Page 29 of The Verdant Cage
When I’m done, I turn, panting. I hold up the bloody knife. “I can learn.”
A fierce smile cracks Reatha’s face.
The corners of Gryphon’s mouth tip up, and my heart rate follows. It doesn’t matter that the years I spent wanting him feel like they belong to another lifetime—my body remembers what the glimmer of his grin does to me. I bite back the answering smile that tries to stretch across my lips.
“I vote to let her in,” Eero says, his brown eyes wide.
“Seconded,” Meryl says. “It’s better to have her with us than against us.” Her pragmatism stings insofar as it exposes her lack of faith in me. I can’t say I blame her.
“Fine,” Sal mutters. “But only because if we don’t let her in, she’s gonna snitch. If we keep her close, she can’t tell on us without getting herself in trouble.”
A flush sears my cheeks. Thankfully, Oscar pulls everyone’s attention.
“It could be a yes from me,” he says, a mischievous glint in his eye, “if you’re brave enough to pass the naked trust test.”
Oscar is a year younger than me, athletic and serious, his black hair shorn close. This is the first time he’s addressed me directly. I bite my lip as he reaches for the hem of his shirt and begins pulling it. If I don’t overthink it, I’ve just enough adrenaline left pumping through my veins to yank off my own shirt. I don’t see what choice I have. I can’t bear the deep ache of being so alone. If this is what it takes to prove I’m one of them, so be it. I grab the hem of my shirt and tug up.
“Whoa—whoa,” Eero blurts, scrambling to stop me. “It’s a trust fall, Rose! Just…just a fall.”
My face burns, and I drop the shirt. Thank the Wall I was wearing underclothes. Still, I can’t look at any of them. “Of course it is,” I say, mortified. “Obviously I knew that.”
Sal doubles over in laughter. Oscar’s staring at me, eyes wide as he holds out his shirt. “You spattered blood on it when you were butchering. I was just going to go inside and rinse it.”
“The test takes place up there,” Meryl says, pointing at a shoulder-height boulder just beyond the deer tree. “You close your eyes, remove all your vulnerabilities, and fall back, trusting us to catch you.”
I nod, the movement jerky. Surely people go on living after accidentally stripping half-naked in front of people they’re desperate to impress? I’ll die of embarrassment if I don’t move quickly, so I hop over to the rock, speedily climb it, and turn my back to the group. “Ready?” I call out.
Before they can answer, I’m falling.
I hang in the air forever, every nerve screaming, cursing my stupidity at rushing into all of this—the woods, demanding to be trained, the naked trust test. Never in my life have I had people outside my family I could count on. Well, at least the fall will knock me unconscious for a good while. Maybe I’ll even forget what a fool I’ve just made of myself.
But then, I land in their arms.
Unbelievably, I’m staring up at their faces. Eero looks happy, Meryl maybe proud, Oscar curious, Salvatora guarded, and Gryphon…
His expression, I can’t read.
But every single one of them caught me.
This time, I don’t fight the tears when they come.
They’re going to give me a chance.
19
Gryphon allows me only a moment to collect myself before calling an end to the gathering and pointing me toward the village. “I’m due on patrol this evening and the next. You’ll start training the day after tomorrow. For now, I recommend you hurry back. My mother will be home from her own shift soon.”
Any trace of his earlier good cheer is gone.
I’m not so foolish as to think he and I are close now. Gryphon’s aversion to me is planted too deep, and mine has grown in kind. Yet, as I rush back to the village, I feel hopeful. I’m not so alone as I was this morning.
It’s almost enough to make me forget Misia’s threat.
And you’ll have the midday meal ready for all of us, unlike yesterday. Keep us waiting at your peril.
I spot thyme and oregano growing in an open patch near the edge of the creek and grab some sprigs on my way, cursing myself for not even glancing inside the cupboards before I left this morning. But how could I have known what the day would bring? I hope the Tzus have wild rice, at least, and onion, garlic, and celery. With the herbs I’ve just plucked, I can make a quick, tasty congee by cracking the rice before boiling it. The dish is extra delicious with a dash of sweetness to counteract the grain’s density, but I cannot hope the Tzu kitchen has honey.
I race through the trees, aching to talk to Jonas about my day, to tell him what I’ve learned and that I might soon have friends. My goal is still to discover who murdered my mother and clear my brother’s name—that hasn’t changed—but maybe I won’t have to carry it all alone.
