Read Online Whispers of the Skyborne (Devices of War Book 3) by SM Blooding - Free Book Online Page B

technician’s head.
    She didn’t offer anything new.
    “El’Asim, please confirm your return to Ino City.”
    I put my hand on the microphone and pushed the button. “Confirmed. Please clear one of the lower docks for us.”
    I didn’t enjoy the idea of walking right into a trap.
    But it did seem like the best idea.
    And the dumbest one.
     

 
     
    D U’A SCREECHED AT ME AS soon as I entered the menagerie. She sent me a line of curiosity that wormed through my heart, as a feather of “together” tickled my mind.
    I shook my head. Not this time, Du’a. I don’t want Ino Nami to know I’ve bonded to you. What was it about the bond that was so precious to her? Why was it so important?
    Du’a’s slight chest rose and fell from high overhead. I could barely make her out from the shadows, but her thoughts had given me her location. A sense of understanding touched upon my chest, hesitant, hurt, and only slightly confused.
    I am not ashamed of you, Du’a.
    I bonded to you when I should not have.
    I blinked, confused. What’s wrong?
    We bind ourselves to one. There is a reason for this.
    A thread of understanding wormed its way through my thick head. Are the other falcons treating you badly because you and I are sharing more?
    Her silence answered my question.
    I flicked my eyebrows frustrated there wasn’t more I could do, and headed for the docks. We are not fully bonded. They know that. They also know we can’t fully bond. I don’t know how we’re able to communicate, but remember, I can communicate with most of the orphaned falcons. Not just you. Don’t let them bully you.
    She sent a swirl of disappointment and longing as I ducked out of the large room.
    I didn’t know what to tell her. I hadn’t realized how deep the bond between falcon and human was until her mind had touched mine for the first time.
    Though, why that was an issue for my mother—Ino Nami, or what that had to do with bloodlines, I had no idea. I’d worry about that another day. This day, I had to save my sister and face Ino Nami.
    We touched down on the Ino docks. The bay doors had been closed before we’d gotten too close to Ino City. The battle continued far to the north.
    Pressing the blue communications button at the rear, I leaned in. “Open the port galley doors. I want to bring the people on board as quickly as possible, but shield them from anyone who might be spying.”
    “Aye, Admiral,” a male’s voice said.
    I opened the rear man-door and stepped into the city.
    A single airship docked on the higher level docks. The blue and white striped sails didn’t provide any clues as to who it belonged to. It lacked the steam towers of the airships I’d seen in the fight. I couldn’t make any assumptions. The only thing I knew for certain was that this ship didn’t belong to Iszak Tokarz.
    Walking the path from the docks to the Family housing seemed strange. The hairs rose on the back of my neck and arms. The citizens of Ino City packed, tucking their belongings away. Were they preparing to resituate their city due to coming war, or were they packing to flee on my ship?
    No one looked at me, at least not for long. If anyone’s gaze met mine, they quickly returned their focus to their task.
    My heart raced and rage surged through my arms, into my hands. I struggled to contain it, to keep it away from my Marks. What was she thinking? Going against the League? What had she hoped to gain by destroying my Fleet? Why had she been so willing to destroy so many lives? Where was the logic?
    What could I do against her? I was one man and our league held no great power. Against her? Against the Shankara, the Han, and the LeBlancs? No. What could I do against her? Anything I could do would be like a gnat swatting a gorilla.
    Someone whistled low and sharp. I paused, scanning the shadows of the changing landscape of the city. I finally saw him, a moving shadow among shadows. I ducked into a narrow alleyway.
    “That ship is large,”