Rosa Thornwick's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Rosa Thornwick had not left the star-egg alone since the traveler died in her arms three nights ago. She sat on the floor of her crooked hut with the egg between her knees, copying another marking from its shell onto birch bark. The egg was the size of her head. Its shell was warm. The traveler had pressed it into her hands and asked her to raise the first true child of both worlds, and then he had stopped breathing before she could ask him how. Her stores were almost empty. She needed moonwort for the shell wash, and starflower before the frost killed it. The nearest patch was an hour out. An hour was too long. She had read in her mother's book that a star-egg left cold and unwatched could split wrong, and split wrong meant dead. She wrapped the egg in her shawl and carried it down the path to the old merchant's stall. Fenn Hallows was sorting brass buttons into a cracked bowl when she ducked under his awning. His white beard was full of thread. The luma squirrel on his shoulder froze mid-chew and stared at the shawl. Fenn's silver eyes went to it a beat later. "Put that back where you got it," he said. "I can't. I need herbs. I need someone." "Not me, girl. I've seen one of those crack open before. I still have the burn." He tugged his sleeve down over his wrist. "Try the demigod. She's in the hollow, waiting on her next task. She won't drop it." Rosa found Wren Emberly sitting on a stump at the edge of the hollow, drawing lines in the dirt with a stick. A russet mirecat lay across her shoulders like a scarf. Wren was thin, all elbows and copper hair, and one of her sandal straps was broken. "I need a watcher," Rosa said. She knelt and opened the shawl. Wren looked at the egg. She did not touch it. "How long." "One hour. Maybe two." "What happens if it moves." "Keep it warm. Don't let anyone near it. If it cracks, come find me." The mirecat leaned down and bit Wren's ear. Wren winced and did not flinch back. She counted something under her breath. "Fine," Wren said. "One hour." "Why?" "You asked plain. Most people don't." Wren held out her arms. Rosa hesitated. Then she set the egg into Wren's lap. Wren's thin arms took the weight without a shake. Rosa felt her hands go cold and empty. "One hour," Rosa said. She turned before she could change her mind and ran for the starflower patch. Behind her, the mirecat bit Wren's ear a second time. Wren looked down at the egg and started counting again, quieter now, and did not call Rosa back.