Shadow City

by Francesca Flores

  As Tannis strapped on her throwing stars and knives, Aina watched her for a few moments, hoping her friends noticed she was now trying to share more with them about her plans.

  What she’d told no one, though, were her doubts about killing Kohl. Uneasiness rose through her at the thought—for so long, the desire to kill him had driven her, only for her to question it now. But until Bautix was dead, there was no use in thinking about it.

  “Come on, get up!” Tannis said, rolling her eyes with impatience.

  “Okay, okay,” Aina said, finally standing. “Let’s go home.”

  They soon left the Hirai mansion, taking the long path toward the gates of Amethyst Hill. The path was silent and no one stood outside their homes. It was early in the morning, but she wondered if the bombings had had anything to do with it. If the Steels were finally afraid that Bautix would come for them too. The drawn curtains on all the windows of two of the mansions they passed made her think that might be the case. A small surge of satisfaction swept through her—now they finally knew what it meant to fear for their lives. But then her own anticipation rose. If even the Steels feared what Bautix would do, then none of them were in an optimistic position.

  When they passed through the gate out of Amethyst Hill and the first view of Kosín’s gray skyline appeared, Aina spotted the Tower in the distance and realized there was something she hadn’t mentioned yet to Tannis.

  “Last night, I told Mariya we could get the tradehouses to help defend the Tower tomorrow night,” she said slowly, watching Tannis’s reaction as they walked along the dirt path leading toward the bridge into the city. “We’re all trying to survive, and I know most of the bosses have brains enough to understand that. Arman Kraz, on the other hand…”

  “So the Sentinel needs our help?” Tannis scoffed. “They were never this interested before. How do we know they won’t turn on us immediately?”

  “We don’t,” Aina said, shrugging. “But I needed to tell them about the secret entrances unless I wanted Bautix to waltz into the Tower and take it. And they need something from us too … that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  Tannis stopped walking and turned to face Aina, crossing her arms. “Did you volunteer me for something without telling me?”

  Aina cringed, but she couldn’t blame Tannis for how much she’d hidden from her. But behind the anger, disappointment tinged Tannis’s voice, and that stung more than any yelling or fighting would.

  “No, I promise I didn’t.”

  After Aina explained the situation with the Kaiyanis king wanting prisoners returned in exchange for sending soldiers, Tannis blinked a few times, then unfolded her arms. “Well, I didn’t expect that,” she finally said. Then her voice turned hard again. “What does that have to do with me?”

  A beat of silence passed while Aina considered how to answer. The wind rustled the trees around them and a sudden chill spread up her arms, reminding her of the cold underground lake she’d passed through yesterday, where the Mothers had told her to focus on the real enemy.

  “You told me how that Sacoren, Gevann, was forced to work for a Diamond Guard captain to avoid prison or execution. The Tower barely has anyone in the prison itself to send back, but I bet there are a lot of people like Gevann who need help.”

  Tannis shifted uneasily, biting her lip as she thought. “I’d rather help us. Fight against the people who want to hurt the tradehouses. This is my home, Aina. Maybe I feel bad for my past, but I don’t…”

  “You don’t want to do anything about it?” Aina asked, nodding—she’d expected that answer. “I know that feeling. It’s scary to even think of facing your past. That’s why the Dom is a safe place for so many of us. It takes us away from all the rest of it. It’s something we can focus on and fight for. I won’t force you to. I can ask the other tradehouses for volunteers, if you’ll help with information. But it’s something to think about.”

  Tannis gave a stiff nod. “We can feel out the tradehouses when we visit tonight and see who we might trust to do it. Thank you for asking me first, Aina.”

  “We’re a team,” Aina said, then took a deep breath. “I know things have changed between us since I lied, but there’s still no one I’d rather run the Dom with.”

