“So what brought this on?” he asked as they continued to slowly twirl above the clouds.
“Nothing,” she said.
“Nothing?” he asked, letting his obvious disbelief creep into his voice.
Clara shook her head as she gently pushed him so he’d let her go. As she drifted, she twisted her waist to straighten out.
“It’s… it’s just what I’m hearing at home,” she said, her right hand clutching her left elbow. “I don’t think we’re going to wait for Galen and Candren to make the next move. If we’re to fight, my father wants it on his terms.”
Kael immediately filled in the rest on his own. Reaching out, he took her hand in his and squeezed it tight.
“I’ll be fine,” he said. “I promise.”
“You can’t make that promise,” she said. “I’ve read all the books. I’ve heard all the stories. The first battle is always the worst. It’s the one that claims the most lives.”
She was right, of course. What else could he tell her? With his other hand he brushed her short blonde hair, for the first time seeing how it shone pink from the sun as well. She was so beautiful, and it killed him to see her afraid. But that fear was of losing him, and whatever he was to her, it was far more important than he’d ever realized. Knowing that gave him the strength to say what he never thought he’d have the nerve to say.
“I love you, Clara,” he said. “I can at least promise you that.”
She smiled, and he knew for the rest of his life he’d do whatever it took to see her smile that way at him again.
“I love you, too, Kael,” she said.
Unable to pass up such an opportunity, he pulled her close for another kiss. Up there, with the whole world sealed away by a carpet of clouds, her wealth, her family, her power, and his own meager background didn’t matter. In the sky, they were Seraphim, they were equals, and he relished every second of her touch, her closeness. Despite wishing it to never end, the kiss did, and Clara shut off her wings.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she fell through the clouds.
“Same place and time?” he asked as he shut off his own wings. When he reemerged beneath the clouds, Clara had gained distance between them, and with air blowing against them from their increased speed, she had to shout to be heard.
“I was more thinking your room.”
Kael’s heart nearly stopped. Clara clearly saw the effect on him, and she laughed as she turned about, flared her wings to life, and shot toward the gear shed.
Kael looped through the clouds a few more times to clear his head before returning his wings and harness. He found he was still breathing heavily despite using a fraction of the effort he’d expended throughout the day during training. He’d often heard men, including his own father, talk of how their loved ones cast a spell over them, and for the first time Kael had a taste of how true that was.
Shaking his head as if to rattle his mind back into functioning order, he traveled back to the library.
Task at hand, he told himself as he crossed the bridge. Keep your mind on the task at hand.
Instead of remembering every single second of each kiss. Instead of wondering what Clara meant by his room tomorrow. Instead of…
“Focus, damn it,” Kael said, rubbing his eyes.
By the time he entered the library, the sun was half an hour from setting, and he almost felt like a normal human being.
“Back again?” Devi the librarian asked. She stood on a stool left of the door. Books lay atop a nearby table, and she replaced them one by one on a top shelf. As she asked, the stool wobbled, and Kael felt a tiny moment of panic, but Devi didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
“Just browsing still,” he said when certain the diminutive woman wouldn’t fall and break her neck on the table.
“Well, if you need help finding something, or some good recommendations, I’d love to help.”
She resumed reshelving books. Kael started to walk deeper into the library, then stopped himself. He’d been reluctant to reveal his reasons in case word might trickle back to the theotechs, but so far he’d made pitiful progress. There were simply too many books. But maybe if he could come up with a convincing reason…
“Actually,” he said, spinning around, “there is something you could maybe help me with.”
Devi looked thrilled, and she beamed down at him from her wobbling stool.
“Great,” she said, hopping down despite several books needing to be shelved remaining on the table. She wiped her hands on her black pants, a simpler version of the uniform the rest of the Seraphim wore. “What are you looking for?”
Kael judged his words carefully before he spoke them.
