by Caitlin Seal
Francisco’s eyes narrowed. “What are you taking about?”
“Resurgence. They’ve got agents in the palace. They killed Valn, and I don’t think they plan to stop there.”
“And who, or what, is Resurgence?” Francisco asked.
Naya looked away. “I still don’t know exactly. I have a contact who can give us more information, but she won’t talk until I can make a deal with Delence.”
Francisco shook his head. “Even if I could trust you on that, we don’t have time to be organizing deals with a mystery contact. We have to get this situation under control.” He turned to Corten. “I don’t know what your role in this was, but unless you want everyone on this ship dead, I suggest you keep out of sight.” He didn’t wait for an answer before storming from the room.
Naya exchanged a look with Felicia. “Could you keep an eye on him?”
Felicia nodded. “I’ll try.” Her eyes lingered on Corten for a moment longer before she turned and followed Francisco toward a steep stairway at the end of the hall. As soon as she was gone, Naya shut the door.
Silence followed. Naya stared at the door, her face a mask of worry. Worse, now that he looked closer, Corten could see patches of her skin flickering between pale brown and translucent blue. She must have damaged one of her bones again.
Without thinking, Corten closed the gap between them. Whatever she’d done, whatever trouble she’d set in motion getting him here, didn’t matter right now. He’d deal with what the shadow man wanted from him in the future. Right now he was just glad he and Naya both had a future to deal with. He felt Naya shiver as she stepped into his arms. “It’s okay,” he said. “We’ll figure it out.”
Her lips found his in answer. Her kiss was hot and insistent, like she was trying to make up for all the lost time stretched out between them. Corten leaned into her. He let the feel of her body against his burn away the hollow cold of death. For a brief, glorious instant, the world became simple and perfect.
Lucia cleared her throat. “I hate to interrupt, but would one of you please tell me what happened on the other side? What did you see?”
Naya stepped out of the circle of Corten’s arms. A dozen emotions seemed to play behind her troubled expression. “I’m not sure where to start,” she said softly.
Corten cast his eyes toward the ceiling. Images of writhing shadows and death flashed through his mind, too tangled to put into words. Better to start with something simple. “Are we really in Talmir?” he asked.
Naya nodded. “The ship’s anchored in Lith Lor Harbor.”
Corten drew a slow breath of aether. “Okay. Then first there’s something I need to know. You said something about a journal. What did you do, Lucia?”
Lucia shook her head. “The real question is how did it work? This is impossible.”
“What do you mean it’s impossible?” Naya asked. Though she didn’t look at him, Corten felt her fingers extend to brush against his. He took her hand in his, relishing the warmth of her skin.
Lucia gestured at the pile of bones in the center of the ritual circle with her bandaged hand—they had been carved as though for a bond, but every one of them had been snapped or cracked beyond use. “When Naya came through the portal, I thought I saw someone just behind her. I tried to hold the way open, but then the portal imploded and something forced me back against the wall. I heard bones breaking. When my vision cleared, Corten was lying in the circle. But those bones are the ones I meant for his binding. If they’re here, broken, then what in the Creator’s grace is keeping him bound to life?”
All three of them stared at the bones as Lucia’s words sank in. Corten touched his chest. “It’s a mistake,” he said. “It has to be.”
“I don’t make mistakes,” Lucia snapped. “Not in this.” She pulled a reader from the small bag of tools by her feet, then touched it to Corten’s arm. His skin turned transparent, and Lucia gasped. Corten looked down at his arm. There were no bones there, but the aether beneath his skin swirled in a way he’d never seen before. It looked almost like the wind that moved through the grasses on the other side of death. Runes formed in the glowing aether—there one moment, gone the next.
“It’s impossible,” Lucia repeated. She touched the reader to his other arm, then his chest. Each time the result was the same, swirling aether, dancing runes, no bones.
“It doesn’t matter,” Naya said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself as well. “You’re back.”
“Am I?” Corten asked, looking at Naya and Lucia in turn. “How can I be here without anything to bind me? This isn’t how necromancy works.” A soul couldn’t exist in the physical plane without a binding that held it to its former body. Corten thought back to the deal he’d struck with the shadow man and wondered what he’d gotten himself into.
With an effort of will, he turned the skin of his hand transparent, displaying the same swirl of aether and runes. “This has to have something to do with the shadow men,” he said, half to himself.
“The what?” Lucia asked, leaning forward. She glanced at Naya. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”
“There were things on the other side that looked like people,” Naya said in a tone barely above a whisper. “The ones I spoke to didn’t look shadowy, but I got the impression that the faces they showed me were just masks. They offered us a deal. They would help bring Corten back, and in exchange we have to help them.”
Corten pressed one hand to his forehead. His memories of the other side were already starting to feel fuzzy, like years had passed instead of only a few minutes. That was normal—few undead remembered details from their time on the other side. Corten squeezed his eyes shut again, as though that could lock the memories inside. Slowly, he told Naya and Lucia about his journey through death. Lucia snatched up a book and pen to take notes as he described the door, the shadow men and scavengers, and his encounter with Servala.
