by LJ Andrews
“We stand out like red boils on the tip of a nose,” Atlas whispered in disgust as he took in the fine people dining and drinking in satin and lace clothes.
“Merchants are ignored, but welcome without incident,” Raine said calmly. “Just play the part and no one would dare sink beneath rank to make conversation.”
“Atlas, ye do the talkin’,” Briggs said, nodding toward the prudish pub owner wiping the glassy marble counter. “I’m as proud as any to be a retired pirate, but some things like me voice can’t be changed and I’ll give us away faster than ye can say ‘hangman’s noose.’”
“I don’t know what to say. I’ve never lived in this upper-class world,” Atlas argued.
“You’ll be fine. You’re more refined than you think,” Raine said, smiling sweetly at him.
Nova raised her eyebrows and eyed the former queen with curiosity. As if a stone clunked from a high cliff, her stomach settled uncomfortably as she watched the undeniable admiration wash over Raine’s eyes. Atlas took a deep breath and nodded, then stepped toward the counter.
“Good morning, my good man,” he said in an annoyingly snobbish voice. “Might you have a room for myself, my first mate, and his two daughters? We’ve just delivered a new shipment of silk from Felsig. We would be grateful for a night’s rest in your fine establishment.”
The pub owner wiped a finger with an unusually long fingernail for a man across his greasy, slicked black hair. He eyed Atlas with annoyance but seemed too bored with them to argue their motives.
“I assume you know our rates are of the higher scale?” he said down his nose.
“We’re aware we’re on the royal island if that is what you mean?” Atlas said, defensively.
“Quite so,” said the pub owner. “I assume you’re also aware this is an important weekend and there will be extra security in all establishments. No questionable people will be spared naval questioning as commanders see fit.”
“I would expect nothing less,” Atlas said, passing ten geld across the counter, which Captain Tucker had lent them for their journey. Atlas sounded confident, but Nova saw the confusion by the pub owner’s words in his countenance.
The snobbish man passed a gold key across the counter, and without so much as directions to their room, he returned to polishing the etched crystal drinking glasses.
The upper floor was padded in red, plush carpet over the center of polished wood floors. On every wall, there were large gold trimmed canvases as if windows to the outside. Each painted landscape boasted a different angle of the gilded palace. The entire pub seemed dedicated to the former King Insel, with his family seal engraved into every thick beam lining the walls as they trudged to the furthest room.
Briggs held Nova’s satchel with the dagger and their other weapons, while Atlas unlocked the door matching the numbered key. The room was dim as light tried to filter through a single window. Two footboards faced one another from the double beds pushed against opposite walls. Insel’s seal was beautifully carved in the ceiling beam—a large reminder the late king was always near.
The stuffy room filled Nova with a sense of homesickness for Captain Tucker’s comfortable home, with wing-backed chairs facing the fragrant gardens and little Theo’s giggles echoing along the halls. And Kale. What was he doing? Was he relieved they’d left? Had Raine been right in her assumptions that Kale had wanted to come? Nova shook her head, erasing his knowing eyes from her mind.
“This is what the people of Koning call a pub?” she scoffed, plopping down on one of the large beds enrobed in a white down comforter and large, body length pillows. “They would fall out of their fine clothes if they stepped into the pub on Arbeiten, right, Uncle Briggs.”
“Don’t fool yerself, lass. They wouldn’t look down their noses at the people of Arbeiten. Konings rarely leave their island to wallow with the commoners,” Briggs said as if he had vinegar on his tongue.
“He’s right. Only the lower nobles leave, in most cases. They handle trade and negotiations for those on the hill,” Raine said, airing out her hair near the open window and pointing to the grassy hillside with brilliant white brick homes surrounding the base of the palace. “Atlas you did amazing, by the way. You even had the pub owner almost stumbling on his words out of respect for you. That never happens for merchants.”
