The Garden

by Emily Shore

  “Fawn…”

  “I’m sorry, Serenity.” He drops his head.

  “It’s my fault.” Gale takes responsibility. “Not Luc’s. She was worried about you. She tried to go back to the house to find you. I shouldn’t have let go of her hand.”

  The world around me is like two drama masks. I must take the good with the bad. Except the bad is much more twisted. Life isn’t fair. Girls are yanked or sold from their homes and dumped in the Glass District. Whether dressed in feathers or flowers, the world never stops searching for a new way to exhibit and torture them. Too many black gloves on the streets. Not enough strong, calloused hands like Sky’s to help. I accept his, his fingers curling against the back of mine. Judging from the way Luc narrows his brows, his forehead lines creasing, I assume Sky is boasting. Probably crooking one side of his mouth into that familiar, impish grin I’ve grown to adore over the years. I have my own wiles, too. Sky and I are the hands of a clock, both with our own types of power, but we always tick against each other at some point.

  Somewhere along the line, I fall asleep because the next thing I know, Sky is tucking me into a bed. Instead of stirring and opening my eyes, I play I’m still asleep and listen to the three voices around me.

  “So, you finally saw her father?” Nightingale remarks in a pondering voice.

  “Closer up. Saw him from a distance in the Aviary. Let’s just say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” That’s my Sky.

  “You’re still safe, but my position is jeopardized now. Force knows how involved I am. This cabin may not be safe for us much longer.”

  “We’ll stay the night,” Sky replies, and I feel his thumb wipe my forehead, probably removing some dirt from one of the branches. “Leave at dawn for the Sanctuary.”

  Nightingale is the one to point out, “Serenity doesn’t want to go to the Sanctuary. She wants to find her twin.”

  Sky sighs. “She might as well ask for the moon.”

  “And what about her parents?” Nightingale asks.

  “I have my resources. As soon as I get her safe, I’ll do what I can.”

  “Which is very little if Force has them in Temple custody already,” Luc says, and I recognize his hand shifting the covers so they are closer around my neck.

  “Don’t do that,” Sky warns. He tugs at the corners, lowering them to my chest. “She doesn’t like them so close to her body. Likes to be free. Helps her sleep at night.”

  “I’ve watched her sleep, Skylar,” he says. “And I’ve noticed that while she slept inside the Aviary, she kept the sheets so tight around her the bed smelled like nothing but sweat in the morning.”

  They are both right. And since I’ve left the Aviary, I still haven’t found a balance. Sleep doesn’t come so easily anymore. Seems like I’m always dreaming of falling and white feathers and naked skin.

  “You two are insufferable,” an annoyed Nightingale huffs before ordering, “Time to get out. I’ll stay with her tonight.”

  After I hear their footsteps leaving and the door closing, I can imagine Nightingale rolling her eyes when she mumbles, “Okay, Serenity. You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

  Opening my eyes, I blow out a breath, noticing how one of my silvery tendrils punches the air before falling onto my cheek. “Thanks, Gale.”

  “Men.” She does roll her eyes this time, sprawling on the end of the bed across from me. “They’re clueless.”

  “Luc’s pretty perceptive.”

  “But even he has his weaknesses. What about Skylar?”

  “He just knows me too well.”

  “You want to talk about your father?” she asks.

  “He’s like King Midas, but instead of gold, everything he touches burns.”

  My mother’s vampire theory doesn’t do him justice. For her, it’s only at night, but as far as I’m concerned, his hands are made of fire and his tongue of poison.

  “He has my parents, Gale. He’s going to hurt my mother again. I can’t even imagine what he’s done to my twin.”

  “And what are you going to do about it?”

  I shift until I draw my knees up to my chest, threading my hands around them. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Serenity,” Nightingale scolds. For the first time, I watch her plump lips pinch tightly together. “You spat in Peacock’s face when she covered you in oil and lit a match, you threw yourself down the lobby stairs to protect Finch, you survived Mockingbird cutting you, you escaped the Aviary, and you have two men wrapped so tightly around your finger, either one would eat a bullet for you. Don’t tell me there’s nothing you can do.”

