Eris was right about the bath water. Though how he knew something about medicine that none of the other doctors—including Howard—could explain, is beyond me.
     It didn't take longer after that for me to get patched up—a few stitches in my leg and soft spider silk wrapped around both wounds. Now Luxa has called many of us to a meeting, including Vikus and his bond, Howard, Aurora, Ripred, Nerissa (with Henry of course), me, and Eris.
     We're in Vikus' quarters, gathered in a circle like a fancy council meeting. Ripred is on his side, lounging lazily, though I know he's more alert than a cornered wolf. Luxa is next to me, though her hand isn't in mine like it used to be. Nerissa has an arm through Henry's elbow. Vikus' hands are clasped in his lap. And all eyes are on Eris.
     "So what was that about, Eris?" I ask. "You were acting strange on the field, the flier's made a wall to keep help from coming, and you knew a way to neutralize the acid. What's going on?"
Eris sits in silence. His gaze is directed at the floor and he shifts uncomfortably. It's like he wants to answer, but something is stopping him. Something is holding him back.
Then unexpectedly, Euripedes speaks. "Remember the law, Eris. Even as the Queen's offspring, you will not be forgiven if you break it."
Eris' head drops even further and he stops shifting around. Still as a mournful statue.
"Wait," Luxa says. "What law do you speak of?"
Euripedes looks her directly in the eye, and doesn't say a word. Now Aurora appears uncomfortable as well. The three fliers in the room seem to have a secret, and a law is preventing them from sharing it.
     "Alright, enough." Ripred sits up. "We were just attacked by strange creatures we've never heard of before, they were targeting innocent Regalia citizens, the Warrior was injured and could have died. As I recall, the fliers are in an alliance with the humans, and the gnawers now as well. You owe us an explanation."
     "We owe you nothing." Euripedes says a bit disdainfully. Vikus looks hurt, and an invisible wall seems to go up between the two, much the same as when I first became Ares' bond and we couldn't communicate or understand each other at all.
     "Eris." Luxa says softly, and he flinches. "Gregor could have died today. If we know nothing—if we are unprepared when these creatures attack again..."
     I see where she's going with this, and though it makes me feel guilty, I say, "As the Warrior I will fight no matter what. You know I will."
     "And if we know nothing," Henry startles me by joining the conversation—lately he's seemed like a doll or a fixture, attached to Nerissa and making electricity for our Garden and fields, and yet doing nothing else—but his voice rises with a strength I've only heard from members of the royal Regalian family. "If we know nothing," He repeats. "Then people are going to get hurt or killed."
     Eris' eyes leave the floor and come up to focus on me. I meet his gaze and see conflict there. A fierce battle between want and law that lasts for minutes without a sound from anyone else in the room. I don't look away—I don't leave him to fight that battle alone.
     Then with a flash of determination, want wins  and Eris speaks.
     "They are called scuttlers. We fliers have feared them for centuries."
     "Eris!" Euripedes says sharply. "You must not! The Queen will not pardon even her own offspring. You know this! If you speak now—"
     Eris doesn't respond to this ominous proclamation, or even look at Euripedes. Aurora keeps her head down. And Eris continues like nothing was said, still looking at me. "Before the flier's allied with humans, even before Sandwich brought humans to the Underland, we were at war with the scuttlers. Though we had an advantage with our flight and our numbers, the scuttlers succeeded in defeating us in nearly every battle.
     "They spit acid that eats through most anything. Skin, bone, fur, even the spinners' strongest silk. Only the water from certain areas in the Waterway has minerals to neautralize the acid. Hundreds of fliers were killed, but hundreds more were injured. The acid burned holes through their wings and made flight impossible for the rest of their lives. The scuttlers could take away our flight, our pride, and we were at their mercy for decades. They attacked and we fled, we stopped fighting, we gave in—"
"Eris, that's enough—" Euripedes practically yells, his voice like rolling thunder.
"—and when an Earthquake sealed the tunnels to their land and left us here, King Dinaride made a law. We were never to speak of our near destruction—never to share our weakness with others—never to speak of the scuttlers to anyone outside our own species. When the humans came, we became their allies, and we stayed silent. The scuttlers were sealed away, and we thought we had nothing to fear from them ever again."
     Silence fills the room again as his words sink in. The existence of the scuttlers, their history, and the danger they pose.
     Euripedes has one last thing to say. "Eris, you will be punished for this. Banished, exiled, shunned—today you have made a great mistake. The Queen must be informed, and you shouldnt be hopeful about your sentence." Then he's gone, out of the room and off to report to Queen Athena.
     "You are braver than I." Says Aurora meekly. "I would not have been able to say so much without holding back."
     "I merely did what was right."
I get up and go over to Eris. I sit down next to him and put a hand on his wing, understanding just a little bit of what he risked by telling us the history of the fliers and scuttlers. I feel helpless, and want to punch a wall knowing that he might suffer now because of me. There's something else as well. A wave of heat, a boiling anger in the pit of my stomach, rising up through my chest and heart. A furious indignation that the fliers' pointless, ancient law could hurt my friend, when all he's trying to do is help.
     Vikus speaks. "What will you do, Luxa? If we are attacked again we must be prepared, whether we have the fliers' assistance or not."
     "Yes." Luxa hesitates, glancing at Aurora, then Eris. "Inform the soldiers that we have a new enemy. Tell them their capabilities, and that they must be prepared to fight on foot if I cannot come to an agreement. Station soldiers on the walls and in the fields, and increase the number of lookouts in the tunnels."
     The Queen looks at each of us in turn, holding our gazes with a warrior's intensity and strength. "We must prepare for an attack. And I—I shall speak with Queen Athena."