by Brey Willows
“I was lying on my back when a shadow passed over me. I thought I was just blacking out at first, but then it happened again. Right before I passed out I felt someone lift me out of the boat.” She laughed. “When I woke up, I thought I’d died for sure. I was in the softest bed I’d ever been in, and it was high in a tree. When I looked down, I saw people going about life down on the ground, but then I saw that they were also flying from tree to tree. It was…incredible.”
“How were they flying? What do you mean?” Jessa had flown throughout the universe, but she’d never heard of beings who could fly without a ship of some kind.
“Their kind were here before other races came along and spread out. They used to be all over the planet, but when the settlers came, they brought disease and violence. Many of the Volare were killed. They’re peaceful and kind, not really warriors at all. So they retreated to the island they live on today, and they developed a way to keep a permanent fog around it, so it’s never seen by passing ships, though not many go that far off the shipping routes anyway.”
“But how do they fly?” Stories of colonization and native species being inundated by settlers were common conversation pieces on board her ship, particularly among the more educated classes. Jessa hadn’t given much thought to them, other than the fact that it seemed to be the way life worked. Someone always took what someone else had.
Kylin laughed. “They have large pieces of skin that run from the tops of their thighs to their wrists. It’s foldable, so you don’t necessarily notice it until they lift their arms to fly. I guess it’s more like dropping and riding the wind currents. They can’t just lift off from the ground the way a bird can.”
Although they were in a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean on a black night, and although they were running from people who were determined to capture them, Jessa was absurdly glad for this detour. She wanted to see these people, and given that Kylin had been there before, it meant they’d be welcome.
“So, how do we know we won’t pass it by like all the other ships do?” Asol asked, not even a little out of breath at the rowing she was doing.
“Because I know where to look.” Kylin held her hands up in front of Jessa in a pyramid shape. “We’ll see a rock that looks like this. We get close to it, and the fog should be thick beyond it. We’ll stay at the rock, and they’ll find us.”
“And if they don’t?” Jessa asked.
“They will.” Kylin looked up at the stars. “They will.”
* * *
Kylin kept her eyes on the stars and took over rowing when Asol finally looked done in. The stillness of the sea was broken only by the sound of the oars parting the water and caressing the sides of the little boat.
Jessa sat in the bottom, Kylin’s jacket pulled tight around her. She frowned even in her sleep and Kylin wondered what kinds of things filled her dreams. She looked all kinds of cute in Asol’s clothing, which was far too large for her, and something about the V-neck that showed her cleavage was almost sexier than the sheer slave costume she’d had to wear. Asol, too, slept, and Kylin bet her dreams were full of adventure. Though Asol had been glad to accompany them, Kylin felt responsible for her now. Joining them when Kylin was being hunted hadn’t been part of her plan, but now she was stuck with them, which meant her life would be in danger too.
Kylin closed her eyes and sighed. Life had already been complicated enough. Now it was totally upside down. When they got to Quasi… No. She couldn’t think that far ahead. They had to find the Volare first. And she hadn’t been quite truthful about the welcome she expected from them. She’d left in a hurry last time. Before she could ponder those old details, the pyramid shaped rock seemed to come out of nowhere, and she swore as she corrected the boat just in time to keep it from crashing into the old weathered stone. Instead they scraped along it, waking Asol and Jessa with a jolt.
“Sorry.” Kylin looked up at the rock and saw the small caves and ledges the Volare used to teach their young to fly. At the top, she saw the shadow she expected as the lookout left from the rock to fly to the island. She raised her voice and called to the sky.
“I’m Kylin Enderson from Quasi. I’m seeking assistance from the Volare.”
They waited, but there was no immediate answer. Kylin hooked an oar on the rock, effectively anchoring them.
“Now what?” Asol asked, looking at the rock anxiously.
“We wait.” Kylin laid the other oar in the boat. “We won’t find the island unless they come for us. But they will.” Once again, Kylin didn’t mention the possibility they might not want her company again.
