Have captured a Seer. Will reach you by tonight.He rolled it into a small scroll, then took a beetle flier from his pocket, held it in the palm of his hand, and tapped its hard shell. The iridescent blue-green metal casing opened, allowing the small glass- and gold-veined wings to unfurl. “Deliver this missive to the King of Shadows and no other,” he instructed the mechanical messenger as it clasped the scroll between its thin metallic legs. Vibrating faster and faster, the glass wings began to hum, and the beetle lifted into the air. It quickly became a glittering speck before disappearing among the trees.It was done. Once the missive reached his father, Rook could not take it back. The entire court would turn out to observe the new Seer brought among them. He stuffed the remnants of their repast back into the saddlebag—and his feelings down deeper, until they swelled painfully in his chest. Duty and honor warred with something far darker and deeper that was growing inside him. He’d always admired Cate from afar, thought of her in his dreams, but now that he’d touched her and felt her respond, those feelings were beginning to twist and change into something else entirely.
