on a chair. I wonder if I’ll have the chance to wear it again.
    My worn, trusty pack gets stuffed with a warm bedroll, Peree’s knife, the little scrap of fabric I stitched a badly formed bear on years ago for Bear, the rabbit’s foot he gave me for luck when I first walked among the Scourge, and an old dress Calli lent me once and I forgot to give back. The bits and pieces of the people I love most.
    Except for Eland and Aloe. I have nothing of them. Only memories.
    I tuck the sack back into my pack, pull the straps over my shoulders, and grope for the door. “Ready?”
    Peree’s fingers skim across the skin of my neck as he touches the bird he carved for me, telling me without words that he loves me. I find his mouth and press my lips to his. We’ve fought hard against the forces and people who tried to keep us apart. We’ve earned some peace and happiness.
    But there’s no way we can have them yet. We have to do