  “Like I said, I’ve lied to you too,” Tannis said, shaking her head. “Neither of us is a decent person, and that’s one thing I always liked about you. We know what it’s like to stand in this world alone. We both know what it’s like to have someone try to take our home from us and to fight against them. We’ve always been on the same side, and there’s no one else I want to run the tradehouses with either.” She sighed then and tilted her face toward the sun. “I liked you, Aina, as more than a friend. But I’m starting to think it’s not enough to like someone just because you have the same bad experiences. I’ve never had many friends, have only ever trusted a few people, but since we’ve been fighting Bautix, working with the Inosen, like—”

  Her voice cut off for a moment, a blush rising on her cheeks.

  “Like Raurie?” Aina asked, her voice soft. She’d noticed the two of them getting closer—heard their conversation on the train. She felt a little remorse at that, knowing that her lies, her hesitation, and the memories of Kohl that always held her back were the reasons she’d pushed everyone away.

  A breeze swept by them, lifting the waves of blue hair off Tannis’s shoulders. She exhaled and her shoulders dropped, the tension going out of her gold eyes. “Like Raurie, yes.”

  Aina gave her a warm smile, feeling a strange sense of relief—and she thought of Teo. If there was anyone who lifted her up, made her want to be open and vulnerable, it was him. The only question was whether she’d pushed him away too. Her heart twinged at the thought, but there was no point thinking of it now.

  “Let’s go to the new Dom,” she said finally. “I’ll need a few hours to make the poison and antidotes for Bautix and the Sentinel before we head out to the tradehouses.”

  An hour later, when they reached the last street before the row of manors along the river, Aina forced herself to look at the remnants of the Dom. Her heart clenched at the sight; it was a pile of charred walls and broken furniture. She let out a long breath, sealing the image in her memory—she would never forget it. But now they had a new manor to live in, a new place to call the Dom, and it would stand just as strong for the south of the city as the old one had.

  “It’s that one,” Tannis said, pointing to a manor three houses north of the Dom. They walked to the front door, which looked brand new compared to what she was used to seeing on these manors. Ryuu had replaced the old door with smooth white wood and a crystal knocker. “Do you think everything might be decked out in gold now, since Ryuu’s been in charge?” Tannis asked. “People are going to try to rob us every night.”

  “I hope not,” Aina muttered as she led the way in. She gasped, and as Tannis pushed past her to get in, Aina whispered, “Not gold, but it’s really pretty.”

  Maybe Ryuu didn’t like the business side of running his family’s empire, but he certainly had the artistic and architectural flair for the construction they were involved in. Even though he hadn’t done the actual construction himself, his touch of design was all over the place. The floor had diamond-shaped jade tiles outlined in tiny crystals. The walls were a smooth, deep green with silver metallic vines encasing electric lights all along. The staircase ahead also had jade steps with the same pattern as the floor, and a crystal banister along the side.

  “He really went all out,” Tannis said, shaking her head in awe. “I suppose this is what he comes up with when he’s procrastinating on meetings.”

  Aina walked toward the office, pleased that this manor had a similar layout to the old Dom. She would have been happy with dirt floors and candles, as long as it could be their tradehouse and it was safe to live in, but she wouldn’t complain about this makeover.

  When they entered the office, Aina took one moment to stare open-mouthed at
the rose quartz and gold flooring, walls, and furniture before she noticed the door to the poison-brewing room was open.

  “I’ll get started,” she told Tannis, ingredients and techniques coming to her already—she’d remake the poison she’d used on Fayes, as well as antidotes.

  Tannis went upstairs then, and Aina got to work, only taking a brief moment to admire the new silver and crystal instruments Ryuu had supplied her with, the white tile floors so clean and bright, she could almost see her reflection in them.

  She worked for at least an hour, losing track of time. Four vials of poison, three antidotes, and a mixture of milky water that would be presented to Bautix as the fake antidote.

  While the poison was colorless with a faint smoke that rose off it, the antidote was murkier and thicker. Since they each used different parts of la orquídea reclusa flower, they shared a subtle scent. It smelled like Kosín. A hint of rust, smoke, and river stench.

  Shaking her head to clear it, as if she’d imagined the scent, she stoppered all the vials and then lined them up on the table.

