Airwoman

by Zara Quentin

  Loraya wasn’t carrying DivineOne.

  “Where’s DivineOne?” Jade murmured into Axel’s chest.

  In a moment, Namaje was at Loraya’s side and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. The two women began to converse silently, their fingers flicking quickly.

  “He’s a Dragon-God,” Axel said, stroking her forehead. “He sleeps in a bed of burning coals. He’s going to be fine.”

  Shaking uncontrollably, Jade turned away from their silent conversation. Jade pulled back from Axel to shake the water from her wings and wring out her hair. Then she sat on the bank of the lake in the last of the afternoon sunshine. The shadows lengthened as she shook the moisture from her wings. Night wasn’t far away.

  Jade shivered, despite the warmth in the air. The channel came out at the edge of a large lake and they were gathered on a small patch of grass sloped between the large, gnarled trees and the glassy water. Jade looked up to the sky, enjoying the open space above her.

  Around her, the Premyans were huddled in groups. Some had tears coursing down their cheeks, others were stony-faced. Still others comforted those around them. Many looked nervously into the sky and retreated under the cover of the trees. The danger of the open sky struck Jade anew, as she remembered the Travellers surrounding the Temple building. The memory of crackling flames hissed in her ears and she covered her face with trembling hands.

  “Are you all right?” Axel put an arm around her shoulders as he sat down next to her.

  “We’re alive,” Jade whispered. “I thought we were going to die in there.”

  Axel rubbed her arm with his hand as Jade rested her head on his shoulder, still shaking. She curled her hand around her neck chain, her fingers brushing over the Three Eigot pendant. She felt a sudden rush of gratitude. She was alive, and there was still time to make things right.

  The feeling quickly fell away as the memory of the stolen wood panel pushed its way into her mind. She could no longer deny that Zorman was guilty. He had been all along. He’d stolen the carving when he’d stolen the red Eigot. In fact, she’d probably seen the Eigot in his bag that day, but she hadn’t known what it was. Her beloved uncle had betrayed her all along. Papa, too. Why?

  Her stomach lurched and clenched, and Jade leaned forward, afraid she would vomit. Axel rubbed his hand up and down her back, between her wing joints.

  “You were right,” Jade said, as the feeling subsided and she sat back and looked at him.

  Axel frowned. “About what?”

  “It was Zorman. All along.” Jade grimaced as though the words pained her mouth on the way out. “He killed Papa. He was trying to kill me.”

  “That doesn’t prove—”

  “Zorman had that last carving, the one that was stolen when the red Eigot was taken. I didn’t realise until back in the Temple, but I saw him with it.”

  Axel nodded slowly, looking thoughtful.

  Jade covered her face with her hands again, slumping over to lean her head on her knees. Zorman had killed Papa, then duped her into giving him control of Gariq Industries, and Mama and the twins. He’d pulled strings to get her here, probably hoping she would die, and in case she didn’t, he’d persuaded someone—probably Denger—to give orders to the Squadron to kill her. And all the time she’d been making it easy for him by feeding him information with his stupid dragonfly. Hot tears ran down her cheeks. She wished she could disappear, right here into the ground.

  Her neck chain of pendants dangled in the space where she had pulled her knees up against her body. Her fingers fiddled until they found the Three Eigot pendant. She clutched it in her hand, until the metal pressed into her palm. She sat up again, sniffing loudly and wiping the tears from her cheeks.

  A weight pressed down on her shoulders, crushing her. How could she ever go on, knowing that she’d lost her whole family to Zorman? No, not lost them—she’d voluntarily given up Mama and the twins when she should have been there to support them. Jade couldn’t swallow, as all her regrets piled up, one on top of the other.

  “What are you going to do?” Axel asked finally.

  Jade squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face into her knees. She’d promised to find the killer. If she didn’t bring Zorman to face justice, the Eigot would never be returned and Papa would never rest. Mama would never get the closure she needed, and worse, she and the boys would be left in Zorman’s control.

