Chapter 75:
“This has made us popular with no one.”
When Moth woke up, the first thing she saw was Nokk, nestled up to her face. He chirruped when he saw her awake, in the lowlight of an early morning.
“I slept,” Moth told him breathlessly.
Amazed, she slid out of bed and got ready for the day. Having a night of sleep was astonishing – she felt full of hope again. She realized how much of her despair was fed by exhaustion. She stared around her room full of magpies – some sleeping, some awake and noisily greeting each other with the dawn – and said to them, “Thank you!”
“Thank you!” they shouted back, then at each other, repeating the sound in their clever mouths.
Though the thought of dragging her work-shriveled bones through another twelve hours of labor was daunting, she set her jaw and looked at her reflection. You are a Hevwed. You can shoulder this.
Then she remembered the sentries she’d have to supervise today and faltered. She encouraged herself that Lt. Grotte would be around, able to intervene if things became unmanageable.
Moth sent the magpies out of her room and went to the kitchen.
The haze of a spring dawn was just beginning to touch the windows, casting a shallow light into the hallway, down the stairs, where it rested in the kitchen. Moth tiptoed in, catching Nehem packing his small amount of clothes into a bag.
“Should I make you breakfast before you go?” asked Moth.