Drift: River of Falcons Book 1

On The River

There was a faint, high-pitched whistle somewhere above them in the darkness. It grew louder, then cut off abruptly in a thump that made the floorboards reverberate under their feet. "Spirits!" Drift hissed.

Ubi sat stiffly on his seat in the bow of the boat, staring down at the quivering shaft of an arrow. "Um, that was way too close."

Drift's eyebrows rose as she saw where it had landed: between Ubi's feet. She grunted and picked up her pace at the oars.

The firelight from the beach flickered out of view. They had rounded the point. After a few moments, she was so winded that she had to slow down.

"Do you think we're safe?" Ubi asked.

"Hope so," Drift said. "But they're not going to stop hunting me. You'd be safer on your own. Never mind what Sarai said."

"I know," Ubi said. "But I'm not going to leave you right now."

"Of course not. You can't swim."

Ubi broke the arrow off and tossed it overboard. "Let's get to that garden place," he said, patting his new cloak to check that the whistle was still in his pocket. "Once we get there, we can decide what to do." The moon slipped behind a high row of trees and the water looked black. Ubi shivered and settled lower in the boat. "They probably got Sarai," he added. "I hope you don't feel responsible for that."

"That's two people captured because of me in one day! I feel terrible about it." Drift paused, then added, "Don't you?"

"She made her own choice. That's what Jasper says."

"That's harsh," Drift snapped.

"No, it's wise. See, it was her choice to help us. She didn't have to. Not like my mother," he added more softly.

"What?"

"Oh, um, nothing. Just, she was trying to rescue me when they caught her."

"That's a mother's job. It wasn't your fault."

"Actually, it was. They, um, they threatened me with pains unless I wrote her a note telling her to meet me. I wasn't as brave back then. Now I'd kick and bite them. I wouldn't let them—"

"You probably would, though. Anybody would when they're being tortured."

"I shouldn't have told you about that," Ubi said.

"I'm sorry about your mother, but it wasn't your fault. You were little. It's different for me. I should've known better than to break Summer's rules. That's how they found out about me, so you see, all of this really is my fault."

There was a long pause in which they both listened to the gurgle of the river and the rhythmic splashes of the oars.

"What did you do?" Ubi finally asked.

Drift shook her head angrily. "It was really stupid of me. Last moon when Grandma went on a trip, I went out in a dress I'd made, and Vultan saw me. His guards tracked me almost all the way home. What was I thinking to let him see me like that?"

"What were you thinking?"

"You might not understand," Drift said, "but imagine that you'd had to dress and act like a girl all your life. You might be curious to try being a boy, just to finally get a chance to see what it's like."

"I'd never go around dressed like a girl."

"If you were being hunted and wanted to disguise yourself, you might," Drift said.

"Good point. Can I borrow a dress?"

"And I wanted to look at the Palace, which was probably not the safest idea. But first I came to this strange garden, where I took a nap."