Free Horizon by Jenn Reese

overhead, not unlike the curved walls of the domes back in the City of Shifting Tides. Dozens upon dozens of tiny webs surrounded a single, round platform in the center. They’d been brought to an arena.
    The creatures deposited her in the center area. She tried to balance on her tail, but the shifting webbed ground made it impossible. She toppled over and braced herself with her arms. A fish in the desert was bad enough; a fish in the treetops was simply ridiculous. At least the webbing under her palms felt thick and coarse and sturdy, and not sticky and fragile as she’d suspected.
    Hoku, Calli, and Dash were dropped with equal ceremony by her side. Dash helped her stand again so she could hug them and check for injuries. Blood covered Dash’s face, but he waved it off.
    “I am fine,” he said. “The old wound reopened. Nothing more.”
    “We’ll go back for Vachir,” Hoku said quietly.
    Calli nodded. “We’ll find her, Aluna. She’s smart and brave, and she’ll be okay until we do.”
    Aluna wanted to say something. Anything. She could only manage to nod.
    The arena filled with tree people. They sat two or three to each small web, some dangling their feet over the edge, some crouched, some leaning against each other. Some moved like squirrels, others like insects. Aluna couldn’t tell how old they were, or if they were male or female. They all wore the same sort of muddy bark clothes plastered to their torsos and upper legs, and they all seemed perfectly comfortable despite the fact that they lived a hundred meters up in the sky.
    A hunched tree person limped onto their platform with the help of a walking stick. Tattered and worn membranes hung under its arms, and deep ridges etched the skin of its face, making it look like the bark of an ancient tree. When the creature looked up at them, Aluna could barely see its eyes under the protruding overhang of its woody brows.
    “We rescued you from the glints,” it said, and smiled. “A brave rescue. A good rescue!”
    “Yeah,” Hoku muttered. “Just great.”

A LUNA STARED at the creature’s grinning face, her heart heavy, her hands starting to clench, and tried to remember that these people had risked themselves to save her and Calli from what had seemed like a terrible fate. She should be grateful. She should thank them. She should try to recruit them for the war. But she really just wanted to punch this one in the nose. A few months ago, she probably would have.
    “Thank you,” she finally managed. “Thank you for rescuing us.”
    The air filled with hoots and whistles and caws. The tree people were cheering.
    The leader emitted a series of notes, a birdsong, and the crowd settled back down. Aluna had thought that the tree people’s speech seemed simplistic, but suddenly she understood: their primary language was their birdsongs. They were actually quite well-spoken for a language they probably rarely used.
    “I speak as Melody,” the leader said. He motioned to the group. “They sing as Harmony. Together we are Silvae.”
    Calli gasped. “Silvae! One of my Aviar teachers mentioned them once. They’re one of the secret LegendaryTek splinters!”
    “There were secret splinters?” Hoku asked.
    “The ones LegendaryTek hid best of all,” Calli said. “No one even knows what they are, or how many. But my teacher’s grandmother had met a Silvae.”
    “How many other secret splinters are there?” Aluna asked. They could also use more people to fight against Karl Strand.
    “I don’t know,” Calli said. “That’s why they’re secret.”
    The Silvae leader in front of them coughed politely. “I speak as Melody,” he repeated. “You speak as?”
    “I’m Aluna. Calli has the wings. Hoku and Dash are the ones dressed as Upgraders,” Aluna said.
    Melody, who Aluna was almost certain was male, repeated each of their names in turn. “Glints smash and burn, tromp and crush,” he said. “Good rescue from glints. Last rescue, not as