Atlas smiled and subtly lifted his chin in pride. “He almost threw me off when he mentioned the important weekend. He made it seem as if I was supposed to know something.”
“Any ideas what he meant, Raine?” Nova asked, eyeing her curiously.
Raine was leaning out the window now, her eyes focused on something in the distance. Raine’s slender shoulders rose and fell with heavy breaths. The bodice she’d made for herself seemed to tighten even more around her thin waist with each gasp of air.
“Raine, what is it?” Atlas asked.
“I think I know what the pub owner was meaning, look!”
Nova rushed to the window, pushing her shoulders against Raine. Atlas and Briggs nuzzled behind them so they all could glance out at the winding road leading to the palace.
A long caravan with silver-hoofed horses from the high mountains of Regen trotted regally up the hillside. Each rider rode with ease and an air of nobility and status as they waved swords covered in rare jewels and metals. Nova saw in the front and the rear were high-ranking naval captains. The red and green feathers burst from their hats like an explosion of color as they led the charge. In the center of the moving party was a gold carriage bouncing along on silver rimmed wheels.
Six white chargers pulled the carriage with reins and harnesses coated in rare rubies and sapphires that glimmered like daytime stars under the fading sunlight. The canopy over the carriage was white with a crystal sheen blasting a diamond glare across the road. The caravan was nothing short of a royal transport.
“Raine, what is this?”
“I’ve ridden in that carriage many times around Koning,” she whispered. “I was so foolish to think they would leave the throne empty for much longer.”
“What are you saying?” Atlas asked.
“If I’m right, you are witnessing the arrival of the new king to his own coronation ceremony. The palace will be filled with the highest noble families.”
Briggs threw a yellowing town newspaper from weeks earlier on the polished wooden floor. “Well, now we’ll never get in.”
Raine held up a hand and shook her head. “Not exactly. The ballroom and coronation throne room will be heavily guarded. The archives and Insel’s private library are in the lower chambers of the palace. If I’m right, it should be quiet down there, with most likely a few lower soldiers patrolling the halls. But there could be another risk.”
“What’s that?” Atlas asked.
“If we’re caught on the week of a coronation, the guards will not take us to trial. We’ll most certainly be shot on site.”
The harrowing silence settled across the room like a suffocating blanket as the risk burrowed deeper into their minds.
Nova’s chest tightened in response as if the darkness of the Djinn power were knocking against her body, reminding her of who she was and what had to be done.
“We’ll make it,” she said firmly. “I’ll make sure of it. If I can twist fate, then that is what I must do.”
“Lass,” Briggs said. “It’s easier said than done. There be consequences to going down that road, and there may not be a way back.”
Atlas and Raine eyed her, both sets of eyes knowingly watching yet agreeing with her. Nova’s shoulders straightened and she puffed out her chest. “It’s what has to be done if we are ever to find Mount Dia. My mother used her power to conceal it from us. The only way is to use the same power to find it. Uncle Briggs, you know this is inevitable. It is a part of me, and I must accept the consequences of what I started in the first place. I have to become one with the Djinn, or I fear I may soon go mad.”
“It’s probably for the best,” Atlas said softly, wrap
ping an arm around her shoulders. Raine bit her lip as if she wasn’t completely confident, but nodded along with Atlas.
Briggs sighed and placed his hands on his hips. His thick bottom lip jutted out beneath the bushy gray whiskers dotting his chin. Nova saw the uncertainty in the depths of his gray eyes. With each passing moment, the swirling color seemed to darken like a heavy storm cloud filled to the brink with rain. He said nothing; instead, Briggs gathered the disposed-of newspaper and tucked it securely under his arm. He grabbed the black coat and hung it over the opposite shoulder before silently leaving the room, back into the pub.
Nova had followed his every step, sensing his worry, pain, and disappointment until it seemed as if her heart might wrench itself apart. But, as if on cue, the darkness swallowed the human emotions and buoyed her up in a fierce strength. Nothing could stop her from finding the mountain—not a new king, not a palace full of soldiers. Not even her beloved Briggs.
