Air

by Rosie Scott

  All of these thoughts encouraged me to speak up to ensure the assault on Narangar was still planned. “Now Altan, don't tell me we're not going all the way to Narangar.”

  The Sentinel grinned back at me as he filled the last mug. “What makes you think we're not? The best time to strike is now. I'll show 'em Eteri isn't one to just bend over and take it.”

  “You let those ships retreat today,” I replied, watching Altan as he brought the mugs over two at a time. Everyone passed them around the table, though Nyx stopped short of handing one to Cerin since she knew better. Instead, she kept two for herself.

  “There were...what, four ships?” Altan replied, pursing his lips as he thought. “I haven't given up the chase, I promise you. We simply needed time to regroup and collect ourselves. Besides, I didn't know what the hell was going on in your neck of the woods. Can't say I expected to see any of you here.”

  Nyx jerked a thumb to Azazel, who sat to my left as usual. We often found ourselves like this because I felt overly protective of the archer's blind spot. “We wouldn't have been here at all if it weren't for him.”

  Altan gave the assassin an even stare. “You're still guilt-tripping me?”

  “No. Just telling you that Azazel's awesome,” Nyx replied. “I'm done guilt-tripping you. I have my mind set on bedding you, so I have few grudges left.”

  “Ah.” Altan wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “All you had to do was ask.”

  “Well, I'm asking,” my best friend retorted.

  “I'm all yours tonight,” Altan purred.

  “Guys.” I knocked on the table to snap them out of it. “Really? We're still here.”

  “I'm pretty sure Azazel was just tossed aside because Nyx is horny,” Cerin muttered.

  “Hey. I didn't toss anyone aside.” Nyx leaned forward to look over at Azazel, who listened to everything quietly, though he did appear amused. “What's done is done. Does it bother you that I'm trying to get laid?”

  “I have to be honest, Nyx,” Azazel started, “the less I have to think about your bedroom behaviors, the better.”

  I snorted a laugh and smacked the archer's arm in good fun. He grinned over at me before lifting his mug to take a drink of ale.

  “Anyway...” Altan trailed off, frowning. “What were we talking about? Now I got two heads to think with.”

  “Our arrival in Makani,” Cyrus replied helpfully.

  “Ah. Yes.” Altan's red eyes cleared and he moved his gaze over everyone. “What happened with Aleyah?”

  We all caught Altan up to speed on our mission with Aleyah, including what we learned from her regarding Terran. The first Sentinel leaned back in his chair, grinning at me.

  “You don't seem swayed by the fact that royal heirs are now involved.” Altan raised his red eyebrows as he drank another swig.

  “Because I'm not. It doesn't change my goals,” I replied. “If I were so concerned about Terran having children, I wouldn't have let him go after his capture in the Battle of the Dead. I was aware he was getting married at the time.”

  “Why'd you let him go, then?” Altan questioned.

  “Mercy. Sympathy. Love.” I glared into my mug. “Maybe a stupid thought that once he sees me at the gates of Sera, he will change loyalties. He won't, but I'll continue to hope until the day comes and he proves me wrong.”

  “You've mentioned killing your brother to take Sera,” Altan added. “Will you kill the children as well?”

  “Depends on how old they are by the time I get there,” I replied matter-of-factly. “If they are a threat, yes. If they are too young to be involved in politics, no.”

  “This woman right here...” Altan pointed at me, before smiling over at Cyrus and Uriel, “...is a natural leader. As much as you talk about love and loyalty, Kai, you are also too intelligent to let it rule you completely.”

  “Every general and ruler I've ever read about and respected has made decisions with both their head and their heart,” I replied. “Let one take over, and you end up brainless or heartless.”

  “Some people may say that mentality makes you lack compassion,” Altan commented, one eyebrow raised in humorous argument.

