Copper Ravens(56)

She was right; other than the steadily increasing heap of gifts, I hadn’t seen a single copper Elemental in the Otherworld, save for Sadie and Max. “Are they in trouble?”

“They’re quite well,” she replied. “They’ve all been instructed that avoiding the Raven clan is the only way they will remain well.”

Huh. Someone must really think we’re a lot more powerful than we are. “Was it Greymalkin?”

“No, this is bigger than that foolish rock’s influence.”

I nodded, murmuring my thanks as Max and I exited the apothecary. We were silent as we left the village, and as we travelled the metal pathway. Once the manor loomed in the distance, Max broke the silence.

“There’s no one vying for leading copper,” Max said. “All the metals follow Oriana.”

“I know.”

“Not many have more influence than Greymalkin.”

“I know.” There was Micah, but he wouldn’t try to keep those of copper from us, and Ferra, but she’d long since rusted away. That left one person with the power to keep those of our own metal away from us. Oriana.

Crap.





18

“Oriana would never do such a thing,” Micah insisted. Again.

“Then who would? Who even could?” I pressed. “Who besides Oriana and you has more power than Old Stoney?”

“Firstly, you overestimate my influence,” Micah said. “Secondly, that crone deals in deceit as much as tinctures. Take care, love, before you take her word as true.”

I blew out an exasperated breath; yeah, I knew she wasn’t trustworthy. But who around here was? “She practically admitted to cursing the boggart.”

“That, I do believe.” Micah took my hands, grazing his thumbs across my knuckles. “Why did you go to her alone?”

“I told you, I was with Max.” Micah harrumphed, which I ignored. “Besides, you said she was of questionable loyalties. Anyone who would send a giant boggart to the manor must be of questionable loyalties, right?”

“You have a point,” Micah murmured. Then he rose and buckled on his sword belt. “Very well. I will travel to the Golden Court and discuss this matter with Oriana directly.”

“You will?” I blinked, surprised that he put such credence in my fears. “Right now?”

“If someone has denied my consort access to others of her Element, I demand to know who is responsible, and why they would do such a thing,” he replied.

“What if it was Oriana?” I asked, my voice wavering only a bit. Micah squeezed my hand.

“Then we will deal with it,” he assured.

I walked Micah to the manor’s front door; before I let him leave, I clung to him for a small eternity. Once it became apparent that I was holding on to him for dear life, Micah gently reminded me that neither he nor I had any reason to fear the Golden Court and promised that he would return home as soon as possible. Reluctantly, I released him and leaned against the doorframe as I watched him approach the metal pathway. Then Micah was gone, on his way to the Golden Court and an afternoon spent questioning our insane ruler. I did not envy him.

Gods, I hoped he was back soon.

I retreated to the inner atrium, deliberately not looking at the ever-growing heap of gifts stacked in the corner. It made sense, now, why those of copper kept sending these offerings; they were sending us (I refused to believe that they saw just me as a ruler; that was just ridiculous) a signal, a clue as to why they couldn’t present themselves in person. Why none of them bothered to send clues about who had ordered their silence, I couldn’t answer. Maybe those of copper overestimated the Raven clan’s influence, and our intelligence.

Or maybe not. In addition to the casks of ale and tiny sweet cakes we’d been getting all along, we were now receiving a few books and scrolls each day. Apparently, word had gotten out that the new Inheritor of Metal was into libraries, and those of copper wanted to help her out in any way they could. Or maybe they’d sent us the Otherworld’s version of a treasure map.

I shuffled through the scrolls we’d received most recently; there was one that told the history of a family with an unpronounceable surname that looked like archaic French, an astronomical chart, and a third that was all about espaliering fruit trees. Frustrated, I dropped them back on the heap of other bric-a-brac. Either we weren’t being sent any clues, or I was just too dumb to see them.

My stomach rumbled, so I left the atrium and made my way to the kitchens. As I helped myself to some still-warm bread, I saw one of the newspapers Max had picked up in the Mundane realm. I leafed through it, only intending to read the funnies. Instead of the comics, my eyes fell on an event notice, given pride of place above the fold.