The Complete Madion War Trilogy

by S. Usher Evans

  I flopped down into the seat she'd vacated and shook my head. "So you're letting her pick out your outfits? Aren't you afraid she's going to poison you?"

  "Darling, she's just a spy, not an assassin," Mom chided gently. "And it's her favorite part of the job."

  "Dressing you?"

  "Have you called Olivia yet?"

  Damn. "No, Mom—"

  "Galian, we don't have a lot of time to waste here," Mom said, picking up the carafe of coffee and pouring herself more.

  "Mom, did you ever hear how terrible our one date went?" I asked. "She...well... It wasn't good."

  "How so?"

  I swallowed. There wasn't much I was embarrassed to tell her about, but this was pretty close to it. "It just was."

  "So bad that you don't think she'll even take your call?"

  "I mean..." I rubbed the back of my neck. "I kissed her then told her I didn't really like her."

  Mom sighed loudly. "Then I suppose you'll just have to make up a believable story about why you were acting so strangely. You could blame your stint on the island. The stress of the hospital and your late nights. Or perhaps even say you've had a change of heart."

  "Mom, this feels wrong." Not a few hours before, I'd had Theo curled up under my arm on this very spot. Now she was...who knew where. "How can you expect me to go out with another woman while Theo's risking her life in Rave?"

  "Because Theo knows, as I'm sure you do, that this is important. If we don't convince Silas—"

  "I know, I know."

  She paused and tapped her finger against her chin. "Why don't you just get to know Olivia as a friend, hm? That way you can spend time with her without feeling like you're betraying Theo."

  "Just one problem with that," I said. "She and I have...literally nothing in common. Before I...well, kissed her, she was talking about the Raven people like they were barbarians—"

  Mom's brows rose in surprise, a playful smile on her face. "And you still kissed her?"

  "Mom," I said through clenched teeth. "You were the one who told me to give her a chance!"

  She chuckled, and held her hands up in surrender. "Fair enough. Well, son, I suggest you figure out some other topics of conversation. I doubt very much she'll want to be your friend if you constantly argue about the plight of Theo's people. Luckily for us, there are a thousand other subjects to choose from."

  I groaned. "I really don't want to do this. Can't I do something else?"

  Mom was silent for a moment. "Galian, right now, Theo and Kader are risking their lives trying to make headway with the Raven rebels, and you are complaining because I've asked you to take a beautiful woman on a date?" She raised an eyebrow in my direction and dared me to contradict her.

  Finally, I heaved out a sigh and stood. "Fine. I'll call her right now."

  "Good boy." I didn't get too far before she added, "For what it's worth, I do understand that what I'm asking you to do is difficult, but please keep things in perspective."

  At that moment, Filippa reappeared with a folder, and our conversation was over.

  Theo

  The travel route from Norose to Veres was circuitous, spanning all four Madion nations. Even though there was a diplomatic freeze between Herin and Kylae, the agreement to transfer airplane parts weekly was still in effect. Kader had explained it wasn't about the parts, but about keeping the routes open for Grieg's operatives to move between the three countries undetected. As Korina's assets, we simply took advantage of the situation.

  Because there would be questions about why Kylae would allow a dark-skinned soldier in their ranks, I'd reapplied the pale makeup over any visible skin and added the wig when we arrived at the military hanger. As usual, Kader had proffered a forged signature from the king approving our passage, and on we went.

  The midnight flight to Herin was serene, and sometimes, when the skies were clear, I watched the moon reflecting on the water and looked for our island, though I could never see anything but darkness beneath us. I wondered if seeing it would grant me any peace; it seemed the only place that truly felt like home anymore.

  Once we landed in Herin, it was a six-hour drive in total darkness, through dangerous mountains and barely-paved roads, until we crossed the border into Jervan. Before we reached the military base, we usually stopped at an abandoned house where I showered off the greasy makeup, and Kader and I both changed into Raven military uniforms.

