by Mary Fan
Kylie’s face brightened. “Flynn!” Glimpsing his injured arm, she gasped. “What happened?”
“Just got scraped,” Flynn said automatically. He tried to come up with something else to say, but he was still too stunned. It wasn’t a bad kind of shock—the total opposite, actually—but still, she was the last person he’d expected to see.
Kylie smiled and wrapped her arms around him in a close hug. “I’ve been so worried about you. I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re okay.”
“How… How are you here?” He pulled back. “What about Brax? Is he here too?”
“Williams recruited me for the Rising.” Kylie glanced at Calhoun, as though asking permission to continue. After a moment, her expression firmed. “It was… the injustice. It’s everywhere in the Triumvirate, and no one cares. I realized I could work hard all my life, but I’d never accomplish anything because I was born a Norm. There was nothing for me at the Academy, so I left.”
“And Brax?”
“Williams goldlighted me here a few minutes ago. He said you were off on a mission. How’d it go?”
Flynn was about to point out that she hadn’t answered the question when Aurelia stepped between them.
“Terribly. He sucks.” Aurelia looked Kylie up and down. “Another clueless newbie. Just what we need.”
Flynn elbowed her. “Knock it off, Aurelia.”
Kylie’s face lit up with admiration. “Aurelia—as in Aurelia Sun? You’re the Firedragon?”
“That’s me.” Aurelia turned to Calhoun. “I know we need new members, but what’s she gonna do other than get herself killed?”
“Miss Varela is very intelligent.” Calhoun nodded at Kylie. “She’ll be an asset. You know how badly we need recruits—”
“Save it, Calhoun!” Aurelia marched up to him. “You wanna know why we’re losing people so fast? It’s because you keep sending people on suicide missions! Do you know how many times Flynn could’ve gotten killed tonight? I mean, look at him! He almost got his arm chopped off!”
Flynn shot her an indignant look. “We succeeded, didn’t we?”
“Barely.” Aurelia crossed her arms. “So much crap went wrong. I’m surprised any of us made it out!”
What’s gotten into her? Flynn was accustomed to Aurelia’s rants, but her current outburst didn’t seem to make any sense when their mission had succeeded.
“That’s enough.” Calhoun’s eyes grew stern. “You know as well as I do that without Flynn, we didn’t stand a chance of getting the map.”
Aurelia glared at him then shook her head and walked off in a huff.
Flynn watched as she marched up the stairs, wondering what could have set her off.
Calhoun sighed then turned to Kylie. “Sorry about that. She can be… volatile.”
Kylie nodded. “It’s okay. I understand. I’m not exactly a fighter.”
“In time, you could be. Isn’t that right, Nightsider?” Calhoun beamed. “I’m proud of you, kid. I’ll admit, I wondered whether sending you out was a good idea, but it seems destiny is on our side, and there’s no stopping the Rising now.”
Flynn lifted his chin. “That’s right.”
Calhoun approached the staircase. “Take Varela upstairs, and get her settled. I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on.” He ascended the steps, leaving Flynn alone with Kylie in the main hall.
Kylie looked around the large, open area with an expression of wonder, as though every scratched railing and every faded wall were as magnificent as the Palace of Concord. “I never imagined the rebels would be headquartered someplace so grand. The Triumvirate always made them seem like a band of renegades hiding in a cave.” She brought her gaze back to Flynn. “I wanted to believe the Triumvirate so badly that I shielded my eyes from their evil, told myself that everything they did was ultimately for the greater good. But after what happened to you and Brax…” She trailed off.
“What do you mean?” Flynn asked. “Is Brax all right?”
“Of course.” Kylie gave a quick smile, but there was something strained about it. “He was injured in the explosion… had to be in the infirmary for a while, but he’s fine now. It was just so awful how they made him wait and wait for magical healing because he was a Norm. And the whole time, he was in pain from the burns. They wouldn’t even cast a numbing spell on him.” Her words stretched in some places and rushed in others, as if she wasn’t certain what she was saying. A pained look darkened her expression.
