36
“Even Nightdwellers”
For Amlinn, time froze when the Queen stood and drew her sword. All she could focus on was the glint of red torchlight on the razor-sharp edge and tip of the blade, poised to drink their blood.
But once Petra promised to aid the Nightdwellers, the Mother Queen turned to her.
Amlinn lifted her eyes from the glittering steel to Sayb’s flinty furred face.
“And you, girl?” Sayb demanded. “The Freefolk have borne the brunt of the long war between us and the Daydwellers. Can you put that enmity aside?”
Amlinn bowed her head and closed her eyes. She thought of Sisspeth, the little rag doll Samarrind had given her on the night that Nightdwellers killed her parents. She thought of all the nights she had lain awake in her bed, clutching that doll, listening to Nightdwel