“I was hoping to learn more about my parents. They never talked much about what they did as Seraphim, but now that I’m here, and I might better understand…”
Devi bobbed her head, and he was thankful she didn’t offer the standard pity and apology he often received when discussing his dead parents. Instead her bubbly smile vanished, replaced with a rather frightening amount of concentration.
“What were your parents’ names?”
“Liam and Cassandra Skyborn.”
“What was your mother’s maiden name?”
Kael had to think for a moment, for it wasn’t something that came up often. Their mother had been an orphan who snuck her way over from Center to Weshern, which had rendered her side of the family nothing more than stories she sometimes told at bedtime.
“Jennings,” he said. “Cassandra Jennings.”
Devi tapped her lips as she thought.
“I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but that doesn’t mean much. Follow me.”
She led him past rows and rows of thick wooden shelves, each one packed tightly with leather-bound tomes of varying age. They passed her desk, then turned to a corner of the library Kael had not been to before. Along the wall was an enormous set of thin shelves, tiny copper plates nailed into their fronts. The writing on the plates looked like gibberish to Kael, but Devi seemed to understand as she scanned them, tapping them occasionally as she searched.
“Here we go,” she said, settling on one and pulling on a groove carved into its top. The shelf slid out with a groaning of wood, revealing a slender box full of hundreds of thin yellow cards. Devi shifted it to one arm, searched again, and then grabbed a second box much lower. Carrying both back to her desk, she set them down and began to thumb through the first.
“Even if your parents were the most boring Seraphim ever, we’ll still have a few records of them,” Devi said in a half-distracted sort of way. “I may not be the best at this sort of thing, but the librarian before me was a bald giant named Kolten, and I swear he’d describe the way the clouds looked if he thought it might be of later importance.”
“Why would he do that?” Kael asked, chuckling.
Devi glanced up from the box, peering out from underneath her long dark hair.
“During the Ascension, we lost nearly everything about the world before,” she said. “We’ve learned from that, and work hard to never let that happen again. The position of a librarian is a very important one.” She sighed as she returned to thumbing through the cards. “Even if it’s lost a bit of its… glamour over the past century.”
Her short fingers resumed searching, flicking through cards with remarkable speed. Kael watched, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he waited. Searching on his own had been slow, and carried a feeling of impossibility to it. But now? Watching Devi, he realized that there would be no more delays and wasteful browsing. If there was a truth to discover, now he’d find it, and he couldn’t decide if that was frightening or a relief.
“Skyborn… Skyborn… hah!” She tore the card out as if it were the heart of a vanquished foe. “Skyborn. Let’s see, Liam Skyborn, safe to say not the Liam from 312 A.A., unless he fathered you at the ripe old age of two hundred. Ah, there we go.”
She set down the card, stared at it with h
er walnut eyes as if burning every word into memory, and then hurried away. Kael followed, surprised such a tiny woman could move with such speed. Near the front door she turned down one aisle, finger waving as she checked titles written on spines in either white or gold. Kael noticed that that aisle in particular had similar books with similar titles, all containing a year. Grabbing the one titled S Class—494, she pulled it free and handed it to him. Kael grunted, surprised by its weight. Returning to her desk, she gestured for him to put the book down before her. Devi opened it, rapidly flipping pages until coming to a sudden halt.
“Here,” she said, pointing. Kael turned the book so it faced him, took a seat in an uncomfortable wooden chair, and began reading. The script was written in incredibly tight and neat handwriting, and though the ink had faded a little, he still found it an easy read, other than the occasional need to squint given the tiny size. It took him a moment, but at last he realized what it was he read. It was a list of all members of the Seraphim class of year 494 A.A. Minor traits and marks were listed in shorthand with artless brevity. Kael read over his father’s entry, which looked to have been slowly added to throughout the following years.