  “That's why those people aren't fit to be leaders,” I replied. “Compassion made me risk my life for tens of thousands of slaves in the underground. Compassion is waging war for the people who are dying in droves in Chairel because they don't have access to affordable healers. Compassion is teaching elemental magic to the Naharans and the underground so they can flourish. Gods help me if I make a strategic decision to keep safe all the things I've worked for. These people, Altan, may continue to bask in ignorance in the safety of their homes while I risk my life to accomplish things.”

  Altan grinned, impressed by my boldness. “We're a lot alike, Kai. I'm glad you're here.”

  “Says the heartless one,” Uriel teased.

  Altan scoffed. “Ah, there you go again. Bringing up my dirty laundry for everyone to hear.”

  “Oo, I like dirty laundry,” Nyx commented. “Do tell.”

  Jakan chuckled from beside her. “That sounded all wrong, bud.” Nyx only shrugged with a grin.

  Altan glared at Uriel for saying anything, but the healer only looked amused and feigned interest in his food. “Some people call me heartless for some decisions I made in my past. To be honest, it doesn't bother me too much other than the annoyance I have to deal with hearing it over and over again.”

  “What'd you do?” I asked him.

  “I refused to plead with Queen Tilda to let my son out of prison,” Altan replied.

  “I didn't know ya had a son,” Maggie spoke up, intrigued.

  “Sometimes I forget I have one, myself,” Altan muttered, downing the last of his ale before clashing the mug into the table. “Nothing but trouble, he is.”

  “No wife, I'm assuming?” Nyx questioned, as if double-checking before pursuing him further.

  “No. Not anymore.” Altan leaned forward on the table, pulling one of his rings off a finger, before putting it back on. He continued repeating the gesture as he spoke. “I was married for nearly five decades. To a Sentinel, no less. Her name was Fiona. She was a life mage and a crack shot with her bow. I was her soldier at the time. It was the battle that killed her that got me promoted. Irony, huh?” Altan attempted a laugh, but it was cut short.

  “How old was your son at the time?” I questioned.

  “When Fiona died? Forty,” Altan replied. “Way too old to be coddled, for sure. But coddle him she did for his whole life. Fiona and I fought a lot about how to raise Amos. He was our only child. We probably could have had more, but childbirth is hard on an active mage, so we were one and done. All of our attention was on him. I loved the kid, but he grew up spoiled. Fiona's pay as a Sentinel was great, and the kid got anything he wanted. She bought him a griffon for his eighteenth birthday.”

  “The one you ended up selling to the breeder?” Cyrus questioned, remembering himself.

  “Yeah. Amos loved that animal but wouldn't take care of it. Kid could barely take care of himself.” Altan cleared his throat. “What people say about children breaking marriages up is true. Raising our son did nothing but tear Fiona and me apart. Turned our relationship into one of resentment and colliding ideologies. By the time she died, I felt like I barely knew her anymore. Needless to say, Amos expected me to coddle him just like Fiona always did, and I wouldn't. He got himself into all sorts of trouble because he hadn't ever worked a day in his life and didn't know the first thing about living as an adult. Ran with a gang for a while. It was mostly small stuff at first, like painting graffiti on walls and stealing. I paid his fines a few times, but I hated doing it. Think I only did in case Fiona was watching from beyond the grave.

  “So one day, Amos got involved in robbing a store. I don't think he expected the owner to be there. It doesn't really matter. The owner was there, and he killed Amos's friend and fellow gang member while protecting his merchandise. I don't know what the law is in
Chairel, but in Eteri, if you're breaking the law and it ends up in a death, it doesn't matter who it was or who killed them, you're charged with the crime.” Altan waved a hand through the air. “Amos was thrown in the Makani dungeon for murder.”

  “And this is something you could have gotten him out of?” I questioned.

  “Yeah. Fiona was a Sentinel; I'm a Sentinel. Queen Tilda's laws are strict, but I think she was open to hearing out a plea. I just never offered her one. Amos knew the law before deciding to take part in the crime. He had every chance and opportunity to make an honest living. He chose not to.” Altan blinked over at us as he spoke, as if open to criticism. His red eyes were glazed with a buzz. “Some people say I'm heartless for leaving him in there. That any good parent in their right mind would bail their kid out. But I was young once. I made mostly good decisions. When I made bad decisions, I paid for them and grew into a better person because I learned from my mistakes. At some point, Amos may get out. He may become a better person; he may not. That choice is up to him. All I can do is let him know I love him, but it's not my job to run his life.”