  Jade’s stomach tightened and she thought she’d vomit again. What could she do? Her fingers found Basalt’s kangaroo charm. Jade swallowed down her regrets, lifted her head and straightened her shoulders. She looked into Axel’s worried eyes. “I’ve got to make things right.”

  26

  Jade crouched beneath a giant fern that curved in front of her like a shield, its fronds as long as her arm. She peered around one of the trunks that stood like a fence between her and the bubbling mud swamp around the Temple. Ahead of her, a jet of steam hissed into the air, divulging a dreadful stench.

  A few cautious Travellers hovered in the air, holding their noses, while five others were inspecting the charred ruins of the Temple. The building was all blackened—its roof and part of the walls had fallen in—and it was surrounded by ashes and rubble. Smouldering patches still burned, sending curling ribbons of smoke into the air.

  The Travellers stepped carefully over the blackened ruins, apparently looking for something. Jade wondered if they were searching for evidence of having completed the job. What would they would do when they didn’t find the skeletons of dead Premyans? One of the Travellers cried out, holding something up to examine it before slipping it into the bag he had slung over his chest. A short time later, another Traveller did the same thing. Jade frowned. There could be no skeletons in the rubble—they had all been evacuated. So, what had they found? It took Jade only a moment longer to understand they were looting the place for valuables.

  She pressed her lips together as she watched them, remembering DivineOne’s accusations that her people were greedy. Above, the Travellers in the air circled, keeping watch. Jade assumed the rest had returned to camp.

  She stifled a sigh and wished they would leave with what they’d taken before any of them noticed that the ruined building didn’t contain Premyan bodies. Or her body.

  A little farther around the line of trees that bounded the swamp, Namaje’s treehouse stood. The few things that Jade had brought with her were piled in the corner of that room. She wanted to retrieve them before she returned to the Portal, if the treehouse hadn’t already been lost to the flames.

  Since she’d made her decision on the banks of the lake, she hadn’t been able to sit still. She felt as though she had a chance—one opportunity—to make this right. If she tarried now, she might lose it.

  In the pit of her stomach, Jade knew she couldn’t waste a moment. So she’d slipped away from the Premyans, who were now gathered on the banks of the lake debating what to do. Jade took a breath, steadying herself. She knew what she had to do, but she wished she’d brought Axel with her. He was safer with the Premyans, though. If he returned to Taraqa before Jade had a chance to confront Zorman with his crimes, Axel might be arrested for Papa’s murder. She couldn’t risk it.

  Jade would have to confront Zorman on her own.

  The Travellers were still picking through the ruined Temple, apparently in no hurry to get back to the beach camp. Cajun and Glade were among those combing the ruins for loot and Jade ducked at the sight of them, instinctively tense, and ready to flee.

  She slowly eased the fern back into place and ducked closer to the ground as she took a step backwards. She didn’t want to wait, or watch them, any longer. Careful not to make any sound or sudden movements, she took another step backwards into the cover of the thick jungle. With another silent step, Jade could only just see the Travellers, while she was almost certain the dense foliage masked her presence. She let out the breath she’d been holding and turned towards Namaje’s treehouse.

  A pair of arms clamped around
her shoulders and a hand clapped over her mouth. Jade was pulled roughly backwards into the jungle.

  She instinctively clutched the hand over her mouth, trying to wrench it away. She lifted her feet off the ground and kicked back at her captor’s knees.

  “Sssshh! It’s all right. It’s me.” Axel hissed, his breath tickling her ear. Jade spun around as his grip loosened.

  “What are you doing?” Jade said, as she planted her hands on his chest and pushed him farther into the forest. Her heart raced as she looked behind her to see if the Travellers had noticed anything, but she was too deep in the jungle to see them clearly. There were no shouts, though, so Jade assumed they’d not been heard.

  “I’m coming with you,” Axel said when Jade turned back to him.