The thought of Brax suffering because of the Triumvirate’s unfair ways sent a spark of anger through Flynn. Still, he found it strange that Kylie would be the one to leave the Academy for the Rising instead of Brax, who used to complain about the government’s wrongness while Kylie either shushed him or justified whatever he was complaining about. “Why didn’t he come with you? I don’t—”
“I don’t want to talk about him.” From her tone, something was really upsetting her. “It’s just… Brax and I haven’t spoken in a while. He doesn’t know I’m here.”
I guess they broke up? But they were so close… What happened? Flynn bit back the question, not wanting to upset her more. Besides, the details didn’t exactly matter.
Kylie drew a breath. “I came because… You disappeared, Flynn. It’s as if you never existed. Do you know what it’s like to wake up one morning and hear that your friend’s been kidnapped—and probably killed—by your own government? No matter what I did, no one would say what had become of you. Then Williams pulled me aside and told me the truth, and I asked him to let me join the Rising.” She stared at the floor. “I couldn’t stay there any longer, knowing what the Triumvirate had done.”
A twinge of guilt pierced Flynn. She’d apparently cared enough about him to search for him after he vanished from the Academy then change her views and leave her entire world behind. Meanwhile, he’d barely thought about her at all since joining the Rising—or Brax, for that matter. It still struck him as odd that Brax hadn’t come too. If Kylie had looked for him, wouldn’t Brax have done so as well?
He started to ask, but something about Kylie’s expression stopped him. She looked as if she were doing her best to hold back something powerful, something sorrowful, and the slightest provocation might send her into tears.
“You’ll be safe here,” he said instead. “This place is well guarded. We had one attack when I first got here, but the Risers beat them back.”
“An attack?” Kylie’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“Tydeus Storm, an evil anarchist who practices dark magic, unleashed a draugr and fangbeast on us.”
“Someone had control of a fangbeast? How? The lore says that only the Lord himself could command them.”
“Legends are legends for a reason. Storm’s powerful enough to mess with the dead, so why not fangbeasts?” Flynn suddenly recalled that it was the middle of the night and that normal people slept at such an hour. “Are you tired? I can show you to the women’s dorm.”
“Tired?” Kylie smiled. “How could I be tired when I just joined a rebellion? You must be, though, after your mission.”
“Actually, I’m anything but.” With the combined excitement from the mission and from seeing an old friend, sleep was the last thing on his mind. “C’mon, I’ll show you the tower.”
As he crossed the hall, a sudden blow knocked him forward. He caught himself in time to keep from falling on his face. Spinning, he saw Tamerlane blinking in confusion. “Whoa, watch it!”
“Sorry, didn’t see you.” Tamerlane looked flustered.
“How? I was right in front of you!”
“Wasn’t paying attention.” Noticing Kylie, he jerked his thumb at her. “What’s this?”
“I’m Kylie Varela.” Kylie held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Tamerlane ignored her, looking at Flynn instead. “What’s she doing
here?”
“Williams recruited her from the Academy,” Flynn said.
Tamerlane cursed. “I told him to stop bringing students to the Citadel! With everything that’s going on—why didn’t he listen? Why won’t anyone listen?”
“What’re you talking about?”
“Never mind.” He rushed off without another word, heading for the basement.
First Aurelia, now Tamerlane… What’s with everyone? He continued toward the stairs. “So that was Tamerlane. He’s an Enchanter, and usually he’s friendlier.”
Kylie walked beside him. “Williams told me you’re the Untouchable One. What’s that like?”
“Weird. It’s like being the anti-Chosen One, you know? I’ve got this amazing lack of ability. It’s a double-edged sword. Like tonight—being Untouchable meant I could walk right through the Sentinels’ enchantments in Augustine, but it also meant having to sit in a vehicle for ten hours to get there and back.”
