Lani glanced at Samheed just as he glanced at her, and they both had to look away quickly to keep a straight face. It was the most ridiculous thing they’d ever heard in their lives—more ridiculous than anything the High Priest Justine had told them in Quill. Besides, it was obvious the queen gave them orange eyes so they could be identified and re-captured if they ever escaped? It seemed pretty silly that she’d send birds to peck them out after all that effort. What good would that do? But the sad part was, everyone else in the room seemed to believe it with all their heart—even the woman speaking.

What kind of crazy place is this? Lani had asked herself over and over again. Fear, fear, and more fear. What is Warbler so afraid of that they had to silence everyone on it? Is every island this messed up?

“And if any strangers find their way to our shores or into our caves, you must not address them. Immediately get help. Understood?”

The small group, including Lani and Samheed, nodded.

Whimbrel seemed satisfied that she had instilled a sufficient amount of fear into the hearts and minds of the newest members of Warbler. She went on to teach them a dozen or so hand signals. Words like “come,” “go,” “help,” “inside,” “outside,” “eat,” “sleep,” “work,” “danger,” “please,” and “thank you.”

Lani almost laughed at the last two. At least the people of Warbler were polite. She shook her head and caught Samheed looking at her. She held his gaze for a moment, a feeling of warmth flooding her chest. What a relief it was to see him— actually see him. It felt like a part of her that had been missing was back again. She smiled and looked down, not wanting Whimbrel to suspect they knew each other.

Once they’d learned the hand signals, Whimbrel said, “Now pair up and practice the symbols with a partner.” As the blond girl turned toward Lani, Lani pretended not to notice and instead stood up and stepped over to Samheed. He half grinned in covert delight and moved over on his boulder chair. Lani hopped on and perched cross-legged, facing him, close enough to touch. Whimbrel didn’t seem to mind. She wasn’t exactly the housemother type.

As Whimbrel called out each word, the language students took turns signing it to their partner. Soon the instructor told them to go ahead and work on their own. She sat down near the door, pulled a paper from her pocket, and began to study it.

Lani’s eyes flew open. She shifted so that Samheed’s body mostly blocked her from Whimbrel’s sight, and then she reached for Samheed’s hand and took it in hers. It was almost as if their blood pulsated together through their fingertips. Lani’s body tingled and she took in a sharp breath. She looked up and saw Samheed swallow hard, his thorns wavering as he did so. And then he tapped gently into her hand in their own private language, “I miss you like crazy.”

A Ray of Light

Lani held her breath, willing herself not to cry, because that would surely draw the attention of Whimbrel. “I miss you too,” she tapped back. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She studied him, his new golden-orange eyes piercing hers. His dark hair was longer than it had ever been, and the ends curled up a bit around his ears and at his neck. They made a show of doing some of their signs in case anyone was looking. Samheed pointed to himself and then signed, “Work outside.” He pointed to her, a question burning in his eyes.

“Inside,” Lani signed back. “Go?” She raised an eyebrow. “Danger?” Samheed pressed his lips into a line. He took her hand and tapped. “I make ships. Covered area so no one can see from water or sky.”

Lani glanced over his shoulder and signed randomly, “Come, go, thank you, please.”

She tapped. “I’m in fire cave making metal thorns.”

He flashed her a look of pity and signed, “Work, sleep, eat.”

She tapped again. “We have to get out of here.” And then she signed, “Go, come, outside.”

He nodded and tapped, “Stealing wood to make raft. Slow going. When do we get leashes off?”

Lani shrugged. She saw Whimbrel fold her paper and put it back into her pocket. Lani began signing, flashing a warning with her eyes to Samheed before wiping her face of all emotion once again.

Whimbrel stood and began walking around the room, looking at each pair and watching them sign, correcting them if they were not quite accurate. She paused at Samheed’s side and watched as Lani signed beautifully, “Danger, please, help.”

“Good,” Whimbrel said. She smiled primly at Lani and moved on. “Tomorrow we’ll learn another set.”

Lani’s lips parted in surprise. “Tomorrow!” she tapped into Samheed’s hand.

He grinned and his face flushed. “Best news of the year,” he tapped. And then he gave Lani’s hand a little squeeze, and she squeezed back.

It felt right to have their fingers entwined again.

Making Plans

While Sean and Meghan rode Simber to Warbler Island to study the terrain, Alex and Florence spent their time gathering information from Sky and Crow. Crow was now free of his thornament as well, and both of the Silent children had

a good deal of trouble getting their voices to work properly at first. After some practice and a little bit of magical help from Ms. Morning, Crow’s voice came back, though it still squeaked from time to time. He told Alex that he’d only had his necklace on for a few weeks before he and Sky escaped on the raft.