by Nicole Adamz
I screamed, and the world dimmed again. When the excruciating pain subsided, I sniveled and inspected the damage. My hand thrummed with agony. The skin was ravaged; charred, blistered, raw, and bleeding. In some places, I could see bone.
I hitched a breath on a wail, squelching it to a whimper that made me jerk beneath Heir Talon’s heavy body. I pushed with my good hand until his heavy weight shifted, slipping to the side. I lay there, stunned and terrified. Did I kill him? His ragged breathing ruffled the curls plastered to my sweaty forehead, and loathing poured over me. No, he’s breathing. A prick of disappointment filled me.
I sat up. My broken feathers were strewn on the floor like straw. Using my teeth, I tied my tunic into a lumpy knot at my waist. It was a frustrating task, but I managed it. This should last until we return to Ascension. My thoughts turned to Maewyn and panic shot through me, followed by steely wrath—and something darker. With a last, wary look at Heir Talon’s bloody form, I grabbed the cooled urn in my good hand and marched into the haze.
∞ ∞ ∞
Furniture bit my legs in protest when I bumped into it while navigating the building. Feeling woozy, I paused and shook my head. A tiny giggle swam past my ears, and I staggered toward it. Shallow breaths, shallow. If I succumb, they’ll win. They’ll get what they want and leave me and Maewyn broken—or worse.
“Again?” Maewyn’s voice tinkled through the misty air. Fear fueled me onward.
Another giggle reached my ears, and I fanned the smoke away from my watering eyes. Twisting shadows danced in the hazy smoke, dissipating when I blinked. Stumbling into a room, I looked around. Two twisting, blurred figures swam in and out of my vision. The same thick, sweet smoke was present here, but I saw what was happening—and wished I didn’t.
Disgust and resentment boiled over, spilling into my veins. I dove across the room, swinging the urn at Davin’s head. One hard blow to the back of his skull made him collapse. Maewyn’s giggles stopped, and she blinked owlishly. I pushed Davin off her, satisfied at the solid thud when he fell to the floor.
Confusion wrinkled Maewyn’s pliant face. “Ari?” she said, propping herself on her elbows.
I averted my eyes, resentment lurking darkly in my thoughts. Executing a quick search, I didn’t find her clothes. They’re probably in a different room. Maewyn hadn’t moved but didn’t resist when I tucked the urn beneath my arm and roughly pulled her up, quickly tying a sheet around her.
Skies! Where are her clothes? I glared at her. Maewyn placidly stood where I’d left her, disheveled and dull. Davin moaned. Time was not on our side. We must leave. Now! Foregoing the sheet, I yanked Maewyn from the room.
“Ari,” Maewyn protested, “What are you doing? Davin and I were havin’ fun,” Her words were slurred and puzzled.
Ignoring her, I firmly gripped her arm with my uninjured hand. Pressing the urn against my side, I clenched my jaw at the agony tearing through my body, my wounds protesting at the pace I set. My mind sprouted fuzz, the room blurring and tilting while Maewyn tried to shake off my grasp. Please, True One, help us get out.
When we stumbled to the front of the building, Maewyn’s diamond necklace fell cheaply to the floor. I paused when a guttural groan filled the room, making my pulse jump. Grabbing our cloaks, I shoved Maewyn into the street. The door slammed closed, and the gloom of Larrikin swallowed us. Despite the freezing temperature, the frigid winds couldn’t blow away the stench belonging to this part of Summit.
Mold and rot filled the air, but it felt as crisp and clean as the skies above when I breathed in mouthfuls of the odious surroundings. Safe, I thought, but not far enough away. A chill ran through me. Maewyn shivered, covered in gooseflesh. It was perturbing to see her so vulnerable, but the stream of icy wetness slapping against my face was worse. It’s snowing, I thought dismally.
Covering Maewyn with her cloak, I pulled her along the snow-covered street while I attempted to cover myself. My reluctance to release the urn made it difficult. Giving up, I draped my cloak over my shoulders.
Maewyn drew in a breath, wrinkling her nose. “Why did we leave? It smelled better in there, and I didn’t want to leave,” she whined.
Rage, clean and sharp, raced through my veins. Her slurred words informed me she was still under the effects of whatever burned herb had been used to drug us, but it didn’t stop the fury thrumming through me. My teeth clacked together, clenched tightly against my wrath and the freezing cold. The darkness inside bulked and roiled, threatening to lash out at Maewyn, so I pushed her down the street.
