Academy of Falling Kingdoms Box Set

by Marisa Mills

  “I came back for you,” I said, though when Sterling’s cool gaze turned skeptical, I sighed.

  “And we’re looking for Dorian,” I said. “What Gabriel said, is it true? Did you see him?”

  “Dorian and some other mages came through a while back,” Briar said. “They were talking about going through the subway system to catch—uh—the other Float by surprise.”

  “Did Dorian look well?” Viviane asked.

  Sterling nodded. “Looked fine to me. That’s been…a while, though. I ain’t got no clue what happened to those mages after that, and a lot of the tunnels caved in when the sky fell.”

  Viviane’s face paled. I knew Sterling was just talking about the large boulders that dropped during the last earthquake. They didn’t know yet it could be so much worse.

  “How’s your mom?” I asked, thinking about Dorian’s cryptic message.

  “Tough as a nail,” Sterling said, “though not as sharp.”

  “What we really need,” Alexander cut in, “is a way to get to Aubade.”

  “Aubade?” Briar asked.

  “The other Float,” I clarified. “We think Dorian was heading there, and… it’s where Jessa comes from. Have you ever been that far? Do you know the way?”

  Sterling nodded and stood. “Well enough,” he said, “if that’s what y’all need to do, I can take you. Lemme just grab some supplies, and we’ll go. Best we don’t linger. Gabriel’s men will grow some balls soon and come back to scavenge.”

  Briar climbed to his feet and pushed his shaggy hair back from his eyes. He frowned and looked like he wanted to say something, but he took a deep breath and left the room. I followed him down the hall. He lingered in the hall before going through Gabriel’s bedroom. He pulled aside a brick and emptied a small stash of coins, before lifting a lamp to reveal a glittering pile of jewelry. I didn’t have the heart to tell him it probably wasn’t worth very much.

  He nodded, stuffing a change of clothes into his bag. I roused Jessa and she stretched. She was wearing a dark, rough sweater Sterling must have given her, maybe one of my old ones, but I could see the deep purple bruising that stretched from her neck to her wrists through the holes in the thin material. The sun was overhead now and the day was warming quickly, which made the old station ripe with stench. It was a relief to get back outside.

  Sterling pulled his pack onto his shoulder, and turned around without another glance. Briar grabbed his pack and followed. Almost like the old days when we’d all gone scavenging together. I stood and rocked back on my heels. Even though everything was destroyed, I couldn’t believe how quickly they were ready to move on. I stopped abruptly at the sight of Gabriel’s body, covered in blood.

  I bit my lip and let my eyes wander over Gabriel’s corpse, thrown carelessly onto the ground in the middle of the rubble. As carelessly as my classmates’ bodies had been strewn about by the demons in Reverie. I thought I might vomit.

  “Should we say something?” Tatiana asked. “It doesn’t feel right to just, leave him here like this.”

  “I dunno,” Sterling said. “I guess so.” He uncorked the bottle of alcohol and took a long swig, then poured it liberally over Gabriel’s body. Viviane eyed the bottle greedily, almost as if pained at the waste, but she didn’t say anything.

  “You want to do the honors?” Sterling asked, nodding towards my sword. “That is, if there’s still any juice in that thing?”

  “Lucian?” I called. I felt a ripple of movement as the demon coiled around me, then warmth on my fingertips as his fire licked my palm. I bent down and placed my hand on Gabriel’s chest. Hot blue flames fed on the alcohol, sending up thick waves of dark, foul smoke.

  Alexander stood first, his blue eyes sweeping over us. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  Sterling stepped past Gabriel, squaring his shoulder. I took a deep breath and followed.

  “It ain’t far to the woods,” Briar called over his shoulder. Tatiana held back to help Jessa, though she was walking on her own now her legs seemed stiff and I knew she was in pain. We headed out across the broken concrete and headed south. Sterling and Briar led the way. I followed, occasionally catching Alexander’s comments as he asked Sterling for details about the flora and fauna. The last time we were here, Alexander complained nonstop. It wasn’t really his fault. He’d been unaccustomed to the bleakness of the Scraps or the unevenness of the forests, but now, he seemed to—at least—be genuinely interested.

