Broken Antler Fen It's the awful, lonely secret of the dead-boy's heart.

Teya sounded reluctant to let him go. Reyes presumed she was worried about the fallout, whichever direction it went. Her pack had become tangled up in the Redhawk mess and Reyes felt a little guilty for it.

I told Ruenna I would take a few days to think things over, talk to my leadership, which to Reyes meant the girl, rather than Eljay, although the man might have been a useful tool for understanding the Redhawks and the mentality of Towhee; he had not thought of it, and besides, Eljay was busy being a father.

Maybe to some degree Reyes chose to avoid him for that fact; jealousy was his favorite color.

But I think I will go sooner. The sooner the better. So, if Teya had nothing else to add - and now Reyes was looking expectantly at her, mind buzzing with the possibilities of what he would say to Towhee or how he might react to seeing his kids - and he missed the shakiness of the raven utterly.