  Jade shook her head, then gasped as Axel pressed a finger to her lips. He cupped her cheek in his hand, tilting it up towards his face. She held her breath, her cheek warming under his touch. She looked up at him and he didn’t break the contact, his eyes twinkling at her. Jade’s mouth went dry. The short distance between them hummed with energy, and everything around them fell away. Jade was drawn deeper into his eyes, as though he was drawing her into his very soul.

  “I left you in Taraqa, thinking I had to prove myself. You left me by the lake thinking the same thing. But we’re better together.” Axel smoothed his thumb down the side of her cheek, leaving a warm trail where he touched her. Jade found herself reaching out to smooth her hands over his chest to close the space between them. “We’re better together,” he repeated, his voice barely a whisper now.

  His words echoed in her mind, over and over. Jade opened her mouth to argue, but the words didn’t come out. There was nothing to say—he was right. “Do you really think so?” Jade asked, now whispering too. Her heart ricocheted off her ribs as the distance between their lips shortened, ever so slightly.

  Axel took a deep breath. “There’s something I have to tell you,” he said. “You were right, what you said to me when you captured me in the rainforest. I didn’t speak to Magnus about you. About us.” Axel broke eye contact, looking beyond her. Jade felt like a piece of her had been wrenched away. She put a hand up to his face, touching his cheek, bringing him back. He swallowed and resolutely looked into her eyes again. “I was worried he wouldn’t have said yes.”

  “Why?” Jade asked, searching his eyes. “He liked you, he trusted you. You were virtually his second in command—you don’t think he believed in you?”

  “Giving me a job and allowing me to date his daughter are two very different things. There were plenty of reasons why he wouldn’t have wanted me to spend time with you. My past… I’ve done things I’m not proud of. And my family…” Axel shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut, before turning to step away. “I’m not good enough for you. You deserve someone better.”

  Jade’s mouth felt dry again, but now his words were like an anchor weighing her down. They opened a chasm between them again, wider now for what had almost been.

  “What are you saying?” she whispered. “You can’t or won’t because you don’t think Papa would have approved?” The silence stretched and a lump formed in her throat.

  Finally, Axel turned back to her, his face stretched into a grimace. “I’m not even a good enough man for that. Knowing you deserve better, I should stay away from you. I owe your father that, at least. Both of you. But…”

  There it was. A drop of hope in an ocean of despair. Perhaps a drop was all they needed.

  “But?” Jade repeated, stretching out a hand out to Axel.

  Axel took her hand, tentatively at first, then brought her hand to his lips to kiss the backs of her fingers. His lips felt smooth and warm, leaving a tingle that spread up her arm and through her body. “But I won’t.”

  Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes as her heart threatened to explode from her chest. She smiled and closed the gap between them to fold her arms around Axel’s neck. Axel ran his hands from her shoulders down her torso to rest on her waist, sending ripples of goosebumps along her skin. Jade looked into his eyes again. For the first time, they brimmed with hope.

  “I love you, Jade.” Suddenly, Axel’s words came out in a rush, as though the dam keeping them back had burst and they could no longer be contained. “I can’t stay away from you. I’ve barely thought about anything else in these weeks on Premye. When I thought I might lose you, these last few days, I can’t tell you how much I’ve regretted what might have been. Now that I’ve got a second chance, I can’t ignore it.”

  Jade felt the pressure of his hands on her waist, drawing her against him. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers. Jade breathed in mint and cedarwood, savouring his fragrance, and ran her hand across his cheek and down his neck to rest on his collar bone. She felt his galloping pulse beneath her fingers match her own thrumming heart.

  Without opening his eyes, he whispered, barely audible. “If you’ll have me, that’s what’s important now.”

  Jade let his words hang between them for a moment. Then—slowly, carefully—she ran her hands back up his neck and over the rough stubble on his cheeks. She cupped his face in her hands and stared at him, willing him to open his eyes. When he finally did, she felt the smile play over her face and a light, pleasant blush rise to her cheeks. She tilted her face up towards him, until their lips—almost touching now—trembled with anticipation.