  Probably because he doesn’t trust Sterling not to abandon us in the woods, Lucian said, stirring from the sword. I was wearing Dorian’s strapped across the opposite thigh. I needed two thick belts to carry them both, but they didn’t impede my legs too much. Someday I’d have to ask Delacroix how to wield two sabers at the same time.

  “Are we going to talk about the fact that Sterling is missing a finger?” Viviane whispered, coming up alongside me.

  “He was caught stealing,” I said with a pang of guilt. “He was trying to save me from Dorian.”

  “How tragic,” Viviane murmured, her voice solemn.

  “So, no,” I said. “We are not going to talk about it.”

  I quickened my pace and caught up with Briar. We walked in silence for a few minutes, then during a long stretch of woods, with the sun filtering down through the tall pine forests, he glanced at me with a sad smile.

  “I guess I ain’t really your brother anymore, am I?”

  “You’ll always be my little brother,” I said, putting an arm over his shoulder. I laughed when he had to duck down to match my height.

  “And you’ll always be little, sister.” I shoved him away and his grin grew more natural. It felt like an eternity since I’d seen him last, but at least his smile hadn’t changed. Briar was really here and alive, and he’d no longer have to worry about Gabriel.

  “Will your mage uncle be all right with that?” Briar asked. “Sharing you with us heathens I mean?”

  “I don’t think he’d care too much,” I replied. “He’s a bit of a heathen himself. Oh, and he’s going to give me an apartment in Argent, for you and me, and even Sterling and Claribel.”

  “Guess I gotta quit calling him a sorry son of a bitch now, huh?” Sterling asked, over his shoulder.

  “Knowing Dorian, he’d probably be amused,” I said. “He wasn’t fond of his mother.”

  “So you don’t…hate him?” Sterling asked, turning to meet my eyes. “For doing all this to you?”

  “It’s difficult to explain,” I said. Sterling handed me a leather pouch with water and I took a long sip before answering. “I think if I’d been in Viviane’s place and grown up with him as my uncle, I’d probably adore him. I do hate him sometimes, I think. But now that he’s been gone, I also miss him, and I didn’t expect that.”

  “He came and talked to Mom,” Sterling said after a few seconds. “Drew these symbol on her and said it’d make her better.”

  “Was that before or after you insulted him?” I asked.

  Sterling grinned. “After. It seems to be working, too. She still ain’t able to do much, but she gets around more.”

  We’d cut through the woods to avoid the worst of the Scraps, but climbed back under the wall towards Claribel’s house. It was normally a ten minute walk, but in our condition we couldn’t afford another fight. It took us nearly thirty, but finally I recognized the familiar path towards the little shack where Claribel lived. While still connected to Plumba, its back half led right out into a grove of maple trees and a small meadow. It wasn’t much to look at, just a small roofed hallway with open ends, covered by plywood and scraps of fabric, but some of my fondest memories were made here, falling asleep on a pile of straw and goose feathers with Briar on my lap, and Sterling’s arms around me, as Claribel read to us by candlelight.

  She was the closest thing I’d ever had to a mom, though I didn’t get to see her much once Gabriel decided I needed to start bringing in more coin. She’d been sick f
or over a year now, and I couldn’t wait to see her well again. Plus, Sterling told me that Dorian had visited recently. Maybe she’d know more about where he went.

  I hurried past Sterling and darted into the ramshackle, concrete structure. One corner was filled with scraps of colored fabrics. When I entered, a woman—her brown hair streaked with white—looked up from the shirt she was repairing.

  “Claribel!” I exclaimed.

  Her cold blue eyes widened, and then she smiled. Her face had lost some of its gauntness and regained some color. A faded sigil shimmered against her wrist. Dorian’s handiwork.

  “Wynter!” she exclaimed. In an instant, she was on her feet. I hugged her, my fingers digging into the back of her jacket. She smelled of basil and cloves.

