Twilight's Dawn

rubbed his hands over his face. *Bastard?*
    *Prick? Are you okay?*
    Everything he needed was in his brother’s voice—love, acceptance, and a willingness to kick him in the ass when he needed a kick.
    *Yeah, I’m okay. It went as well as you’d expect. And there are a few Eyriens who may be seeing Hell soon if they don’t get out of Ebon Rih.*
    *If it comes to that, I’ll go with you to deal with them,* Daemon said. *I’d suggest taking Surreal to watch your back, but I think she’s a little too eager to use a knife right now.*
    *You felt that too?*
    *Yes. I’m just not sure why. I’ll ask Rainier. He might know.*
    *Unless she attacks someone, let it go for a day or two. I’ve already stirred up enough people.*
    *All right. I’ll be at the Keep if you need me.*
    Lucivar broke the link between them. He’d stay at the communal eyrie for another hour so he would be easy to find—if there was an Eyrien anywhere in Ebon Rih who wanted to find him.

    Falonar found Nurian in her workroom. The ingredients and tools were set out on the large table in preparation for making more of that damn tonic, but she just stared at them.
    “Do you see now?” Falonar snarled. “Do you see what he’s really like? He doesn’t care about the Eyrien people. He doesn’t care about our traditions. He doesn’t care about anything but himself !”
    “He cares about the people in Ebon Rih,” Nurian said. “All of them. He doesn’t divide people between those who have wings and those who don’t, like most of you do.”
    Falonar took a step back. “Like most of us do? You’re Eyrien too.”
    She looked him in the eyes. “But not like you, Falonar. I don’t think I’m the same kind of Eyrien as you or those men who spoke out today.”
    “They said a few things that needed to be said,” he snapped.
    “If you ruled this valley, would you divide the tithe evenly among every adult Eyrien?” she asked.
    Of course he wouldn’t. Couldn’t. But Yaslana’s family had more wealth than even an aristo like him could imagine. Lucivar could afford to be generous. Could have afforded to give them all a bit more, even if it had meant tapping into the SaDiablo family’s pockets.
    “There’s no proof he shared as much as he got,” Falonar argued.
    “He said it. No other proof is required.”
    “You’re being a fool, Nurian. We could be the dominating presence in this valley, the same as we were in Terreille, but Yaslana keeps hamstringing us with every decision he makes.”
    “The Rihlanders were here before us,” Nurian said. “You’re talking about doing the same things we hated in Terreille, about becoming the same kind of monster as Prythian and the Queens who fawned over her.”
    “How dare you?” Remembering what it was like in Prythian’s court, he swung. He tried to pull it back, and that took some of the force out of the blow, but the flat of his hand cracked across Nurian’s face.
    They stared at each other.
    “Nurian . . .”
    “Get out of my home,” she said quietly, “and don’t ever come back. You’re not welcome here. Not in my home, and not in my bed.”
    “Nurian . . .”
    “Stay away from me and my sister. You stay away from us, Falonar.”
    “Is that what this is really about? That I strapped a little sense into your sister for her own good?”
    Nurian looked sick.
    Hell’s fire. It had been only a couple of light blows. Just a warning. He’d told the little bitch to keep silent. Looked like she had.
    “ Stay away from us! ” Nurian screamed.
    “Nurian?” Jillian hovered in the doorway, with Dorian behind her.
    He left. Wasn’t anything he could do until Nurian calmed down enough to listen.

    Lucivar had hoped Hallevar would return, but the first person to storm back into the communal eyrie was Nurian.
    He felt her anger and distress as she strode toward him, and figured he was the cause of both. Then he saw the mark on her face, and the heat of fury burned over his skin. He swung around the table and headed for the door to explain a couple of things to Falonar. Maybe the bastard wouldn’t feel so much contempt for the Rihlanders when he had to ask one of their Healers to set the broken bones in his hand.
    “No!” Nurian made a grab for him as he passed her, then skipped back a step.
    Stung by that instinctive move of fear, he stopped and waited.
    “You’re not going to do anything about this,” she said, waving her hand at her face.
    “That will be true when the sun shines