  At one point, Sky enters my room again, but I pretend to be asleep. He mumbles a few low words about how I look when I’m asleep before kissing the side of my head.

  “I have a plan, Ser. I’m going to keep you safe. Trust me,” he whispers.

  I know what his plans are. And they don’t line up with mine. That’s why I must do this. He won’t understand, and I can just imagine his fist covered in drywall in the aftermath of my departure.

  After remaining in my room for another hour until dusk gropes with the sunset, wrestling it below the horizon, I change into an ankle-length black skirt and a long-sleeved black shirt and slip across the hall, gratified Sky isn’t outside to monitor my room. He’s probably off arranging to transport me to the Sanctuary. We don’t have much time.

  “Serenity…” Luc questions after opening his door. My suspicions are justified. Like the Aviary, Luc’s room is just across the hall from mine. He eyes my ensemble from the black clothes I wear to the way I’ve twisted my hair into a long braid.

  “Can you still get us to the Garden?”

  Luc nods once with purpose. “What about Skylar?”

  “It’s my choice. Not his. I won’t go to the Sanctuary. Can you get Force alone?”

  For a moment, Luc debates, thumb curved on the underside of his chin with his fist pressed against the indent of his mouth. He lowers his hand to respond, “I am not trained in the art of capture. Killing is where my skill lies, but I have weapons that can incapacitate.”

  “And I can be the bait. Pretend like he’s a Bird you don’t want to escape. I need him alive. I need to know where my parents and my twin are.”

  “And what do you propose we do once he’s in our custody?”

  “You are also very well-versed in other areas,” I remind Luc without taking my eyes from his.

  “If I do this, you can’t pretend anymore. You’ve seen what I’m capable of, but this time, you will be pulling the trigger,” he warns, powerful brow muscles screwed low. “I will follow your wishes, but are you willing to cross that line?”

  “My imagination’s never been innocent, Luc. You still haven’t grasped that.”

  “Serenity…fantasy exists on a different plane than reality. Action tastes different than imagination. For some, it is much harder to swallow. And your gag reflex is the opposite of gladiatorial.”

  I want to giggle at the comment, but I rein it in, smiling instead. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I’ll never swallow anything, Luc. When it comes to my mother, let’s just say nothing much will keep my conscience up at night. If I knew what’s most effective when it comes to Force, I’d do it myself. But I still want to be there to see it.”

  “As you wish. We will leave immediately. After today’s events, Force will undoubtedly visit the Garden. But he usually only stays one night. Follow me.”

  5

  L u c a n d h i s I s l A n d

  I smell the moisture as soon as I step off Luc’s seaplane.

  Thanks to my Aviary tattoo aka barcode, it didn’t take us much time to get on one of the mega-rails. The private car made it easier to sleep. Luc assured me Sky would find us eventually since he was familiar with Luc’s chosen aliases for me.

  I don’t want to think about Sky or the meager note I left him.

  I know you’ll try to come after me, and I’m not going to tell you to stop. But
we’ll have a decent head start. If everything goes as planned, we’ll have Force by the time you catch up to us. Don’t be mad.

  ~Ser

  Pushing Sky out of my thoughts, I stretch my groggy arms and tell Luc, “Thank you for doing this.”

  He nods without turning, concentrating on unloading our bags.

  The salt brine is so potent all around me, the sea could reach out a hand to wrap around my body at any moment. I’ve missed that scent. We only stayed by the ocean a handful of times in my life, but every time was an adventure.

  I step onto the dock. Behind me, dawn struggles against the night just enough for me to make out the network of islands in the distance, which are connected by thin highways. Sucking in a deep breath, I turn to the small palm tree-adorned strip surrounded by nothing but turquoise water with a house parked in its center. Next to me, the surf rocks against the seaplane, a gentle assault.

  “Where did you learn how to fly?” I ask Luc as he joins me.