  “I missed you,” I murmured.

  “I missed you, too,” Claribel said, cupping my face. Then she froze, looking over at our bloody, dirty clothes. After the harrowing ride down from Reverie and the fight with my uncle’s men, we were stumbling on our feet, but there wasn’t room for all of us even to stand in Claribel’s house.

  “Gabriel’s dead,” Sterling said, pushing past her into the house. He pulled out a stack of short stools and gestured us inside. Alexander had to stoop through the entrance, Briar nearly did too. Claribel’s eyes widened.

  “I killed him,” I said, lowering my eyes.

  ***

  She took a sharp breath, before placing her hands on my shoulders.

  “Of course you did, dear,” she said, passing out glasses of boiled water. “I told that man years ago this wouldn’t end well.” She blushed suddenly, “as a matter of fact, I think I cursed him, back when I was playing around with such things. So if anyone killed him, it was me. Now, what do you need?”

  “My friends and I need passage through the forests,” I said. “To Aubade. But we’re looking for Dorian, I thought he left a message that he was coming this way, did you see him?”

  “He did pass through here,” Claribel said, pulling a letter from behind a crack in the pantry. “Looked well enough when I saw him, though something was wrong with his eye.”

  “That happened earlier,” I said.

  “I kind of maimed him,” Tatiana said. “But it was an accident.”

  “Knowing that man, he probably deserved it,” Claribel smirked. There was something knowing and naughty in her eyes. She handed me the letter and I unfolded the corners.

  I’m supposed to go and destroy Aubade.

  But after discussing the type of man I want to be with my niece,

  I’m not sure I can go through with it, which means I may not return.

  I knew the king was intercepting message.

  Stay away from falling continents.

  Do not follow me.

  – Dorian

  “That’s it?” I asked, showing the letter to the others. Viviane brought it into the light, no doubt looking for hidden messages. We’d come all this way for nothing.

  “It doesn’t change anything,” Alexander said. “He probably wrote that before facing Gabriel or Celeste.”

  “I have his sword,” I said. “And, we discovered the portal dance. And Gabriel said Celeste took him prisoner—he needs our help!”

  “Well then, I suppose you’ll need Sterling to guide you,” Claribel’s eyes narrowed. “And I’m coming with you.”

  Sterling and I stood at the same time.

  “That’s not necessary,” Alexander said, frowning.

  “Nonsense,” Claribel said. “I haven’t felt this good in years, and it’s thanks to that handsome mage of yours. If you’re going to help him, I suppose someone ought to come to look after you. Besides, without a queen bee to lead the hive, the hornets will start stinging everyone. Are you really going to leave me here alone with Gabriel’s brutes now that he’s not here to lead them?”

  I sighed, but when no one else objected she smiled.

  “Let me just grab a few things,” she said. Viviane’s green eyes met mine. Then she carefully crossed the broken floor, joining Claribel in the makeshift kitchen area, where she was rummaging through drawers.

  “Claribel?” she said softly.

  “Yes love,” she answered, pulling some herbs from a cupboard and stuffing them into her pack.

  “I’m Viviane,” she said. “I think—I think I was probably taken from you. As a baby.”

  Claribel straightened suddenly, staring at Viviane with astonishment.

  Then she looked back at me, with a worried expression.

  “Celeste told us,” I said. “There were two babies under your care. One was Guinevere’s. But when her sister came back to claim the baby, you gave her the wrong child.”

  I let the accusation hang in the air. Sterling and Briar stared at her in shock.

  “Who else knows?” she said quietly.

  “Almost nobody,” Alexander said, “and we’re going to keep it that way. As far as anyone up there is concerned, Viviane is the child of Eleanor and Frederick, and Wynter is the daughter of Gwen and Nick. Both of them are Rosewoods.”

  Claribel looked relieved and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

  “Two little mages,” she sniffed, fussing over her bag. “Who would have guessed, after all that trouble, you’d both turn out alright.”