  She would let Bautix know he was powerless before death—the poison gave the victim twenty final minutes before they succumbed. Twenty minutes for him to see that he’d lost, to see that she’d overpowered him without even needing to touch him.

  When she began putting away the ingredients, the door to the room creaked open.

  Expecting Tannis, Aina said, “I’ll be ready in a few—”

  “Hi, Aina.” Teo stood in the doorway with his hands in his pocket. His deep brown eyes took her in with a cautious smile.

  For a moment, she stiffened, not saying anything or making a move toward him. They hadn’t had a real conversation alone since their argument after he’d learned she was working with Kohl—when he’d called her the person he loved.

  Her heart felt lighter at the memory, even though it was tinged with regret from keeping the truth from him. But two days ago, when they’d run to each other during the bombings and leapt out of a theater window and somehow both survived, it seemed like nothing had changed between them. Last night at the safe house when she’d told everyone the new plan, he hadn’t spoken much, but he also hadn’t taken his eyes off her.

  A small bit of hope bloomed in her heart, and she walked toward him.

  “Do you want to go up to the roof with me, Teo?”

  Please say yes, she thought. Please don’t give up on me.

  He nodded, not saying anything, but it was still something. As they walked up to the second floor, he blinked as if all the new decorations were too bright to look at. They climbed onto a ladder attached outside one of the bedroom windows and stepped onto the roof. There were a thousand things she wanted to say to him, but when they looked out at the city, all of them briefly left her.

  Ash still coated many of the streets. Scorched, blackened roads were scattered through the Stacks and what she could see of the Center. Collapsed buildings at the edge of the Center threatened to topple down the hills into the Stacks. No more smoke lingered above the city, but the scent of it remained, filling her lungs as she breathed in next to Teo.

  “It looks…”

  “Like a nightmare,” he finished for her, shaking his head. And the mere sound of his voice relieved her so much, she didn’t care what they were talking about. She just wanted him to speak to her again. He’d tilted his head slightly to the side as he examined the city ahead of them, and lifted a hand to point to a nearby street. Reluctantly tearing her gaze away from him, Aina looked in the direction he pointed. A group of workers loaded rubble onto the back of a wagon. “It will get better, though. Your plan to work with the Sentinel is a good one, you know. I never thought I’d agree with that, but I also never thought I’d see the entire city bombed. I want this place to have a future.”

  He bit his lower lip for a moment as if holding back what he wanted to say. Then he turned to her and crossed his arms in front of his chest. The movement reminded her so much of Tannis earlier in the day, dread filled her. Of course things weren’t back to normal between them; she’d ruined that.

  “You were right, when you said I’ve been driven by my anger. I focused on that instead of really feeling the pain from my mother’s death, or actually trying to make sense of the guilt I feel because of it,” he said, then took in a deep breath before continuing, as if his next words cost him a great effort. “It made me vengeful and stopped me from having hope about anything for the future, that anything we do makes a difference. Every time you go back to Kohl, you fall down that same self-destructive path, and it looks like you’re going to disappear; lose yourself without ever really having the future you’ve always wanted. I think there’s a way out of this, that the choices we had to make to survive won’t stay with us forever. That we can do better than anyone expects of us—my mother always had faith that I could, and I want to believe I deserve that too. Most of my guilt and my doubts have gone away, but some of my doubts have gotten worse. And it hurts that they’re about you.”

  Her heart twisted at those words, a physical pain in her chest. The guardedness of his eyes drew her toward him. She placed a hand on one of his arms, lightly so that he could move away if he wanted.

  “I’m not keeping anything a secret anymore,” she said. A crease formed in his brow, but a hopeful glint lit up his eyes for a moment, and she wanted to hold it there forever so he would never worry or doubt or fear ever again. “I kept the truth from everyone because I wanted to be able to face him all on my own. I felt like I would look pathetic if everyone knew, but … that’s not true, and you deserved the truth before. I don’t know what will happen after Bautix is dead—if Kohl will try to fight me or not. But whatever happens, I want you on my side.” Her voice went quiet as she spoke, an embarrassed blush creeping up her cheeks. “If you’ll be there.”