  That was when it became tricky. With pale skin and blonde hair, I was virtually unrecognizable. But in my own skin, the risk was higher, especially as we were boarding a Raven military plane. It had been six months since my face was splashed across Raven papers, but it only took one officer with a good memory to out me.

  So Kader taught me the art of blending into the surroundings. He would take the attention away from me as I shuffled to the back of the plane. This trip would be transferring old Jervanian airplane parts to Rave, most of which, I could tell, had outlived their usefulness. It was no wonder so many planes failed if we were getting end-of-life equipment from other countries. But I kept my comments to myself and pretended I was part of the Raven crew helping load them onto the plane.

  When the dark blue ocean became bright green land, a storm of unease broke in the pit of my stomach. Returning to Rave was always bittersweet. For the first time in my life, the sight of our phoenix flag made me uneasy, like I didn't belong. As far as the Raven government and the rebels were concerned, I didn't. Neither side wanted to ally themselves with me, and it left me feeling adrift.

  Keeping my eyes down, I disembarked behind Kader and the pilot, careful not to make eye contact with any of the ground crew. But I saw them all the same—their burns and missing limbs, their invisible scars hiding beneath the surface. I'd seen them when I'd been traveling from base to base for Bayard: those who were too injured to fly, but too poor to pay their way out of military service. They spent the remainder of their twenty-year conscriptions working in military bases. In some ways, they were the lucky ones. Even broken, they'd still survived.

  Then again, based on the number of Ravens in Veres who'd never seen a day of military service, perhaps they weren't very lucky at all.

  Seeing the realities of the war always reminded me of why I put my life and love on hold. Bayard didn't care for the vast majority of his people, and I knew someone like Anson would. I just hoped that we could expedite the process of deposing one leader for another soon.

  I kept my eyes on Kader's bald head as he laughed and joked with the pilot we'd arrived with. Kader was a chameleon—he was Kylaen in Kylae and a light-skinned Raven in Rave. He was gruff and impersonal and then could light the room with his humor and affability. I think the only person who really knew the man was his wife.

  But his abilities worked in our favor, as he bade farewell to the pilot and led me to the military car waiting for us. In the backseat, we found a duffel bag of clothes, food, and Raven crowns, as usual. The items had been left by his contact at this base—who he or she was, I'd no idea. Kader had said it was better that way, and I was inclined to believe him. I didn't want to know who amongst my people was actively working with the enemy.

  Well, besides me.

  I never breathed easy until we were driving a military car off the base, and even that was only a few hours of respite. But while it lasted, I rolled down the window and let the sweet smell of Raven summer wash over me. It drew me back to my childhood, playing fighter pilots in a field of yellow flowers near the orphanage, and to the beautiful countryside just outside Vinolas, where I'd go lie on my days off.

  A cold dread slipped into my stomach as thoughts of Vinolas quickly shifted to ones of Lanis. He'd been complicit in helping me escape from Rave, and I was sure he'd been arrested. His fate, however, was unknown to me. With Vinolas to the north, and most of our activities in Veres, it had been difficult to find information about him.

  "Kader?" I asked, speaking for the first time in what felt like days.

  He grunted in
response, not taking his eyes off the dirt road.

  "Do you think we could look into Lanis this trip?" I asked.

  He rubbed his chin, as he always did when he was about to give me an unpleasant answer. "I'm concerned that this baker is going to demand an exorbitant price from us. Finding information about Lanis requires money we may not have to spare."

  So he was giving me a choice. Take some of our money to find Lanis and risk not having enough to appease the baker, or sacrifice my oldest friend and mentor.

  "How sure are you that this baker isn't just screwing with us?" I asked.

  "Gibbs has been watching him for a few weeks," Kader said, referring to the faceless member of a team that I'd never met. "She's seen a couple of rebel leaders going in often enough that we think it's the real deal. The only question is, have we brought enough crowns to buy a meeting?"

  I stared at the yellow fields. "Can't we just, you know, beat him up?"