Time crawled by and Kylin watched the stars slide across the sky. The first breath of dawn lit the horizon when a shadow made her look up. A tall, thin figure was backlit so she couldn’t make out their features, but there was no question they weren’t built like ordinary people as their wings blocked out the light.
Asol and Jessa moved closer together.
“Take this.” The figure threw the end of a rope to Kylin, who tied it to the boat without being told.
The figure turned away and climbed higher on the rock, then leapt from it, the other end of the rope in their hand.
Kylin heard Jessa gasp and Asol swear softly. She remembered just how awestruck she’d been the first time she’d seen it happen. These creatures were myths and to see them in person was astounding.
The boat moved slowly into the mist and Jessa’s leg pressed against hers. She pressed back, strangely glad to be sharing this moment with her. The fog lifted like a curtain, and once again, she heard her companions react.
“Welcome to Volare,” she said, smiling as she remembered the first time she’d seen it.
“It’s like something out of a children’s story,” Jessa said, her eyes wide.
“Or a pirate’s.” Asol leaned forward, clearly trying to take it all in.
Kylin thought it could be both. Brightly colored birds of all shapes and sizes filled the air. Rose, purple, sky blue, and onyx crystals lined the shore and distant hills, causing the sun to scatter into rainbows across the sky and land.
“So, did you say we’d be welcome?”
Asol’s tone made Kylin focus, and it definitely wasn’t rainbows she saw.
Instead, a group of Volare waited at the dock, and one in particular looked less than welcoming. Kylin remembered him well. As she did the woman beside him.
The boat bumped into the dock and the rope was quickly tied off. She got out and helped Jessa and Asol out of the boat before she took a deep breath and faced their welcoming group.
“Tulvia te Suow, it’s good to see you again. Thank you—”
“You’ve got the udders of a prowler to show up here again.” He crossed his arms and glared at her. “I told you not to come back.”
Kylin winced. “You did. I’m sorry, we had no choice.”
He grunted when the woman beside him pushed past him and held out her arms. “Personally, I’d say you’re very welcome, Kylin Enderson.”
Kylin breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into her embrace, resting her forehead against hers for a moment before she turned to Jessa and Asol.
“This is Fina te Suow and her father, the leader of the Volare, Tulvia te Suow.” She felt Fina’s arm slide around her waist and saw the flicker of annoyance in Jessa’s eyes that nearly made her laugh out loud. No matter what was or wasn’t between them, reading a woman’s emotions when it came to other women was something Kylin was exceptionally good at. “And this is Captain Jessa Arabelle and our…” She hesitated, unsure how to refer to the young woman who had thrown her lot in with them now that the charade was over. “Asol. She’s traveling with us to Quasi.”
Asol’s eyebrow lifted and she grinned. “Nice to meet you.”
Fina tilted her head and looked at Jessa. “Not a captain from our world, I don’t think, no matter how you’re dressed.” She turned to Kylin. “It sounds like you have much to tell us. Let’s get you settled in the main hall and you can
have roosting hour.” She motioned toward two others waiting nearby. “Please take their things to the hall.”
She turned and walked away, and her father simply huffed and walked away beside her. Kylin smiled as the group passed through rainbow after rainbow. She dropped back to walk beside Jessa. “You okay?”
Jessa glanced at her before turning back to the landscape. “I realize I’m not entitled in any way to information about your past…”
“But you’d like to know what that was about.” Kylin was surprised she’d asked so soon, given her feelings about not intruding on people’s personal lives.
Asol came up beside them. “I definitely want to know, entitled to it or not.”
Asol’s grin suggested she’d already figured a little out, but Jessa looked puzzled.