Naya’s eyes widened when Corten described his desperate sprint to the portal. “You fought one of the scavengers?” she asked.
“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” Corten muttered.
“No, it’s just…” Naya blushed. “I’m impressed.”
“Oh.” Corten felt a grin tugging at his cheeks. “Well, by all means, feel free to be impressed.”
Naya laughed. Then Lucia cleared her throat and gave them both a hard look. “I want to hear more about this deal and the people you made it with.”
Naya glanced at Corten. “I don’t know much. The woman I met said something about a queen in the east who was tampering with old magic. She said we had to stop her, or something terrible would happen. But I’ve got no idea how we’re supposed to do that.”
“Me either,” Corten said. “The shadow man who talked to me said something similar, but he was vague on the details.” And of course, genius that he was, Corten hadn’t bothered to ask. He met Naya’s eyes again and saw his own questions echoed there.
Lucia continued to pepper them with questions. Corten’s unease only grew as each one revealed more gaps in their knowledge.
“What I don’t understand,” Lucia said with obvious frustration, “is who these shadows are. And, if they intended for you to help them, why give you so little information?”
It was a good question. Someone knocked on the door before either Corten or Naya could come up with an answer.
Naya muttered a curse. She turned toward the door and Corten felt her draw aether. Her eyes widened, then her face went carefully blank. “Hide,” she whispered to Corten.
“What is it?” he asked.
Naya shook her head. “Trouble.”
Corten wanted to ask for more, but something in her voice stopped him. “Where should I hide?” The sparse room wasn’t exactly brimming with options.
Naya scanned the small room, then pointed to a spot next to the door. “Stand there. Th
ey shouldn’t be able to see you.”
“What if they come inside?” Corten whispered back.
“I’ll make sure they don’t.” Naya squeezed his hand once, then let go and turned to face the door.
The knock came again. “Miss Garth?” a man’s voice asked. The speaker sounded older than Francisco. When Corten drew in aether, he could sense a prickle of unease mixed with steely anger. Whoever was on the other side, it didn’t seem he’d come for a friendly conversation. Corten crossed the room to stand beside the door. Creator, he wished he had a pair of pants. It was bad enough to be hiding on a ship in Talmiran waters with no cursed idea what was going on. Having to stand there with nothing more than a blanket wrapped around his waist while Naya answered the door was somehow so much worse.
Naya opened the door partway, putting it between Corten and whoever was on the other side. “Captain Cervacaro,” she said. “What can I do for you?”
“Miss Garth,” Captain Cervacaro said, “I came to inform you that three squads of Talmiran soldiers are rowing toward our ship. They raised signal flags declaring their intention to come aboard. I also couldn’t help but notice three Talmiran vessels have pulled anchor and are readying cannons in our direction. Lord Francisco is up above and seemed to think all this has something to do with you. You wouldn’t happen to know what’s going on, would you?”
Naya tensed. “I don’t know. Give me just a minute and I’ll join you on deck.”
“Be quick about it. Those soldiers don’t look happy.”
Naya nodded, then shut the door. Lucia rose, clutching the table. “You don’t think…” she began.
“He’s right,” Naya said. “They’re here for me.”
“Then we must hide you quickly,” Lucia said, looking between Naya and Corten. “I saw you come in through the window last night. Could you and Corten go out that way? Maybe hide under the water until they’re gone?”
Naya hesitated, and Corten used the opportunity to cut in. “Anyone want to tell me what’s going on here?”
Naya looked at him. Exhaustion shone in her eyes, and for just an instant he thought he saw her lip tremble. Then she clenched her hands into fists and seemed to steady herself. “Those soldiers are here to arrest me.”
“Why?” Corten asked.
“Because I broke into the Academy of Magics and stole some of the books of forbidden necromancy they were secretly hiding there.”
Corten stared at her. From anyone else it would have sounded absolutely insane. But Corten had watched Naya escape the executioner’s platform by using one of her own bones as a bomb. There was a force to her that somehow made the impossible seem normal. “Oh,” he said. “And now I guess we have to jump out a window so they don’t kill us?”
“We can’t,” Naya said. “There are too many ships in the harbor. If someone sees us go over, they’ll just keep searching until they find us. We’ll be putting everyone else on the ship in danger.”
“What choice do you have?” Lucia asked. “You can’t let them take you.”
“Yes, I can,” Naya said. “If I don’t resist, then hopefully they won’t have any reason to search the ship. You two will be safe.”
“And you’ll be locked up in a Talmiran cell waiting for execution,” Lucia said.
“Not necessarily.” Naya smiled, though Corten could still see the worry in her eyes. “I doubt Queen Lial wants the Congress to know about her secret weapons program. Those journals I brought back are proof that Talmiran scribes kept some of the works they were supposed to destroy during the purges. I saw more in Hest’s office, and I saw one of the new weapons they designed. We can use that information against them. I’m still technically under the Congress’s protection. She’s sent enough soldiers that she can’t just make me disappear and pretend she had nothing to do with it. And if she formally accuses me of breaking into the academy, there will have to be a trial.”
“You think you can convince her to let you go if you keep her weapons program secret?” Corten asked. It sounded weak, far too weak to risk her life on.