  “Altan...” I trailed off. I knew the Sentinel wasn't asking me for my opinion or advice, but he seemed to assume that all of us would agree that his story made him a terrible person. “The decision you made doesn't make you heartless. It makes you a good parent.”

  The Sentinel managed a smile. “Says one who seeks to commit parricide.”

  “If anything, that only means I know what it's like to have bad parents,” I replied, to which he chuckled dryly.

  “Yeah, I gotta be honest,” Nyx spoke up, “it doesn't sound like Amos ever had plans on growing up. If you'd bailed him out, the cycle would probably continue.”

  “Do you visit him still?” Anto questioned softly.

  “Yes.” Altan accidentally dropped his ring as he played with it, and the metal swirled around the wood before it came to a stop. “I just visited him a week ago in Makani, actually. He's been in those dungeons for over two hundred years.”

  “Hell,” Anto cursed. “I could barely stand it for two. If he were going to learn his lesson, Altan, surely he would have by now.”

  Altan observed Anto carefully. “I'm afraid of what he'd become if he got out at this point.”

  “What's holding him going to do for anyone?” Anto retorted. “Do they plan on leaving him in there forever? If for nothing else, Eteri should be against that for the cost alone.”

  “Prisoners are used for work,” Altan replied. “The labor makes up for the costs. Amos has had a hand in rebuilding Makani many times during his sentence. He is more productive in prison than he'd ever been out of it.”

  I took note of this new information with uneasiness. “It sounds like Eteri's justice system is as stringent as it is because having more prisoners helps them, then.” The three Sentinels at the table could hear the distaste on my tone. “That sounds like slavery to me, Altan.” I felt Anto and Jakan watching me in agreement, happy I'd said something.

  “These are criminals, Kai,” Altan replied. “It is better to have punishment result in something beneficial for the community harmed by the crimes, don't you think?”

  “I don't think having prisoners work is necessarily a bad thing. I agree with you; it is better to keep them productive and working because it does help the community and it might give them new skills. But it sounds like Eteri wants to keep them imprisoned for far longer than the crimes call for it to keep the labor. I have to wonder if any of these men and women are even getting fair trials to begin with. If Eteri wants a city rebuilt, who's to say they won't simply imprison people for petty crimes for the free labor?”

  Uriel smiled at me. “You sound a lot like Xander,” he said, referring to the queen's murdered heir.

  “She knows about Xander?” Altan asked the healer.

  “We told her everything. Our theories, the whole lot,” Uriel replied, waving a hand in the air. “Xander's idea was to keep the prisoners working, but for rehabilitation rather than financial gain. Though, of course, the financial gain was always a plus as well. Obviously, the worst of the worst criminals would have longer sentences, but for petty crimes, his concern was the same as yours.”

  “Do you disagree with that idea?” I asked Altan.

  The first Sentinel shook his head. “Not in the least, but my opinion's not going to change it. For as long as Queen Tilda rules Eteri, that will remain the way it is.”

  “Speaking of everyone's favorite queen,” I started, making a few of the others chuckle, “how harsh was she with your punishment?”

  “Not very, but she couldn't be,” Altan replied. “I think she knows I like working with you, so the main punishment was to split us up. She knew Makani needed someone here, and thank the gods I arrived here in time. I hope Zephyr's not having any trouble in Scirocco.”

  “Have you come across any dwarven ships on their way south to make you fear this?” Cyrus asked.

  “No, but you know Narangar's navy is nothing to scoff at, and we haven't come across their full force yet.” Altan pursed his lips, thinking. “We've lost two ships since the attack. Three more have needed to be sent back for repairs, including yours. Other than the two dwarven ships you captured today, we've sunk six of their vessels.”