Chapter 6
The Band of Shadows
Harpsicords, flutes, and drums sang into the night from the coronation ball. As the morning sun filtered across the floor of the small room, faint chirps of instruments could still be heard in the distance.
Nova wrapped a thin blanket around her shoulders and watched the pinkish sun peek its bright face over the grand hill of the royal island. Her golden curls washed down her back in springy tendrils as a fresh morning breeze kissed her cheeks and calmed the turmoil boiling inside her heart.
Raine slept soundly in the bed they’d shared for the night, while Briggs huddled close to the edge of the second bed, his blunderbuss pistol jutting from beneath his pillow. Atlas was next to him, taking up the remainder of the bed with all four limbs sprawled wildly across the mattress and his exposed chest rising and falling with deep, steady breaths.
Clanking glasses could be heard downstairs as the pub employees prepared for the morning crowd and day’s work. She tried to focus on the beautiful palace on the hill, for later that night she would yet again penetrate its walls and take from the royals. But instead, all Nova could think about was the agitation tingling along her skin at the delay.
They should’ve broken into the archives last night. It was foolish to wait any longer than they had to. She glared in Raine’s direction for suggesting such a plan, and then spewed her annoyance toward Briggs and Atlas for going along with it. Her chest tightened.
I could break in unnoticed. No one would be the wiser, and if anyone tried to stop me, it would be their mistake, she thought to herself, feeling ever darker inside despite the growing ball of light in the sky.
Lurlina’s perfect smile came to her mind just as if she were sitting next to her in the quiet room. Her hair had taken back its silver shade, as opposed to the rose-gold color it had had in the garden not long ago. Her face was more vibrant, like a smooth oil painting, and she seemed more alive, more real than Nova had ever remembered.
“I’m pleased you’ve chosen to accept who you really are, my dear,” she said, her voice calm and relaxing, yet powerful.
“I’ve only allowed it in so I can find you and get my mother back,” Nova said angrily, turning away from Lurlina’s fiery eyes.
“I know you’re angry. That is normal as the power adjusts, but you are pushing your anger against me when I have done nothing but try and help you, my dear.”
“You’ve taken my mother.”
“No, I have not,” Lurlina insisted. “Nova, we are a family. We are sisters and brothers of Djinn and you belong with us. If you will let me in and let me guide you, you will be the most powerful of us all—even more than your mother once was. Just open the way for me to reach you in person and I will lead you to such wonders you cannot imagine.”
“I wouldn’t even know how.” She pouted.
“Welcome me here,” Lurlina said pointing to Nova’s chest. “Accept me and command the shroud around Launi to accept the power of the Djinn.”
Nova’s heart raced like a rushing wind current; her cheeks were like a hot oven with red embers. Lurlina was right; she did feel angry. The tingling fury spewed from the tightness in her chest to every inch of her extremities. But a deeper side, an unfamiliar side of the Djinn power, wanted to trust Lurlina, wanted to be around others who understood. Lurlina described the Djinn as a family. How many more were there? What was it like to live among them? Her mother was at the temple, and if she went with Lurlina they would be together.
Nova felt free for the smallest moment at the idea of relinquishing her mental wall against Lurlina and allowing her full reign of her senses, until another thought filled her mind.
“I will get my mother, but I will not abandon my father, either,” Nova said quietly.
Lurlina nodded, her lips turning down in noticeable disappointment. “I cannot help you unless you invite me to guide you, my dear Nova. And I fear what may happen without the guidance of another Djinn. Despite what your mother may have told you, we are not the enemy. Kamali was lost and turned against her family once. She is much like you and yearned for an adventure away from our home. But now she is happy and free with her family once again. The past is behind her and she, along with the rest of your family, is ready for you to be a part of it.