  “I don’t know what to think of that, Aina,” he said. “When you told me you didn’t know what you wanted, I believed you. But then you went back to Kohl and hid it from all of us. If I’m going to be at your side, that should be something we both know for sure that we want.”

  He reached out a hand and placed it on her chin, tilting her head up and making her breaths slow and her pulse race. The sun turned his eyes a molten gold that she didn’t look away from. The chaos in the city fell away. Even the Dom disappeared. All she really knew was that she no longer wanted Teo to doubt her.

  Taking his other hand in her own and twining their fingers together, she said, “When we first met, we didn’t know if we could trust each other, but we didn’t leave each other alone. I helped you win a fight when you were outnumbered, and you bandaged my wounds after. We didn’t need each other, but we chose to be there, and from that day on, I knew I could trust you. The last thing I want is for you to lose that trust in me. There’s a lot we both have to be afraid of right now, but I don’t want to be afraid with you.”

  He stepped forward so they were almost touching, his face blocking out the sun so it cast a halo of light around his dark waves of hair. He shifted slightly, and then their shoulders touched. Suddenly they were inches apart, his breath warm on her face. She lifted a hand to cup his jaw and hoped he wouldn’t move away.

  When he didn’t, she whispered, “What do you want, Teo?”

  “The same thing I’ve always wanted,” he said, his eyes flicking to her lips once, so close to his own. “What do you want, Aina?”

  Without wasting another moment, she placed her hands on both sides of his head and pulled him close. But before their lips could touch, he placed a finger lightly on her lips to stop her.

  “I want to trust you, Aina,” he said, his voice almost breaking in a way that made her heart ache. “I wish there were a way you could prove to me that I can.”

  Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to come up with a reply. She wanted to prove it to him—she would. But she didn’t know how.

  “Aina!” a voice called.

  They broke apart, Aina’s heart racing as she
flicked her head around to see who had called her.

  It was Tannis, standing on the ladder rungs that led up to the roof. “Sorry to interrupt!” she said with an apologetic grimace. “We should go to the other tradehouses now.”

  29

  As Aina and Tannis left the second-to-last tradehouse in the warehouse district, they both turned toward the Center, and Aina sensed Tannis’s dread rising too. It had taken all day to convince the other tradehouses to work with the Sentinel, and they’d saved Thunder for last.

  “At least the other ones have agreed to help,” Aina said, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice. “We’ll still be outnumbered against Bautix’s men, but it’s better than nothing.”

  “It’s a good start,” Tannis agreed, nodding slowly as they walked, the setting sun sending red light all around them. “I’m glad they’ll be at the Tower tomorrow night, but I don’t know about asking them to help with Kaiyanis prisoners.” She drew in a deep breath, and Aina turned to look at her, worried she might suggest abandoning the whole plan. But then she said, “There are plenty of politicians who work in the Tower and have assistants and maids there who are actually Kaiyanis Inosen blackmailed into serving them to keep their religion a secret. Mirran and I will find out where they work in the Tower and get them out. We can go in at the same time the tradehouses do, since the Sentinel already knows they’re coming; if Mariya Okubo really wants us to get the Inosen out and to the ports, she’ll tell the guards to leave us alone.”

  Aina bit her lip, trying to hold back her relief from showing on her face. “You’ll be able to figure this all out by tomorrow? Where they all are?”

  “I have my sources,” Tannis said. “I thought I could pretend the past doesn’t exist, but … I don’t want to push it away anymore. Not the memories, not the guilt. And they deserve whatever help they can get.” She straightened, her shoulders back and a new determination glinting in her eyes. “I know we can make Arman listen to us. But we’ll stop Bautix tomorrow with or without Arman’s help.” They walked onward toward the Thunder tradehouse in the Center, and Aina felt a surge of confidence. The challenges that lay between her and Bautix’s defeat suddenly seemed small. When they reached the tradehouse, she knocked out a code on the back door, knowing that nothing Arman said would derail them.