Liam Skyborn. Blck hr. Brwn eys. Admttd 494. 6-month eval pasd. Rnk 5 in class.—Grad to yr 2.—Mrrge to Cassandra Jennings, May/497.—Srphm Honors, 498. Birth to twins: Breanna, Kael, Jly 2/499. Battle (Wshrn v Gln, April 18/501). Battle (Wshrn v Cndrn, Spt 2/503). 2 kills. Bttle (Wshrn v Gln, May 22/507). 1 kill. Bttle (Wshrn v Gln, Aug 9/510). 2 kills. Deceased.
Kael found himself fighting back tears. That was it. His father’s entire life, summarized into all that was important to those in charge of history. His fingers brushed the text, and they hovered over that damning word, deceased. Abrupt. Heartless. Ending the writing with such simple, immediate finality. If only he could erase that final word, returning his father to him instead of leaving him and Bree alone at the age of eleven.
While he was reading, Devi vanished, then returned with another yearbook, this one for 496.
“Cassandra Jennings, page one hundred thirty-nine,” she said.
Kael wasn’t sure he had the strength to read it. Wouldn’t it just be more of the same? Her entrance to the academy, her marriage to their father, a list of the battles she fought… and then at the end, that same terrible word. Yet he’d sworn to learn all he could, and so he did, flipping to page one hundred thirty-nine. He skimmed his finger over the words, trying to pull in memories to match the dates, to pour life into the history. His fingertip touched that last battle, hovered, unable to move on to the final pronouncement of her life.
“Devi,” he said, looking up. “This battle… I’ve never asked before, but I think I’m ready to know. The battle my parents died in, what were they fighting for?”
Devi leaned closer, lips moving as she read the date.
“August five hundred ten,” she said. “There was a shortage of fire element that year. Galen put in a trade offer to Center we couldn’t match, so we challenged them to battle for it instead.”
Kael slumped in his chair. That was it? That was the reason his parents had died? He’d always assumed they were protecting their home, or their island’s honor.
“They died for nothing,” he whispered.
“Not nothing,” Devi said, taken aback. “The elements are our lifeblood, Kael. Without fire element, our Seraphim forces are greatly weakened. We must protect ourselves, and your parents sacrificed their lives to ensure the people of Weshern would remain safe.”
The librarian was trying so hard, but Kael couldn’t shake that nagging doubt. Their Seraphim had killed and died to ensure they had the elements necessary to kill and die? What was the point? And why was there a shortage of fire element in the first place? Everything about the process was carefully guarded by the theotechs. Thane’s words haunted him, reminding him of his claims. Had Center callously engineered the battle that cost him his parents by falsifying a shortage? Before joining the academy, Kael would have dismissed the entire notion as conspiratorial nonsense. Now?
Now he wondered just how much truth had been in Thane’s words. And since he was already in a library, perhaps he could look into something else the disciple of Johan had claimed…
“Do you have anything about the ghost plague?” he asked.
Devi frowned at him.
“You shouldn’t call it that,” she said. “It might land you in trouble if anyone from Center hears you. The proper name is the Weshern plague.”
“So what was it?” he asked, still confused. Instead of answering his question, Devi did as he should have expected and went to fetch another book. Moments later she returned, lugging a tome even thicker than the two volumes he already had. It thunked down onto the table, and Devi let out a gasp of air.
“Whew,” she said. “There you go. So why such interest in the plague?”
Kael pulled the book closer and read the title. History of Weshern, 496 A.A.
“Just something my aunt once said,” he explained, hoping to deflect further curiosity.
“It was a rough time,” Devi said. “Turn to March. You’ll find the plague easily enough.”
“Thanks,” he said, and he started flipping. Devi hovered a bit more, then tapped her fingers on the desk.
“Let me know if you need anything else,” she said before returning to the filing that he’d interrupted earlier.
“I will,” Kael said, eyes not leaving the pages. He found March, written in the same tight script. It didn’t take long to find what Devi meant. Dominating the page was the story of an illness ravaging Weshern, and as he read it, he felt his blood chill. Hundreds of men and women had been sent to Center for treatment. At the very end of the article, it listed those who had returned alive, all two:
Cassandra Jennings and Liam Skyborn.