  Kader chuckled, a deep, velvet sound that always put me at ease. "That's awful barbaric of you, Theo."

  "So's extortion."

  "Fair enough, fair enough." He passed an appreciative look over to me. "In my experience, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. We could threaten him, but my guess is the information he gives us would be less valuable than if he were our ally. If he's who we think he is—"

  "Anson's primary money man."

  "—then getting him to believe us is a big step."

  I just wished our steps could be a little bigger, but I kept that thought to myself.

  We waited on the outskirts of the city until past midnight before driving in. Even under cover of darkness, I lay flat in the backseat until we arrived at our destination. As with the mysterious duffel bag, I had no idea how Kader arranged our safe houses. The past few trips, we'd been staying in abandoned shops and storefronts in the slums, which meant less pressure from the Raven security forces, but a lot more uncomfortable days of sweltering without relief. I could only imagine where we'd be staying this time.

  He parked the car in a dark alley and beckoned me to come with him. Wordlessly, we navigated through the dark city, careful to keep our heads down when we saw people and keeping to the shadows when we didn't.

  Just when I thought we'd walked to the edge of the country, we turned a corner onto a posh neighborhood. The wealth in Rave was concentrated in a few areas—the apartments where the Raven government had put me up, and a cluster in the north end of the city, where we were. Tall trees rustled in the summer breeze, covered in bright white flowers that smelled of citrus. Kader led me behind the houses, where each house boasted a separate garage and stone-covered yard. I'd thought I was no longer surprised by the disparity between the rich and poor in Rave, but as Kader picked the lock on the backdoor of the row house, I still shook my head at the finery.

  We entered a stuffy house, bathed in darkness, and Kader made no move to turn on the lights. Using the limited moonlight, he crossed the white kitchen to another door. This one, he opened silently and beckoned me to go forward into the darkness below. Groping along the wall, I walked down seven steps until my feet hit dirt.

  Light flooded over me, and I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the root cellar I stood in. Kader shut the door behind us and joined me in the small, cramped space. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't cool either, and I dreaded spending the next few weeks trapped in there.

  "Are you sure it's smart for us to be here?" I asked, picking up an empty crate that had once held potatoes or some other root vegetable. "This place is probably crawling with high-ranking government officials."

  "Not at this time of year," Kader said with a wry smile. "You didn't work with Bayard long enough, but when the summer months come, the offices empty out and the rich vacate to the northern coast. I doubt even a quarter of these houses are populated right now."

  I nodded, but outrage settled in my stomach. Like so many others, these particular Ravens had skipped conscription and all the setbacks that came with it. They had been free to become educated, to amass wealth that allowed them to create a life where they could summer in the north. Meanwhile, the country burned.

  "No thank you?" Kader asked. He'd cracked open a can of chicken and crackers and had set them out for the both of us. I murmured my thanks for the food, but his smile remained. "I meant, for finding you a house instead of a basement."

  I looked around. "We're still in a basement."

  "When it gets light out," he said, shoving a cracker into his mouth, "you can explore the upstairs. Be careful to stay away from the windows and come back downstairs after dark. But Gibbs tells me there's a nice library to keep you occupied."

  "Occupied..." I said with a frown. "So you don't think I'll meet anyone on this trip?"

  He shook his head. "Soon, Theo. Maybe this trip, even. If the baker is who he says he is. I'm meeting with Gibbs tomorrow to check in on her surveillance and, if possible, try to arrange a meeting with the baker. I'm sure we have enough crowns to satisfy him now."

  I winced. "Will we ever tell Anson that the money is coming from...Kylae?"

  Kader quirked a brow. "And how well do you think that will go, Theo?"

  I didn't even bother to blush; the heat in the basement was already doing it for me. "Not immediately, but...someday. When they've overthrown Bayard."

  "One day, perhaps," Kader said. "Right now, we need to convince them you're on their side. They still think you're a plant from Bayard."

  "Would be nice if Bayard would put a warrant out for my arrest and make things easier," I said, rolling my own bed out and lying down on top of it.