Naya hesitated, then nodded. “I think I can make a deal with her. I’ll offer to leave Talmir. Delence won’t like it, but at this point my being here will only cause more trouble. Regardless, I need you two to stay free. You can protect the journals, and I gave Felicia a description of the weapon I saw. Get a copy from her if you can. If this goes badly, then someone has to warn the Necromantic Council that Talmir’s been designing new ways to destroy the undead.”
“I don’t like this,” Lucia said.
“Neither do I. But it’s the best chance we have of everyone getting out of here safely. I’m the one who pushed to come here. If anyone has to face the consequences, it should be me,” Naya said, glancing at Corten.
“No,” Corten said. He stepped forward and grabbed her hand again. “Naya, I may not know everything that’s going on here, but I know enough about Talmir to be sure that giving yourself up to their soldiers is a terrible idea. We’ll come up with something else.”
“There’s no time!” Naya snapped. “Didn’t you hear him? The soldiers are on their way. Any delay when they get here will only make things worse.”
Corten faced her, his own anger bubbling up despite his best efforts to keep it down. “I did not come back from the dead just to watch you face another execution.”
“And I brought you back because you were never supposed to die for me!” Naya said. “If those soldiers take me, at least I have a chance of talking my way out of it. I have permission to be here. You they’ll kill on sight as soon as they realize what you are.” Her voice broke around the words. Color had flooded her cheeks and she looked away. “Besides,” she said more softly, “this is about more than just us now. I don’t know what those things in death were, but I know they didn’t send you back out of kindness.” Naya met his eyes. “If the threat they saw is real, then someone has to be around to stop it.”
“That isn’t fair,” Corten said. He squeezed her hand tighter, some irrational part of him whispering that if he could just hold her there, then somehow everything would stop going so wrong.
Naya looked up at the ceiling. Corten drew in aether, but he couldn’t stretch his senses far enough to detect whatever it was she’d felt. “They’re here,” she said. “I have to go.”
“Naya—”
He expected her to pull away from him, but instead she stepped closer. He froze, looking into her eyes—somehow bright and sad at the same time. She tilted her head up and kissed him.
This kiss was softer than the first. Corten leaned into it, wrapping one arm around Naya’s waist. Her lips parted, and her tongue touched his, hesitant like a songbird leaping between branches. In that touch he could taste her sorrow and her uncertainty. He drew her closer, wanting to hold her there, to make her see that she didn’t have to do this.
But as his grip tightened, she broke from the kiss, stepping smoothly to one side and out of his grasp. Her eyes met his. “Wait for me?” she asked.
Corten opened his mouth to answer, but he couldn’t find any words. His chest was a tight knot of turmoil. He felt like he’d been dumped headfirst into a mire of politics and magic. He stumbled blindly while Naya strode confidently ahead. He hated that he couldn’t find the path. He hated that part of him wasn’t sure he could trust her enough to follow hers.
Naya didn’t wait for him to find an answer. Instead, she gave him one last smile before slipping out the door.
Naya stood on the deck of the Gallant and tried not to flinch under the stony glares of the nine Talmiran soldiers standing before her. Her lips still burned with the memory of the kiss. It had felt so impossibly good to hold Corten again, and she’d sensed his eagerness when he’d kissed her back. In that moment she’d wanted to give up everything and flee with him. The only thing that stopped her was a gut-deep certainty that once they started running,
they’d never be able to stop.
The aether around her carried the pepper-smoke tang of anger and anticipation as the soldiers formed ranks before her, keeping their hands close to the hilts of their swords. Naya had no doubt those swords were wraith eaters. In addition, two more squads waited in rowboats below, and three nearby ships had pointed their cannons at the Gallant, ready to fire broadside if she tried anything.
Naya supposed she should have felt proud that they thought her enough of a threat to deserve such an overwhelming show of force. Instead she just felt sick.
“Naya Garth, you are hereby charged with trespassing and the attempted murder of a Talmiran citizen.” The soldier who spoke was a short man with a bushy brown beard that might have looked silly if not for the icy disgust in his aether.
Captain Cervacaro stood to the side of the soldiers and Naya saw his face pale at the accusation. Tension thickened in the aether, making her skin prickle. Naya met the soldier’s gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The bearded soldier’s eyes narrowed. “I am referring to the attack at the Academy of Magics last night.”
Naya did her best to look confused. “What attack? I was here on the ship all night.”
“Several reliable witnesses reported your crimes. If you are innocent, then you have nothing to worry about coming with us to defend yourself in the courts.” The soldier’s lip curled into a sneer, as though he found the prospect highly unlikely. “If you refuse, we are authorized to take you by force.”
Naya shivered at the bright thread of eagerness in his aether. She was innocent, at least partially. She hadn’t tried to hurt anyone at the academy, though Hest had certainly done her best to kill her. She doubted her guilt or innocence would matter much to these men. “I’ll come with you,” she said quickly. “And I hope you’ll send someone to tell Queen Lial that I’ve reconsidered her offer. I have information for her.” It was a gamble. But if Naya was right about the queen’s role in all of this, then it should be enough to get her to hear Naya out.
