Page 98 of Ruby
The chaos is not random. The feathers are not erupting without pattern. They are aligning. Spacing evenly. Pushing outward in structured rows.
Like—
Molting.
Understanding slams into me so hard my knees nearly give.
When my people molt, it is a slow agony. Old plumage loosens, nerves scream, new feathers punch through tender skin. We experience it in stages as we bleed.
Except that is not quite right. She is not dying, but this is more than molting.
“She is changing,” I whisper, horror and awe tangling in my chest.
Another wave hits her. She cries out my name and claws at her sides, cutting deep furrows in her attempts to reach her back. I seize her wrists gently but firmly.
“Ani,” I murmur, pressing my forehead to hers. “It will pass. Like molting. You grow.”
Her eyes find mine through the pain. For a heartbeat, she seems to understand.
Then the transformation surges.
Feathers explode outward from her spine in a violent unfurling. The sound—wet and terrible—turns my stomach, but I do not look away. I will witness this. I will not fail her by closing my eyes.
Her body arches one final time.
And then she goes limp.
Silence crashes down.
For a heartbeat I think—
No.
“Ani?” My voice fractures.
Ree presses her ear to Ani’s chest. “She’s alive.”
My legs give out and I catch myself on my hands.
Carefully, reverently, I turn Ani onto her side.
Wings.
She has wings.
They lie folded awkwardly at first, still damp from their violent birth. I reach out with trembling fingers and brush along one, aligning them so the flight feathers don’t break, wiping off her yellow blood so I can see the gleam underneath.
On the back side, the feathers gleam bright blue-green, iridescent like river water under twin suns. When I gently lift the wing, the underside flashes deep, burning red. As much red as I would expect her to show. Strong and fierce.
They are smaller than mine once were. Sleeker. But strong. Whole.
“She matches you,” Thivoll murmurs.
My throat tightens painfully at the memory of what I have lost, but I push it aside, trying to think of her in term of what a hatchling would need.
The breeze picks up and her wet wings twitch in response. I need to get her out of the wind.
I gather Ani up, moving her through the doorway of the hut and placing her down. Ree follows and Thivoll takes up most of the entrance, no room inside for his long body.