  "That's not in his best interest," Kader replied, closing his eyes. "You were a symbol of Raven resilience, especially after that speech you gave. For them to declare you a traitor, it would take a lot of effort to spin it right, and they probably don't think it's worth it. As far as they're concerned, you're one person, and they don't see you as a threat."

  Considering I'd spent the past four months trapped in basements, twiddling my thumbs and keeping quiet while Kader did all the work, I couldn't help but think they might be right.

  FOUR

  Galian

  "Ms. Collins' office, Dixon speaking."

  "Er...hi," I said lamely. "I was looking for Olivia?"

  After my conversation with my mother, I'd marched back to my room, found Olivia's number in a box of things I'd taken from my old apartment with Martin...then went to work. But I felt the weight of my mother's words throughout the shift, and by the end of it, promised myself I'd call her first thing in the morning.

  "Yes, you've got the right office. How may I assist you?"

  "Um...I'd like to talk to Olivia—Ms. Collins."

  "For what purpose?"

  I stammered for a moment before remembering who I was. "This is Prince Galian Helmuth, and you'll put me through to Olivia this instant."

  Click.

  "Did...did he just hang up on me?" I said, staring at the phone. I'd never been hung up on in my entire life.

  I dialed the number again, but her assistant didn't pick up. Either he hadn't recognized my voice, or he'd been given orders not to pass on my call to Olivia.

  "Shit."

  I considered my options. Give up and tell my mother I'd tried and failed, which wasn't actually an option at all. Or go to Olivia's offices myself and have to eat crow in front of her.

  Delaying the inevitable, I went back to the box where I'd found her number. It had been stuck in the corner of my closet, hidden from view, presumably by some well-meaning servant who'd thought it would be better for my shocked state of mind after Martin died. I didn't even know who'd packed the box, but I figured it must've been Rosie or Kader.

  The very first item in the box was a photo of Theo that I'd cut out of a magazine. It had been the only thing I had to remind me of her when I wasn't sure I'd ever see her again. As much as I wanted to put it next to my bed again, it would've been better if I kept it in the box. Not as if my father cared about my
love life, but he was under the assumption that Theo and I were no longer on speaking terms and she was somewhere in Herin.

  Digging further into the assortment of personal items, I found a black box I hadn't seen before with a few medals. I'd been given a few during my brief military service, but these weren't mine. Neither were the other items in the box—a pair of shoes a size too big, his favorite bottle opener, a couple of old books. And a note:

  Dave would have wanted you to have these - H. Martin

  H. Martin. Based on the handwriting, probably his mother. I'd met Martin's parents briefly at his funeral, but I'd been so preoccupied with the happenings at the castle, I hadn't checked in on them. I hadn't even gone out to Martin's grave—nor my other brother, who was buried in the same cemetery. I saw death all the time at the hospital, but losing someone I knew made it much more real.

  But I could do more for my friend than leave his personal effects in a box on the floor. Carrying the box to the other side of the room, I cleared a spot on the mostly-decorative bookshelf. Then, taking my time, I assembled a small homage to Martin, arranging the books, shoes, and medals in such a way that would honor him admirably.

  I stepped back to admire my work and wondered what he might've said. Knowing Martin, he probably would've laughed at me and called me a sap.

  And, a guilty voice reminded me, perhaps ask why you haven't been helping find his killers.

  I turned away from my little shrine and crossed the room to the open windows. My rooms faced west, overlooking the city and the Madion Sea beyond. The barethium-laced skyscrapers reached toward the sky like spindly fingers, and if I squinted, I saw the construction of two more.

  I rubbed my face and wallowed in my indecision. I wanted to help bring Martin's killers to justice, but I'd been relegated to this idiotic task of convincing Olivia to spend time with me.

  Well, perhaps the sooner I got Olivia out of the way, the sooner I could do something more substantial. So, with a final nod to the memorial on the bookshelf, I spun on my heel and walked out of the bedroom.