  At that moment, the world fell away until there was nothing else in the Dragonverse but the two of them.

  “I will,” she whispered, and her heart leapt as she reached up those last millimetres and closed the chasm with a kiss.

  * * *

  Their lips had barely touched when there was a shout from the swamp that startled them both. Jade reluctantly pulled away, her lips tingling and warm. She pressed herself to Axel’s chest as she whipped her head around to scan the area. Unable to see through the foliage, she squeezed his arms, then pulled away and crept towards the sound until she was peering out from behind the enormous fern again. Though he wasn’t touching her, Jade sensed him standing close behind and her body pulsed with the knowledge of their proximity. It was as though their brief kiss had tuned her body to his frequency.

  Cajun slapped Glade on the back, congratulating him, as Glade crammed something into the bag slung across his chest. He seemed to have difficulty with it, and when he’d finished, he reached out and grabbed Cajun by the shirt collar, pulling him close.

  Glade was up in Cajun’s face, an urgent look in his eyes. Threatening almost, but Jade was too far away to hear anything. Cajun wasn’t threatened at all—he slapped Glade on the shoulder again and grinned. Glade let go of Cajun’s shirt collar and looked over his shoulder, where the other Travellers were still picking over the rubble. The two Airmen stepped apart and started to walk about the rubble again, as though they were still looking for loot, but Jade could tell their hearts were no longer in it.

  “What’s that about?” Axel whispered in her ear.

  Jade shrugged, then turned away. There was a reason she’d returned, and it wasn’t to watch Travellers looting a Temple. She motioned for Axel to move back under the cover of the rainforest, gently running her hand down his arm until she wove her fingers between his.

  “What’s the plan?” Axel asked.

  “Can you go back to the lake and warn the Premyans that the Travellers are still here?”

  “You want to get rid of me already, huh?” Axel raised an eyebrow and Jade saw the teasing smirk on his face.

  Despite the gravity of the situation, Jade couldn’t help smiling back at him. Then she forced herself to get serious. Now wasn’t the time for joking around. “I have to go back and confront Uncle Zorman. But you should—”

  Axel took her hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss into her palm. “I’m not leaving you, no matter what. Now, what’s the plan?”

  Jade made a show of sighing, but a warmth spread through her chest at his refusal to leave her. She wouldn’t
send him away. “I have to get some supplies from Namaje’s treehouse.” Jade pointed to the edge of the trees. “Then I’m going back through the Portal.”

  “You’re sure that’s a good idea?” Axel looked back to where the Travellers loitered in the ashes of the Temple.

  Jade nodded. “Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

  “All right then. I trust you. Lead the way.” Axel stood aside and let Jade lead him through the dense forest, until they came to the spot immediately below Namaje’s treehouse. Jade peered into the swampy clearing where the Temple had stood. She was about to spread her wings and leap onto the branch that held Namaje’s house, when the Travellers standing in the ruins of the Temple suddenly looked up to the sky.

  Axel pulled at Jade’s arm and pointed. Jade watched as a Traveller dropped to the ground and shouted orders to the remaining Travellers. Jade couldn’t hear his words, but the effect was obvious. In almost perfect unison, all of the Travellers rose into the air and departed. Jade noticed Cajun and Glade were with the group, although they hung to the back of the formation. As she watched them fly away, the two Airmen let a space open up between them and the other Travellers.

  Jade held her breath. She took a step forward, creeping silently towards the edge of the trees for a better view. Had all of the Travellers left, or just the ones she could see?

  “Do you think they’re returning to Taraqa?” Axel whispered, a step behind her.

  Jade shrugged. “Returning to the beach at least. For now.” She wondered whether, with the Temple in ashes and the village deserted, the Travellers decided they had done their job. Maybe they assumed the Premyan bodies made up the ashes in the Temple ruins? She wanted to believe it, but there was a hollow feeling in her stomach. She looked up to the sky. “We’d better make it quick, just in case.” Jade said as her eyes flicked up towards Namaje’s treehouse.