“What happened on your mission?”
As he walked up the stairs, Flynn summarized that night’s events for Kylie. Arriving at the tower, he opened the door. “This has pretty much been my whole world since I left the Academy. Tonight was only the second time I’ve left the Citadel’s grounds since I arrived.”
Kylie entered the mirrored room, panning her gaze across the practice weapons with a look of wonder. “That must have been hard.”
He shrugged. “Aurelia kept me so busy, I hardly noticed most days.”
“I wish I were like her.” She picked up a bow. “If I were, maybe I could’ve stopped the shifterskins who killed my parents.”
That was the first time Kylie had spoken of her parents since Flynn had met her, over a year ago. Though the sudden change in subject surprised him, he recognized the pain in her voice. “You can’t think that way. Trust me, I’ve had the same thoughts.”
“I wanted so badly to be a Defender. I thought if I worked hard enough, the Triumvirate could help me find some kind of peace.” Kylie pulled an arrow from one of the quivers hanging off a hook. “Fighting for them was the only way I could make what happened to my parents mean anything. I thought if their deaths spurred me to save dozens of people in my lifetime, it’d balance out in my head. Now I know… the Triumvirate was never going to let me be anything more than a Secondstringer.”
She turned to the target in the corner. Whoosh-thud. Her arrow hit the target’s center.
“Whoa!” Flynn gaped. “How’d you learn to shoot like that?”
“Brax.” Kylie reached for another arrow. “He stole a key to the Cadets’ training room and snuck me in whenever no one was around—also ‘borrowed’ a few of their instructional textbooks. I’ve been teaching myself for months.”
Flynn’s surprise turned to irritation. He couldn’t believe his closest friend, the one to whom he’d confided his own darkest secrets, had been keeping something that huge from him. “Jerk,” he grumbled. “Wish he’d let me in on the secret.”
“You two didn’t exactly warn me that you’d be committing a crime.” Kylie arched her brows. “I would’ve stopped you.”
“Yeah, why do you think we didn’t say anything?” Flynn gave her a teasing smile.
She didn’t return it. Her dark eyes grew stern. “Was it worth it? Ruining your life for a report?”
“I didn’t have much of a life to ruin.” Flynn grimaced, recalling the dull, grinding slog his life at the Academy had been. “And what I did brought me here, where I have a chance to stand for something. So yeah, I’d say it was worth it.”
Kylie started to respond but paused. “I’m glad you think so.” Her tone was harder than he’d expected.
“Well, what should I have done? Let the Triumvirate control me forever?”
“If I believed that, I wouldn’t have come here.” She sighed. “I… I don’t know. I’m glad you found a way out, and I’m glad you’re okay. It’s just… what happened didn’t just happen to you.” She looked away, and her eyes glistened.
Troubled, Flynn placed a hand on her shoulder. “What do you mean? Does this… Does this have something to do with Brax? Did something happen to him because of me?”
“I told you, he’s fine.” She voice turned sharp, and she shook him off. “And I told you, I don’t want to talk about Brax.”
She strung her bow and took aim at the target. There was an iciness in her dark eyes that Flynn had never seen before. Whatever had happened between her and Brax must have been bad. He couldn’t imagine what. Having known Brax for years, Flynn was certain the guy would never do anything to hurt the girl he loved. Yet she was clearly hurting.
Kylie released the arrow, and it hit the target right next to the first.
“She’ll be an asset,” Calhoun had said. Though the Rising could use a good shooter like Kylie, Flynn didn’t like the idea of her putting herself in danger. Besides, Brax would kill him if he let anything happen to her, even if they were broken up.
A week had passed since Flynn had returned from the Augustine mission, and he was getting restless. He was more than glad that Nossiter had assigned him a shift guarding the Citadel from supernaturals. He scurried down the stairs, a pellet gun—loaded with silver to ward off spirits—bouncing against his hip. Feeling a cramp in his left arm, he reached up to stretch it. He’d tried not to use it much since razorbird feathers had sliced it, and the thick bandage wrapped around it under the sleeve of his jacket hindered its movements. Still, he couldn’t help feeling a little proud of his battle wound.