  “That means they sent a dozen ships in all,” I commented, remembering the four that retreated. “And you retaliated with thirty-five. Why would they send so few?”

  Altan grinned back at me. “Because a dozen's usually enough to cause damage to a city where the navy hasn't seen much recent movement. They didn't expect me to be there. If Naolin were in Makani instead, she would have only repelled the attack. I'm like you, Kai. I don't like being on the defensive, and I like to hit back with three times the force. I want Narangar's harbor destroyed.”

  “Me too,” I agreed. “Let's keep Chairel off the seas.”

  Altan lifted his mug in a toast to me even though it was empty. “Let's.” The Sentinel got up to refill the empty glass.

  “Have you heard any news of possible reinforcements being sent to Esen?” Cyrus asked Altan, handing the other Sentinel his empty mug when it was requested.

  “Reinforcements? Who will lead them?” Altan asked. “Tilda'll keep Bhaskar cooped up in Mistral until it's time to send him to Glacia. Naolin's a great defender. Esen will be safe.”

  “She only has three thousand soldiers,” Cyrus argued. “And she told us two seasons ago that Icilic warships have been scouting the area.”

  Altan stopped pouring ale into the mug and stared up at his comrade. “Already?”

  “Cicero said they were looking to attack within the year,” I reminded him. “And who knows if he meant from the time we talked to him or the time he left Glacia?”

  Altan's eyebrows dipped together as he put the refreshed mugs back on the table. “Gods, that is concerning. If they're scouting Esen, they'll know what to expect.”

  “That's exactly our fear,” Uriel commented.

  “The queen has no concern for Esen as far as I know,” Altan admitted, settling back down in his chair. “I'm sure Naolin has requested reinforcements. I doubt she'll get any unless Tilda wants to pull Zephyr from Scirocco.”

  “When would Kirek be scheduled to return to Eteri if she succeeds in T'ahal?” Cerin pondered aloud.

  “If she lives?” Altan huffed. “Red Moon of this year, considering she sees no battle or it is relatively short.”

  “Maybe it's time for the seven Sentinels to become the seventeen Sentinels,” Jakan suggested.

  Altan laughed at the thief's joke. “The queen keeps it at seven as if the number itself is sacred, friend. Otherwise, I would agree with you. Eteri is being pulled in all directions at once.”

  “That makes our current goal that much more important,” I commented. “Let's show Chairel we mean business in Narangar and get them off our backs.”

  Altan raised his glass. “I'll drink to that.”

  Twenty-five

 
12th of High Star, 422

  True to the predictions of the Sentinels, our trip to Narangar took us a full moon. When we had first met up with Altan in the ocean near Makani, it was decided we would split up the Sentinels. Each Sentinel was now in charge of a group of ten ships. It allowed for better communication once we were in the chaos of full-out battle. Altan still led the assault, and his ship sailed at the front and center of the navy. Because Uriel was a life mage, it was decided he needed to be on a galleon with the shielding systems, so he separated from us as well to cover the left flank. That left Cyrus and the Seran Renegades to sail along the right flank of the navy with our colossal battleship leading the way. Our ship was the only one without a shielding system, and most of the masts had been destroyed in my meteor attack. Still, the battleship was large and intimidating, and it would be helpful to be on level ground with any others of its type we came across. Thus, it was decided that our primary task would be the destruction of the other battleships.

  We weren't particularly certain how we were going to attempt to destroy Narangar's harbor. It was clear that Altan simply wanted to massacre it with magic because that was all the Eteri army had ever had access to. I played with the idea of stealing more dwarven ships and turning their siege weapons against them, but most of the Vhiri were not versed in the workings of cannons and other such weapons. Maggie had taught many of the soldiers on our battleship how the cannons worked, and while the vessel still had a stock of cannonballs at the ready, we had to fight through the navy to get to the harbor. Until we came into view of it, we couldn't have known how hard that would be.