Kylin kept her voice low. “Remember the story of how I ended up here?” They both nodded. “Well, I was a wild kid. I was also insanely curious and a big fan of pretty women. Fina was my age, and we hit it off right away. Her dad wasn’t crazy about her having a mainlander friend, but he went with it. The princess doesn’t have a lot of friends here. It’s very rigidly structured.” She felt that old flush of excitement and desire when she thought of the many ways they’d found to explore who they were. “Until the day he walked in and found us going at it on his throne.”
Jessa and Asol laughed and Fina looked over her shoulder and winked like she knew the story Kylin was telling.
“He got me on a boat headed home within about two hours. There was lots of stuff about ruining the princess and disrespecting the throne.” Kylin shrugged and grinned. “Totally worth it.” She sobered, remembering the long, quiet boat ride home. “But it meant knowing I’d never see her again.” She shook off the old memories like sand from Thalla. “Funny how life works.”
“Funny.” Jessa’s frown line was back and her tone was pensive.
Kylin wasn’t sure how to read the deeper parts of Jessa yet, but when Asol shook her head and gave her a good-natured smile, she figured it had something to do with the way women often dealt with her. But then, why would Jessa be jealous of a lover from so long ago? Why would she be jealous at all?
Chapter Thirteen
Jessa couldn’t take it all in fast enough, and her thoughts whirled and spun away before she could shake any sense from them.
The people were tall and lithe, their faces long and their eyes round with varying shades of iris. As they made their way deeper into the island, through thriving woodland and over lush grass, she concentrated on the sounds she was hearing. Although there were plenty of words she understood, there were also clicks and trills, a range she couldn’t comprehend.
Children ran alongside them, jumping from high rocks and spreading their arms in little bursts of flight. Thanks to the loose, thin shifts they wore Jessa couldn’t see the wings Kylin had spoken of, nor did she want to stare and seem intrusive. But when they got to a more crowded area she stopped walking, making Asol bump into her from behind.
The trees were full of massive nest type structures. They were round and made of what looked like branches and twigs, but instead of being open to the sky they were enclosed except for open windows. Wooden walkways connected some of the structures, and as Jessa watched someone flew from one tree to another, landing gracefully in front of the door.
“It’s really something, isn’t it?” Asol said softly. “Wonder what the crystals are for.”
Jessa hadn’t given them any thought, other than for their beauty, but now she saw that each house had at least one large crystal poking from the side. For the first time in her life, she wanted to ask questions, to understand people and their way of living. On the ship, other cultures, other lives, were simply conceptual. Sure, she had to deal with passengers and their needs, and she’d picked up information here and there from those interactions, but she was coming to realize that there was only so much words or infograms could convey. Being in a place and breathing it in made it altogether something else.
They followed the leaders of the Volare through what looked like a door built into a tree easily the size of her ship, and once again she was stunned by the beauty around her. Platforms and rooms went up the branches as far as she could see, all arranged around a middle area with nest type seats on a raised stage. Plenty of Volare were already on the platforms or in the little rooms, and there was an expectant hush as they entered, which was quickly replaced by loud conversation when they left the open space and entered a series of larger rooms off to the side.
Tulvia turned to face them, still scowling at Kylin. “Your room is there. I’m putting all three of you in the same room so we can keep an eye on you. I won’t have the same…disruption in my home again. Though Fina is married now, as she should be.”
Jessa wondered what the brief flash of emotion in Kylin’s eyes meant, and she nearly smiled at the way she blushed and ducked her head in acknowledgement, but she figured it would be bad form to laugh at his indignation.
Fina shook her head and gave Kylin’s arm a squeeze. “I’m looking forward to catching up. You can refresh yourselves, and we’ll see you in an hour for roosting time.” Her expression was gentle, her smile kind. “I’m glad you’ve come back.”
If emotions were physical things, Jessa could have grabbed hers and stomped on them to deal with them. But they weren’t, and so the jealousy that flared through her and made her want to grab Kylin and press against her, claiming her, was something out of her control. She wouldn’t analyze it right now, though. It could wait, and when Fina left, she found she could breathe a little easier.