He double-checked his pockets to make sure he had a flare, which Nossiter had instructed him to set off in case the Defiants attacked again. The strap holding his sword slid on his shoulder, and he took a moment to readjust it. Though he’d seen his fair share of action recently, he couldn’t help hoping that some monster would require ganking tonight— but nothing too dangerous, of course.
When Flynn reached the ground floor, he found the Citadel’s front door already open. Aurelia stood outside between two columns, the hilts of her double swords poking above her shoulders.
She furrowed her brow when she spotted him. “What are you doing here?”
“Guard shift.” Flynn crossed the hall. “Guess I’m your partner tonight.”
“Whose dumb idea was that? You’re injured.”
“Only a little. And it was Nossiter’s dumb idea, by the way. We’re short-handed.”
Aurelia shook her head. “It’d better be a quiet night. I don’t care what anyone says about you needing more experience doing real Riser stuff. You’ve got no business dealing with all this danger.” She sat down on the stone steps. “I wish Calhoun had never brought you here. I wish no one had ever realized you were the Untouchable One.”
“What?” Flynn stopped in his tracks, surprised and stung by her words. “Why would you say that?”
Aurelia didn’t answer. She pulled one of the blades from its sheath and grabbed a stone from her pocket.
Flynn hesitated then approached and sat down next to her. She’d been acting strangely toward him all week, and he’d yet to figure out why, especially since he’d proven that he could be useful. “What’s going on, Aurelia? Why are you mad at me?”
“I’m not mad at you,” she grumbled, her expression softening. She pressed the stone into the silver edge of her black blade and swept it up toward the tip. “I’m mad at the screwed-up world that’s gonna get you killed. I’ve seen experienced fighters fall in battles less dangerous than the one that’s waiting for us. And—”
She broke off. An unearthly howl rang out in the distance. It sounded different than the other howls Flynn had heard in the past—like a bloodwolf’s cry but thicker, more earthly, as if an actual wolf had let it out rather than a supernatural beast. But that wasn’t possible. As far as he knew, no wolves dwelled the region.
Aurelia sprang to her feet. “I’ll go
check it out. Stay here.” She descended the steps.
“What was that?” Flynn stood and started to follow. “I think—”
Aurelia spun and pointed her blade at him. “Stay.”
“Whoa!” Flynn held up his hands. “Calm down, will you?”
She lowered her sword. “Just let me do what I do, and keep yourself where it’s safe.”
“All right, all right.”
She dashed across the field. Though Flynn knew he shouldn’t worry about the girl whose list of monster slayings could stretch from there to the Capital, seeing her disappear into the shadows made him uneasy. Something was off, and it wasn’t just her attitude.
A minute later, it hit him—she hadn’t pulled out her second sword. Never, in all the time he’d spent training with her or watching her fight, had he seen her battle with a lone weapon. She knows what she’s doing. She’s gotta have a good reason.
Minutes ticked by in silence, and Flynn grew tenser with each one. He should have heard something—the clang of her blades, the dying screech of a creature. What if it was a spirit that had made the howling sound? The animalistic cry had sounded fake, like something imitating a bloodwolf. Aurelia’s skills would do her little good against a Class-A specter. Or worse, a wraith.
He fidgeted uncomfortably. The waiting seemed to stretch into an eternity. Finally, unable to take it anymore, he got up and pulled his sword from its sheath, hoping his injured arm wouldn’t hold him back if he had to use it. He ran toward the spot where he’d last seen Aurelia. She’d probably kill him once he found her, but he’d rather face her fury than stumble upon her body.
I shouldn’t have let her go alone in the first place. He stepped past the perimeter, barely able to see anything in the thick woods. The only light came from the silvery moonlight streaming through the leaves.