  “My father flew planes before me,” he answers, leading me up the dock. “Growing up, I joined him on his excursions much the same way I joined him in the Aviary. I was gifted from an early age, so my father took an interest in me over any others. No doubt it’s why Skylar escaped the day he did. Larke and I were quarreling because our father never took him flying. I was quite young, but I still remember a few things about my little brother.”

  I wince as he leads me across the dock, more preferring the sound of the water slapping against the wood than the story. It’s still difficult to imagine them as brothers, especially when they are so different. By now, I know Larke and Sky share the same mother, the Guild leader’s mistress, his second wife. Luc and his sisters are a byproduct of the Guild leader’s dead first wife. Luc must sense my discomfort because he drops the subject, gesturing toward the house.

  More than anything, I want to step off the dock and feel the sand between my toes. Considering how Luc is accustomed to my impulsiveness, I don’t bother delaying the whimsical notion and kick off my shoes. Once my feet hit the sand, I sigh, turn to see Luc as he smiles from where he observes me from the dock. I bend and cup a handful of grains, inhaling every salty accent there. An early breeze skids into my hair, turning it into a silver-curled banner.

  “You seem to be in your element,” Luc notes as I shift my feet lower into the sand. “With all this water around us, it’s understandable. Perhaps after we get settled, we can swim.”

  That’s when I remember the main reason we are here. Can’t let the atmosphere tempt me into forgetting. “When will Force—”

  “We have time before his arrival,” Luc interjects. “He always comes at night, and his island rental is not too far from here. We will take a boat later, so there is some time…”

  He extends a hand to me, which I take before following him toward the villa.

  After scanning his palm into the screen by the door, Luc says, “This place is self-sustaining. Solar panels provide all its power. As you can imagine, it never runs dry in an environment like this.”

  He opens the door, and I step inside, at once aware this place bears his signature. From all the great windows to the winding glass staircase to the digital moving insignias of different birds on the wall, everything spells Luc. In the center of the room, suspended from the ceiling, is a glass chandelier sculpted in the shape of a swan. Its wings hold nano-active lights that rake any darkness out of the room once Luc flips its switch.

  “Your room is upstairs. We won’t be here long, but if you wish to change, you can go up there. I packed whatever you might need.” Luc motions to the suitcase.

  I don’t want to bother with changing. Want to get beyond the glass walls and back to the sand, sun, and water where I belong. This is too close to the Aviary.

  A few minutes later, I flip my hair back, reveling in the water. How loose it is. No feathers and just the fabric of the simple dress packed in the bag. Similar to the Aviary ones. It billows all around me so my legs can indulge in the ocean. Felicity from the surf overwhelms my body as waves careen into me on their journey to the shore.

  “I’m still angry with you.” I don’t sugarcoat my words to Luc as he studies me from a few feet away. “One favor, remember?” I remind him of our bargain. Of the promise to free my parents.

  Luc raises himself out of the water so his shadow can plunder mine. “I made that promise before I learned of my father’s Auction. And before Skylar entered the equation. Plans change, Serenity. Just as you have proven.” He gestures to the scene around us. “One cannot always predict everything.”

  He is right about that. Force has my mother, and she revealed my name. What has he done to her? How far will he go? Is Kerrick already dead? Did he torture one or both for my name?

  At the thought of my mother’s riding-crop scarred back, I close my eyes and plunge underneath the water, exhaling until I can sink to the bottom. Curling into a ball on the sand, I remain there, sensing the inertia of the waves above my head and binging on the feeling. It’s physical and simple. Everything is silent. This is a struggle I can conquer, one I can understand. I’m not ready to rise yet. At least Luc must understand since he doesn’t interrupt me. Instead, he descends to give me an extra breath or two so I can remain. Mouth rooting down on mine, Luc offers me more oxygen, and I accept. Sky wouldn’t let me sink, wouldn’t let me escape to my underwater world of silence and voiceless secrets because it’s just a temporary fix—a coping balm. No, Sky would force me up, then sharpen my senses with a kiss before figuring everything out with me.

  After a few more minutes, I surface with a question. “What will happen to Fawn?”