Kylin sat on the bed and motioned at the other two. “You’ll be amazed at how soft they are. We don’t have anything like this on land. They’re stuffed with the petals of a plant that grows only here.”
Asol flopped backward and moaned. “Can we take a mattress with us when we go?”
Kylin laughed. “It’s not something I had time to ask before. Maybe this time we can.”
Jessa wandered around the room, touching the branches and small green shoots in the walls. At another door, she found what she guessed was a bathroom. She looked over her shoulder at Kylin, who nodded.
“The tree absorbs whatever you put in and takes it directly back into the soil. The shower is stored rainwater.”
It was ingenious as well as beautiful. Asol jumped up and moved to Jessa’s side. She whistled. “Think it would be okay if I washed the sea off?”
Kylin nodded. “Go for it.”
Asol was already tugging off her shirt, and Jessa turned away but not before she saw the long, angry scars on Asol’s back.
“No complaints here.” She closed the door behind her.
Jessa sat on her own bed, confused. “Her back…” She wasn’t sure what else to say.
Kylin sighed. “She’s free, but she’s also an orphan. It’s amazing she didn’t end up in a slaver’s net, but she must have come across a bad master or two.”
The thought was nauseating. “But why would anyone do that to a child?”
Kylin’s expression was hard to read. “Not everything is perfect like it is on Othrys. Most planets have injustice, and the weak and young are easy pickings. The rest of us get by as best we can, and most of us don’t make it through without a few scars.”
She was rubbing at the mark on her hand, and Jessa wondered if she even knew she was doing it. “Can I ask what yours means?” This world was making it so she asked questions she’d never dream of asking if she was aboard ship, but then, it was imperative she understand her surroundings. At least, that was an acceptable excuse, though she knew deep down it wasn’t entirely accurate.
Kylin looked down at it, seemingly surprised that she was rubbing it. “I was scrounging in a part of the city I shouldn’t have been in. People don’t like you going through their trash, even if they don’t want it. I found a piece of jewelry, something that didn’t look like it should have been thrown out. I figured it had to be a mistake. So I took it up
to the house.” Her eyes were hard and far away as she retold the story. “When the lady answered, I showed it to her, said I found it in the trash. She dragged me inside and called the police. Told them I’d stolen it and was trying to get a reward for something I took.”
“That’s barbaric.” Jessa could picture young Kylin, trying to do the right thing, trapped in a situation of her own making.
“Yeah, well, when the police came I explained and even though I think one of them believed me, the lady insisted something be done. So they agreed to brand me.” She closed her eyes, her voice soft. “It shows people that I’m a scrounger who isn’t above theft. It means they keep a closer eye on me and anyone with a good reputation won’t trade with me.”
Unable to keep her distance, Jessa knelt in front of Kylin and stroked the mark that looked like a tool with a cross through it. When Kylin shivered, she looked up into her eyes and saw the pain of the memory had been replaced with something else…something that made her close her eyes and lean up—
“That shower is the best thing since Thrallish silk.” Asol came out wiping water from her face with a green towel but stopped when she saw them. “Sorry. Always bad timing.”
Kylin smiled down at Jessa and gently pulled her hand from Jessa’s. “Or the right timing, depending on what direction you’re looking from.”
Jessa flushed, stung at the thought of being something to avoid, and moved past Asol. “I’ll shower now as well.”
She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. What was she thinking? Was it just the outlaw persona that attracted her? Or was it the vulnerability? Whatever it was, the situation was already difficult enough without adding something personal into the mix. And then there was Fina, and Jessa knew enough to know that whatever Kylin felt for the flying princess wasn’t gone, at least not completely. Why did that make her feel so insecure? She’d be leaving this planet as soon as possible, and to be jealous of a woman like Fina was illogical. She was Kylin’s past, and even if she were Kylin’s future, too, Jessa had no say in it.