Taking a deep breath, I considered alternate routes to Ascension. Thick, wet snow plastered my hair to my head. We can’t fly back in this weather. The snow is so thick it’s hard to see, and the ice will be worse in the skies. We’ll have to walk most of the way back unless we can find somewhere to stay the night.
Maewyn’s silk purse came to mind as we rounded the first corner. It had disappeared somewhere in the building with Davin. Who knows how much dosh was in it? Please, True One, let it be a small amount. I yanked Maewyn in front of me angrily and stared at her.
“Ouch! You’re hurting me! Davin wasn’t this mean to me, Ari,” Maewyn pouted. I ignored her, focusing on her vacant eyes.
My shoulders slumped. There was no retrieving that bag, so we would have to walk back. Pulling Maewyn behind me, I trudged through the falling snow, past the doorway where I’d seen the Warder. This part of the city scared me, but I was determined to leave it behind. I tightened my grip on Maewyn’s forearm and kept moving.
Time slowed. Maewyn’s whining finally ceased, but when she stumbled, I looked back. Her eyes had regained some clarity but when she faltered again, I looked at her feet. She didn’t have shoes. Her slippers wouldn’t have lasted in this weather, but they would’ve been better than nothing.
I swallowed, knowing I would suffer for my choice. My boots clunked loudly on the frozen ground when I placed them in front of Maewyn. She stared at them, realization slowly dawning.
“Ari, I—” she began, but I turned away, unwilling to listen to any excuse she might give.
Our progress slowed after Maewyn slipped the large boots on her petite feet. I bit my lip. A part of me regretted their loss. They’re better than nothing. I’ve got my wool socks. The heavy material was soaked, freezing in the cold, and sticking to my feet. The snow had driven most people indoors, except for a few immobile bodies. I ignored them, and the pang of guilt saying they were probably dead. There’s nothing I can do for them.
Larrikin didn’t have orderly sections like other Holdings, making it a haphazard maze. Buildings sprouted from the ground where they pleased, making it hard to determine where we were. Everything was murky, creating an endless loop of sameness. Clenching my chattering teeth, I placed a hand on the wall hoping it would lead to the archway of the Private Holding. Finally, I found a large fissure. Bits of stone and dirt formed piles of rubble in front of the narrow opening.
I didn’t know where we were, or where it would lead, but it was an opening and I took it. We stumbled through, and the icy mud roads of Larrikin were exchanged for an abyss of dull yellow green stretching as far as the eye could see. I almost cried. Nowhere. The only opening I’d found led nowhere.
I stretched my stiff wings beneath my cloak, trying to work some feeling into them. I don’t know whether moving them or keeping them closed is better in this weather, I thought crossly. Moving them wastes energy but they’re freezing.
“Ugh, this is ridiculous!” Maewyn whined through chattering teeth, “We should have found an inn and stayed there for the night.”
It was the first sensible thing she’d said since we’d left Ascension. The drug finally wore off. My anger returned, fresh and hot, a welcome source of warmth in the bitter cold. I turned, sweeping my hand toward Larrikin with a caustic smile. If you think you can do better, be my guest, I thought sarcastically.
Maewyn’s lips thinned and she shivered, “Fine. Lead the way, but I hope we end up so
mewhere warm and dry.”
I gnashed my teeth at her haughty attitude but controlled my temper. It wouldn’t do any good to be angry when my energy was better spent toward something productive—like finding shelter. Surely the hole was an exit to... somewhere.
However, it wasn’t a sanctioned archway and that worried me. But it’s away from Larrikin. I jerked my thumb at the field and we trudged forward. Weaving through the tall, yellow green stalks, I ignored the whipping stings to my exposed skin. Minute cuts smarted mercilessly when the icy snow slithered on them, and my feet were raw and numb; hurting in a way I couldn’t feel anymore. We were in the middle of nowhere, but I wouldn’t admit defeat.
Maewyn shivered silently, her teeth rattling like glass near fledglings. I stopped, and her small form bumped into me, huddling close for warmth. Pity superseded my ire when I looked at her bedraggled form. Her cloak was soaked, so I gave her mine. It wasn’t dryer, but it was another layer against the snow. Maewyn didn’t protest.
