A Court of Hope and Legacy

Chapter 5

Here they were—at another dead end.

The green canopy of leaves above her head reflected the silvery murmur of the waters below, showering Suri with an echo of placidity that didn't dampen the smoldering rage inside her.

Suri had barely exchanged a few words with her brother when he had showed up the night before. Aksel had brought back an odd instrument with him—no one had asked where or whom he had got it from—and he had laid out his plan with concise instructions. Then it had been decided that she and Keran would go on the hunt, and they had left.

A whole night and a whole day tracking the scent through the woods, among muddy marshes and faerie-mosquitos, had given no result; thanks to Aksel and his brilliant idea Suri and Keran had run around, sometimes losing the lead for hours before they caught it again, chasing their tales in a vain effort.

Suri crouched on the river bank and cupped her hands to fill them with fresh water and splash it on her flushed face. The coldness of water cleared a little the weariness heavying her eyes.

It was late afternoon, and the scent was lost again.

She might as well strip down, freshen up and have a nap till Keran came back.

Suri unbuttoned her jacket and quickly slipped out of her suit. She didn't appreciate the constriction given by undergarments, so she was naked under her combat leathers. She pulled at the string keeping her long hair bound together and freed it on her shoulders. Her toes brushed the surface of the water and a shiver got her backing away from it. Suri hesitated, glimpsing the reflection returned by the clear waters. Her body was strong and agile, the tattoos coiling around her bare arms and the ones on her knees—matching her father's—looked starker on her mirror-self than on her skin. Suri spread her wings savoring the balmy breeze teasing their translucent membrane. It had been a couple days since she had last used them.

Suri studied herself a little more without really thinking; she just narrowed herself to the burning feeling inside her.

Without notice her body jumped into the current and started swimming against it—the effort was liberating.

Aksel loved swimming. He was the best swimmer she'd ever known. The thought crossed her mind as her arms pulled her forward with powerful strokes.

Suri hadn't spoken to him to say she was mad.

She hadn't spoken to Keran either—not a word since they'd left the manor.

Not that he had struggled to talk to her. Keran had been silent and brooding all the time, no doubt mulling over recent events.

That boy—Nyle—had been his friend. Keran had known him since childhood.

It was all just so... infuriating.

Suri couldn't be mad at Keran for trying to justify his friend's actions, or at Tamlin, who had hesitated maybe a second too long in extorting the truth from a young man not even the age of his own son.

Suri couldn't even be pissed at her brother, because she knew, deep inside her, that he had done the most reasonable thing.

So why did she feel like this? Why couldn't she stop... being angry? And with whom then?

Suri knew the truth.

She was furious with herself. Not Keran, not Tamlin, not Aksel. They were just baits for this red monster hunting no one but her.

She felt she wasn't doing enough; if the efforts of the last decades had brought to this, if hate and contempt for humans were still deeply rooted in their society, then she hadn't been competent enough. And what was more, she had been delusional thinking the world was ready to change—willing to change. She had let her father infect her with his optimism, and had dared to dream of something anyone else would judge a utopia.