Free Bird of Chaos: Book One of the Harpy's Curse by Susie Mander

dagger secured to her hip with a leather belt.
    Drayk took a step back. “I would prefer the army accompany her.”
    The woman stuck her chin in the air in indignation. “Suit yourself.”
    There was a scream somewhere near the temple. The crowd, which had been flat like sheet metal, rippled and corrugated. Voices stopped abruptly and formed pools of silence. Useless questions were muttered to dazed companions. There was another scream as a hooded figure fought his way through to the temple steps. He drew a sword and was quickly joined by more hooded figures. Hesitation. And then panic. A thousand people turned to flee.
    “Heritia’s blood,” Drayk swore.
    “Quick, follow me,” said the woman, taking my hand and yanking me to the left. Drayk and Bolt had no choice but to follow.
    I remember shuffling feet, shoving, screaming, and an elbow to the back of my head. The portly man went ahead, pushing people out of the way. We exited through a side gate and circled around to the Holy Way where there was space for Drayk to lift me onto his back. All I could do was hold on as he ran. The moustached man and the woman guarded my flanks. Bolt took up the rear.
    We were half way along the Holy Way when we slowed to a walk. The canal was empty, its water like glass. Drayk’s breath was laboured. He burned beneath me.
    “The guards must have killed them,” the woman said but no one responded. We were too busy listening. Behind us was the sound of the heaving crowd and the war-wits who fought to keep them under control. I was vaguely aware of a shearwater circling overhead but in hindsight she was always there, my silent companion. Silence folded in around us as each of us contemplated every dark shadow.
    After a time I became bored with fear. A child’s mind is like that; easily distracted, never truly appreciative of danger. “I can walk,” I said, climbing off Drayk’s back. The immortal glanced down at me, concern obvious on his face. “I am unharmed. It just frightened me,” I said as we passed beneath the defaced statue of Kratos.
    “And so it should. What were you doing out of bed anyway?”
    I shrugged. “I heard the people in black and I had to see for myself.”
    “And did you like what you saw?’
    I shook my head.
    “Good.”
    We walked on for some time. Then, picking up as if no time had passed at all, the woman with the missing tooth said, “Why not? It’s the Tibutan way.”
    “It’s not right to harm a soldier if you expect him to fight for you. He should love and trust you. He’ll face enough hurt on the battlefield.”
    None of the adults said anything and for a moment I thought I had spoken out of turn. My cheeks burned. We walked on.
    “She has a point,” said the skinny man to my right.
    “Perhaps. But you can’t go around changing things willy nilly,” said the woman.
    “Why not?” I said.
    “You just can’t. People won’t like it.”
    “But what if it’s good for them?” I was acutely aware of Drayk watching me, preparing to interrupt. He held his tongue.
    “Who knows what’s good for a person? How can you tell?” said the woman.
    “You should ask them.”
    She nodded slowly, considering what I had said. Grey hair fell in her face. “Yes,” she said very slowly. “You probably should.”
    “When you are queen, you can change all this. But for now you must do as you are told and stay in bed,” Drayk said.
    “When I am queen, no one will have their hearts cut out and our soldiers will be proud not fearful.”
    He chuckled, perhaps because he did not believe it possible that I could change the Tibutan way or perhaps because I mistakenly thought the boy’s heart had been cut out. “In that case, I will happily serve you.”
    “And I,” said the round bald man walking ahead.
    “Me too,” said his skinny companion with the moustache.
    The woman thought for a moment. “Yes, you are going to make a good queen one day.”
    No one spoke again until we reached the West Gate.