At least I have clothes. If her wings get soaked, she could get sick. I tugged my wool vest closed, hunching in on myself and covering my ragged tunic. Big green eyes stared into mine, full of remorse and something I couldn’t name. Maybe it would have been safer to stay in Larrikin. But where? The urge to turn back crossed my mind again and again.
Despite my doubts, I moved forward, and we finally lurched free of the field. The land leveled into plains of dead grass. That was it. I choked on a sob. Everything hurts. I don’t know how much further I can go. Maewyn tripped, wincing.
Neither of us were used to walking this much, but Maewyn hadn’t complained since we left Larrikin. There’s a further distance to go back than there is to go forward, I told myself. And we don’t even know where back is right now. We teetered where we stood, and I blearily watched a dark, shrouded figure loom out of the white snow. Shrinking back, I clutched the urn tightly.
Chapter 28
Maewyn
“ARI?” A VOICE SAID HESITANTLY.
Niles? A glimmer of joy leapt through the dull misery seizing my mind, and I peered around Ari’s wings. Through the heavy snow, Niles’s form solidified.
“It is you! What are you doing here?” he asked in alarm.
Ari swayed, dropping the urn. My mind shied away from the reason we were here, pushing away from what had happened. Things I hadn’t known would happen—not really. But I knew they were a possibility. I shrank away from the thought shamefully.
“Whoa, chipmunk! You look like you need two strong drinks and a bed,” Niles quipped anxiously. Ari’s solid form crumpled, and Niles lifted her effortlessly into his arms.
Surprised, I stared at Niles. His soaked hood mingled with the stray clumps of hair clinging to his face. Worry, tinged with fear, etched his face as he looked down at Ari’s still figure. The thrilling kisses we’d shared in the dim hallway of the Ward Station—promising so much more—flashed through my mind. Niles…the man I don’t get to choose. Bitterness pressed against my heart. Despite her ugliness, does Ari get to have him?
I shivered at the cold wind sneaking through the two cloaks, pressing against my exposed skin. How could everything go so wrong? Concern and dismay colored Niles’s face before his eyes hardened. Numb, I hated that Niles wasn’t holding me. That I wasn’t the one receiving warmth from his arms. I staggered, placing a shaking hand on his arm.
Niles silently glanced at me before cupping his mouth and letting out a shrill cry. Six cloaked figures bloomed like onyx flowers, awaiting Niles’s command. I shrank behind him, clinging to his figure. The protective arm I expected never came. It was too busy holding Ari.
“Gilly and Janson, take Ari back to Ward Three. Put her in my room. Give Maewyn a change of clothing and something warm to eat. I want the perimeter search completed before the rest of you return,” Niles said.
He transferred Ari into the waiting arms of one of his men, and the rest saluted smartly before peeling away, eaten by the relentless snow before they’d taken more than a few steps. I hunched next to Niles, tightening the sheet and two cloaks around me. Despite them, the cold gnawed at my bones, and I couldn’t stop shivering.
Niles finally slid his arms around me, pressing me into his broad chest. He said nothing while he walked. The warm mist of his breath softly warmed my cheek while I curled against him. A soft sigh escaped me, and I tucked my head beneath his chin.
“What happened?” Niles huffed gruffly, briskly walking to catch up with his comrades.
I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it. Not wanting it to come to light—but it would. My family would ask, and if I didn’t give them answers they would find them. When they did, I would be punished. I had not been with the Heir—Ari had.
I pushed it from my mind, not wanting to worry about it right now. Instead, I burrowed against Niles’s chest, letting a happy spark suffuse me at being in his arms. They were an anchor against the despair threatening to consume me, and the soft crunch of frozen grass was oddly comforting.
Ward Station Three, Ward Three for short, was located more than a mile from where we were discovered. The Warders took the indoor stairwell entrance built for emergency weather situations, and Ari was quickly trundled into Niles’s quarters. I tried clinging to him, but he firmly and gently deposited me on a bench in front of a banked fireplace before walking to his room and closing the door.
Janson stoked the fire to life, adding more wood while Gilly prepared gruel for everyone’s return. Both spoke while the warmth of the fire thawed the stiffness from my limbs. During their chatter, I was informed Ari and I had could have walked straight through the Ward Barrier and were lucky they’d discovered us. The question of why we were so close to the Barrier hung in the air, but I chose not to answer.