  A wave knocks him closer when he responds, “Likely the Temple.” No lacing any of his words with saccharine or honey. “Force will use her to make a profit where he can. There are many childless couples who will pay a costly price for a child. Or she could be shipped to the Centre for study, breeding purposes, or organ harvesting.”

  The temptation to sink again rears its head, but I resist and assume another coping mechanism. I ease my body back until I lay on the water’s surface. My hair twirls like curlicues around me. Since my ears are below the water, I hear nothing but muffled waves. But my spine becomes alert when Luc appears above me, head angled to survey me. When I rise, I know I must look like some albino creature of the deep. I try not to gaze at his chest, but my eyes linger there, fingers wandering to the skin, remembering the last night in the exhibit when his chest bore down on mine as I wrestled against him inside the exhibit lake. How we reached a stalemate right before he thrust my body out of the lake so I wouldn’t drown.

  “Serenity…” Luc’s breath embraces my forehead like he can sense the memory.

  He is so different from Sky. Luc is fair and lean but not as muscled. Unlike Sky, he knows exactly how to use those muscles. His hands bear the violence of many years. I open one palm, trace the manipulative lines there, and smooth my eggshell fingers across the violent skin. Sky’s hands are straightforward with hard effort and secrets etched in every seam and callus. Both men hem me in, but Sky is the earth grounding me, and Luc is the ice cracking and shattering me, longing to create someone new.

  “I regret nothing.” Luc summons me as he moves closer, hands lowering to my waist concealed beneath the surface. “You should know I will follow you, give myself to your every quest…I lost my soul long ago, but perhaps you can craft me a new one. One worthy of you.”

  I don’t slash Luc’s hope. This is his way of coping even if I consider how ridiculous it is. To craft a soul…I would want it made of nothing but starlight and fairy dust, sweet dreams and magic water that can heal any scar. But if I were to try now, I can give him nothing but monsters breathing fire and poison, blood and lightning, and nightmares of Unicorn horns and gold-flecked skin.

  I can’t slit his hope, but I can’t foster it either, so when he tilts his mouth to mine, I retreat and shake my head. We aren’t in the Aviary anymore. Even if I don’t feel free of
him, even if I still feel like he’s tied my wings, there is no more cage with glass walls to hold me.

  And Luc is still learning not to pursue. Not to pursue me like the predator still inside of him and the manipulator with a sweetly poisoned voice. As much a part of him as the Swan is to me.

  “Why else did you ask me?” Luc confronts me even as I turn around so my back faces him, arms reined in around my chest. “It’s more than just my resources and more than his refusal. You came in the dead of night after he was gone. I may take advantage of your weaknesses, but you do the same. How much more must I prove myself?” His hands skate along my arms while his mouth presses against his tattoo on my shoulder, and I angle my head to the side ever so minutely.

  “Luc…” I purse my lips together. “I have to fight for her. She’s not strong enough.” I’m referring to my mother just as his mouth slips to the curve of my neck with his hands threading around my small waist. “And I’m—” I inhale, closing my eyes and trying not to pant when his lips discover my jaw. “Sixteen,” I manage to exhale.

  Luc pauses on my last word with his mouth hovering just behind my ear. “If our ages are such a mountain for you in a culture where the average bride is far younger, then it’s a mountain I am willing to climb even if it takes years. Though I doubt it will ever make a difference. You will always have a child’s spirit.”

  “You aren’t the only climber,” I remind him.

  At hearing his growl, I know I’ve struck a nerve. More by the way his fingers quarry into the skin of my waist. “I’d say he’s closer to the summit, but that’s no longer true, is it?”

  I don’t respond because my debt to Luc haunts me just as it does Sky. My leaving with Luc in the middle of the night won’t help anything. But I’ll use whatever I can. Armed as I am with my sister’s photograph and my mother’s diary, I will let their reminder keep the lightning inside me strong. Neither Luc nor Sky can tantalize me away from that. Once this is over, I can concentrate on them. Until then, I need to veer away from every hormone-induced desire…