Last time her mother had been there to explain. Last time the king had been in a good mood. “King.” The words, as they almost always did in Anglisc, caught in her throat like a bird bone or a mouthful of feathers. “The stoat steals fledglings from the nest when the birds are away catching worms.” No change in Edwin’s expression. Why couldn’t he see? Why could none of them see? “King. We’re the birds.”