“You don’t want to go past the Barrier, Caelum,” Janson said, noting the marks on my hands, “you’d be ill prepared for the dangers on the other side—especially in your current condition. You’d likely be eaten by wolves if you didn’t die of exhaustion first.”
Two, I thought apprehensively, there were two wolves, and Ari fought them by herself. She saved me…or thinks she did. She should have left me there, I thought bleakly, I’m sure I could have become Heir Talon’s Mate-Bond.
“And then you’d be pecked clean by ravens afterward,” Gilly merrily finished, emulating a pecking bird with one hand while stirring a large pot.
I had stopped listening to Gilly, but a meek nod satisfied him. For a while, crackling embers were the only noise. Niles hasn’t come out of the room. Is Ari informing him of everything that happened? I swallowed hard. What will he think of me? Glancing at me, Janson admonished Gilly.
“Don’t say such things to a lady, Gilly,” Janson said.
“What’d I say?” Gilly said defensively, “It’s not any different than being eaten by wolves. In fact, it’s better! You’re not pecked at by ravens unless you’re already dead. Can’t feel a thing then, but wolves are mean. They’ll eat you alive. Besides,” Gilly continued, “she’s not a lady. She’s a Caelum—totally different.”
“How’s that different?” Janson argued, “She’s still a woman as far as I can tell.”
Gilly shrugged indifferently, stirring the pot of gruel faster. “Just is,” he said.
Gilly turned away from Janson, unwilling to argue further. Niles opened the door to his private chamber, a sense of urgency to the sound. The harshness of his boots in the soft silence made me wince. Niles’s body was rigid as he walked to the fire, throwing Ari’s tunic into it. It sizzled and smoked, almost smothering the fire before it burned. The rest of the clothing in his hands was sodden.
“Get me bandages and a bowl of hot water. Now.” Niles barked at Janson.
Janson scrambled to follow the orders, and Niles carefully spread the reminder of Ari’s clothing over a bench to dry. I counted them; socks, leggings, and a woolen vest. All of it soaked from the snow. Why would Niles burn Ari’s tunic?
He stalked to a door, roughly opened
it, and disappeared. I barely glimpsed a row of simple wooden beds before he returned. A folded green uniform was roughly laid on the table in front of me. I forgot I’m undressed, I thought faintly. A shudder passed through me at Niles’s cold silence, and my hands tightly clenched the two cloaks together. Niles stomped to his room, closing the door.
Janson returned, and his gentle knock was abruptly answered by Niles. They exchanged a whispered conversation. Before he closed the door, Niles stared at me. His gaze was pointed, questioning, and furious.
Gilly set wooden bowls and spoons along the table, evenly spacing them for the number of Warders. “Sorry, Caelum,” he said, “but you might want to change before the other men get back. You can use the barracks room, or the supply room. Not much space in either, but there’s more privacy than there is in here.”
Gilly gave a pointed look at my legs, which were showing their bare length where the sheet and cloaks had opened. I nodded tiredly, fumbled with the clothing, and hobbled through the barracks door. I slumped against it. Is Niles mad at me?
I sluggishly removed the large boots Ari had given me. Despite the protection, my feet were pink and tingly. Niles’s command for bandages and hot water flashed into my mind. The realization that Ari had nothing but socks on her feet for most of the trek was slow to dawn. Is that why he needed them? Ari didn’t hesitate to give me her boots to walk in.
My mind grappled with her loyalty despite my manipulation. Davin made it sound like something fun, and a way for me to get to know Heir Talon. Instead he…my mind shut the thought down.
I found a bowl of cold water and a dry cloth on a nightstand between the beds and quickly washed. The sweet smell clinging to my skin was sloughed off, but I couldn’t do anything about the scent in my hair. I braided it loosely, keeping the smell out of my face, and put the ill-fitting uniform on.
When I exited the room, the other Warders were filing in. I felt like a fledgling playing pretend. My sleeves were rolled up multiple times, I’d found a belt to cinch the rest of it in place, and Ari’s oversized boots had gone back on my feet. I kept my head down, shuffling to the table. The other Warders didn’t utter a word. They walked to their barracks, shed their damp cloaks, and took their seats. The last one to arrive was surprisingly dry, and I learned he’d been keeping watch at the top of the Tower.