“I would leave you with a question for you to think on until we speak again. Now that you’ve allowed your true self in, do you think you can go back to life as it was with your mortal father? You must be honest with yourself, Nova. The Djinn inside pulls you away from your life in your kingdom; it is telling you where you really belong. How heartbroken would your father be if you resume life with him, only to abandon him later when you succumb to the Djinn?”
Nova opened her mouth to respond and defend her father’s unconditional love for her, but Lurlina interrupted. “Think on it, Nova. Before I leave you, I want you to know there are those in your world that are looking to stop you from finding the temple. He is a great threat to you and won’t hesitate to harm you. Don’t be so arrogant in your unguided power to think you could defeat him. He understands worlds outside of your precious Launi more than you.”
Nova fought to hide the pounding of her pulse at Lurlina’s words. Right before her eyes, Lurlina’s perfect, painted face disappeared into the dawning light in the small, muggy room.
Nova’s jaw tightened and she hugged the blanket around her shoulders tighter just as Briggs barked at Atlas for rolling too close for comfort.
“I didn’t hug you,” Atlas groaned through a wide yawn.
“I got eyes, don’t I, and what I saw was yer thick arm wrappin’ around me belly!” Briggs said, his face turning a deep shade of purple.
Atlas flicked his hand lazily in Briggs’ direction and rolled back over in bed, stuffing half the down body pillow in a mound under his arms.
“What are ye doin’ up so early, lass?” Briggs asked, securing his pistol on his belt.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Nova said abruptly.
Briggs raised his eyebrows but shrugged as he splashed cold water over his face, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Good morning,” Raine said brightly as she stretched her arms high over her head. “We have quite a day ahead of us. I suggest we take comfort with a decent morning meal.”
“We should plan,” Nova snipped.
“Come on, Nova, a hearty meal might do us all some good,” Atlas said, unraveling himself from his sheets and pillow.
As if thousands of pins were pricking her face and arms, Nova breathed deeply, trying to find any shred of her patience and compromise she’d spent the night pushing out of her heart. “Fine, but after that, we need to take the time to plan.”
Briggs sauntered causally toward the window, acting as if he were checking the town square below. “Everythin’ all right, lass?” he whispered.
Nova met his loving eyes. They watched her without judgment, only concern. Her heart tingled with admiration for Briggs and broke through the dark haze of the arrogant Djinn inside.
“I’m fine, Uncle Briggs,”
she replied, taking his hand and forcing a smile. “Just trying to balance everything.”
He nodded and Nova knew he understood. “Just be careful.”
“Always.” She smiled and gathered her clothes from the side table near her bed.
Raine led the way into the town square. Nova kept her hat tilted down, as did Raine. Atlas looked just as dashing as the day before, with his hair neatly tied behind his neck and the blue coat hugging his masculine shoulders.
Raine pointed to a small café with dainty tables topped with white and blue flowers. Nova’s stomach rumbled once they were seated, specifically requesting to be placed away from other patrons. The waiter offered no objections and kept his nose high as he led the lowly merchant family away from the more noble guests.
Nova cupped a steaming mug of spiced tea and deeply breathed in the aroma.
“I haven’t had a meal like this…well, ever,” Atlas said, stuffing a sweet bread filled with spicy sausage into his mouth. “Wonderful suggestion, Raine.”
“I came here once with my lady in waiting when the king had left the island. We came much like this, under disguise. It was one of the few happy memories I have of this island,” she said.
“Nova, you all right?” Atlas asked after chatting happily with Raine for another moment.
Nova was watching across the square, behind a small metal fence surrounding a beautiful, white marble fountain. A man leaned against a far wall, his clothing dark and his face shadowed by a black hat. Somehow, though she couldn’t see his eyes, she knew he was watching them. Lurlina’s warning of someone looking for her stabbed her memory and all the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
“Nova,” Raine tried. “What’s wrong?”
Realizing they were trying to get her attention, Nova spun back around. “I apologize, I just… I thought that man was watching us,” she said, nodding subtly toward the wall.