Kael read over the entire page a second time, committing everything he could to memory, and then shut the book and went to find Bree.
“So, what was so special about the ghost plague?” Bree asked as they walked the path running through the center of the academy. Kael had found his sister eating supper, and he’d convinced her to go on a walk with him across the grounds so they could speak in private. The midnight fire would soon burn across the sky, and in the late twilight it was easy to be alone out near the training grounds.
“The people of Weshern called it that because they never saw any signs of illness,” Kael explained. “Theotechs came and took people by the dozens, claiming they could detect the first signs in people’s eyes or on their teeth. After a few months of this, people threatened to riot, and the Willers demanded we be allowed to treat the sick instead. Eventually Center relented, and the plague, if it ever existed, ceased to be.”
“What does this have to do with our parents?” Bree asked.
Kael shook his head, remaining silent as they passed the gear sheds. It didn’t look like anyone was about, but he didn’t feel comfortable answering. It wasn’t until they were several hundred yards past and had grass training fields on either side of them that he answered.
“They sent almost two hundred for treatment,” he said. “But Mom and Dad were the only ones to return alive.”
Bree shuddered, and she crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at the path they walked.
“What does it mean?”
“I don’t know,” Kael said. “But there’s something else I don’t like. Remember how Mom and Dad said they met?”
It was a common story they’d heard, for their father in particular loved to tell it.
“At the year’s end festival,” she said.
“What year?”
Bree frowned as she thought.
“Four ninety-seven, right?”
Kael nodded, for he’d remembered the same.
“They went to Center for treatment earlier that year,” he said. “The only two Weshern survivors… but they never met prior to the year’s end?”
Bree paused, and she finally looked over to meet his g
aze.
“They went to the festival together because they were introduced by mutual friends,” she said. “That’s what Dad always told us.”
“Friends,” Kael echoed, and he nodded. “I’d love to know who those friends were, wouldn’t you?”
Bree glanced back to the academy, and she shivered.
“The theotechs took an interest in our parents,” she said. “And now they’ve taken an interest in us. Why?”
“I don’t know,” Kael said. “Worse, I’m not sure we can even find that out, not without giving away our search in the first place.”
Bree reached out to grab his hands, and she squeezed with frightening strength. In the sky above, the first slivers of deep shadow crawled from the west.
“Keep your eyes open,” she said. “Keep your ears listening, and no matter what happens, you be careful. We’re in the dark, Kael, and that’s a dangerous place to be.”
Kael squeezed her hands back.
“Until we know more, we tell no one, and trust only each other,” he said. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
Before the night shadow could light up with fire, the twins hurried back to the safety of their rooms, vows of secrecy on their lips.
CHAPTER 26
Bree knew something was wrong the moment the doors to the mess hall opened, and in walked three fully armed and armored Seraphim of Weshern. With them was Instructor Kime, and for once he wasn’t smiling.
“Kael,” Bree said to her brother across the table.
At her words he turned to see the Seraphim crossing the hall. Randy spotted them and said something to his escorts. One nodded, and then they approached, stopping just before their table. All around, the other students quieted down, confused by what was going on.
“Bree, Kael, you’re needed for training lessons,” the instructor said.
Bree shared a look with her brother, knowing that was clearly not what they were actually being summoned for.
“May we finish our breakfast?” Kael asked.
“No, you may not,” said Randy.
“Both of you, come with me,” one of the Seraphim said. Bree vaguely recognized him from her evening formation training sessions. In the mornings it was just students, but the later half of the day they were joined by the entirety of Weshern’s Seraphim forces for tense, tightly controlled drills. They’d had a lot to learn, but over the past two weeks Bree, Kael, and Saul had made vast strides. As they were led out of the mess hall, Bree had a feeling she was about to be grateful for those lessons. Of the three Seraphim, only one remained inside the mess hall with Instructor Kime.
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