  Viviane cleared her throat and fidgeted with her hands.

  “So I’m guessing all those scary stories Gabriel used to tell us about me having a little sister…” Sterling trailed off.

  Claribel took a deep breath. “Were kinda true,” she said quietly. “I just…didn’t wanna talk about it, because it hurt so much. Gwen came to me one day with a bundle, she left some money and told me to take care of her child. She made me promise the mages would never get her, that she’d grow up free.”

  “Does that mean you’re my mother?” Viviane asked, choking on the last word.

  “Oh my heavens!” Claribel said, pulling Viviane into a tight hug. “No, my darling. I had a friend named Beth, she was your mother. She worked at the market, and she’d managed to catch the eye of some noble. He gave her a job out in the Gardens. It weren’t nothing grand. Some housework thing. He said the only requirement was to be pretty.”

  “She was probably a parlor maid,” Alexander said. “It’s usually expected for them to be attractive.”

  Claribel offered a one-shouldered shrug. “I ain’t got a clue. But she borrowed money from Gabriel to buy some new clothes so she’d fit in better. We teased her that she had a lover to impress, but when she became pregnant, her master threw her out. She came and stayed with me, I was already taking care of young Sterling and Wynter. After Beth had you, she went back to work. She worked hard and came back every evening to take care of you. At first. But she could never earn enough to repay Gabriel, and he started finding her other means of employment. She scraped together what she could to feed her daughter, but died on her back after a John got violent.”

  “My mother was a prostitute?” Viviane asked, horrified.

  “She was a good, honest girl, and a true friend. Smart as a tack, loyal to a fault. But when she died, she owed Gabriel a debt. For a while, you were practically sisters.” She smiled at Viviane and me. “But then Gabriel came back, with that mage-lady, Eleanor. Took you both the same day. Said I’d stolen you both, that you were his property. He sold one baby to the noble lady, and kept one for himself to pay off Beth’s debt. I was the only one who knew which was which.”

  “So you switched them,” Alexander finished.

  “I’m so sorry,” Claribel said, tears streaming down her cheek. “I thought I was doing the right thing, for both of you. Gwen never wanted her child raised by mages, and Beth dreamed of being able to afford a life of privilege for her daughter. She was always dressin’ you up in fancy materials, even when you were little.”

  Viviane held back a sob this time.

  “Eleanor and Frederick took good care of me,” Viviane said softly. “Ne
w dresses every week. I never wanted for anything, except affection.”

  “I don’t suppose you know the name of Viviane’s father, do you?” Alexander asked.

  Claribel pursed her lips together. “It’s been so long,” she said. “I—I ain’t sure I do.”

  “I probably don’t want to know who he was,” Viviane replied.

  “What your father did wasn’t uncommon,” Alexander said hesitantly. “He might not even know you exist. Maybe Beth never told him.”

  Viviane whipped around and scowled at him, her green eyes full of fury. “I don’t care if it was common practice!” she exclaimed. “Nobles shouldn’t go around siring bastards throughout the Lower Realms.”

  “I didn’t say it was right,” Alexander said. “Frederick even—”

  “Frederick would never turn out a pregnant woman!” Viviane snapped. “For all his faults, Frederick knows how to take responsibility for his actions. Unlike some.”

  Viviane cut off, looking guilty like she’d said too much. Then she stormed past us and out of the half-broken house. I bit my lip and stared after her. She’d already known that she wasn’t the daughter of a noblewoman, but having to see all this must be hard on her. This could have been her life. It was mine.

  “Smooth,” Sterling said. “You really have a way with girls.”

  Alexander rolled his eyes. “Like you’d do better!” he snapped.

  “Bet I would, Prince Charmless,” Sterling drawled.

  “Be nice,” Claribel said, pulling a machete off the wall and tucking it into her pack. “We got a long journey ahead, and it’s too early for us to all be at each other’s throats.”

  She was right, but I doubted either Alexander or Sterling would take her words seriously. We’d be lucky if we could keep them from killing one another.

  Sixteen