by SM Blooding
“Like what?” There was no way she failed to interpret the derision in my tone.
She stopped, her nose inches from mine. “The tribal cities of the Great Families don’t need more survivors.” Any hints of slang were gone. The only thing that remained was a stone cold officer of the Hands. “The people don’t need war, but they don’t need the Families or the Hands ruling them with an iron fist either. Our world works best when everything is fluid, mobile. It’s best to remember that.”
“That’s fantastic, Officer Domitius, but what do you think I can do about it?”
She turned away, open frustration filling her expression. “Talk to the Families. They’re revolting not only against the Hands, but against one another, taking it out on cities and tribes who are protected by the Hands.”
“It sounds like they’re following in your footsteps.” I clenched my hands into fists, fighting to keep my voice under control. “Giving them a taste of their own medicine.”
“Yeah. That’s a great idea. How about we just slaughter all the innocent people to prove our point.”
I bit off my immediate reply, and watched the streets instead. We were heading to the industrial district, where the laboratories were. It was also where the airfields were located.
We didn’t speak as we walked past several metal warehouses, all eerily silent, the massive doors closed.
Birds called to one another high above us and the smell of the sea grew heavier. Bugs buzzed around our heads.
She took me to the edge of Sky City.
The ocean lay far below. No rails stood to protect us from falling off the side of the black, metal city. Slats riddled the floating cliff, spewing air from the fans churning behind them. The wind took the spray and threw it in our faces.
“We know she’s the one who sank our city,” Carilyn said, tossing her head to get her hair out of her face. “We also know the Great Families were the only thing that kept Sky City from sinking to the bottom of the ocean.”
I leaned against the last building, fighting the tugging wind, and stared into the rolling waves. Several kilometres away sat a rocky island. From here, it was hard to see which one it was. But the crisp bite of spice lacing the breeze told me exactly where we were.
“Nix wants war.”
I nodded. “She does.” I tipped my head back and drank in the sight of the sky, wishing I was up there. If I could just get off this city, I could head to those islands, find the ally I knew was there and radio home. But I had to stay here in this place that felt so alien.
“She has her war.” Carilyn picked something off the black metal street and threw it into the ocean. “She’s been building it for several years. Why?”
“She wants to conquer the world, to rule it.”
The intelligence officer shook her head. “That’s the easy answer, knight-tight. Try digging a little deeper and you’ll find the real reason.”
“Does it matter?”
“If we can diffuse her at her source?” Carilyn nodded. “Yeah. It could matter. Otherwise, people are just going to die senselessly.”
“And what do you want me to do?”
“Be her knight.”
I’d already signed on to do that.
“In any way she asks.”
I shook my head. “I’m not turning out to be Varik. No. I’ll be her knight. I’ll do what I can to bring peace to the Great Families, the Hands, and the lesser tribes. We’ll figure out a way to oust Nix. That’s what I’ll do.”
“And how are you going to be knighted?”
I didn’t know the answer to that. Everyone just acted like I already was.
“She needs to give you that power.” Carilyn turned and met my gaze. “So whatever you need to do to earn it, do so because we’re dead in the water—literally—until you get that figured out.”
I let her walk off. I knew where I was and there didn’t seem to be any guards on me. Where could I go? Really?
I rubbed the scratchy scruff on my chin and let out a long, frustrated sigh. What was I doing?
Nix didn’t need to be convinced to give me the knighthood. That was the carrot she was dangling.
So, why hadn’t she given it to me?
It was time to find out.
CHAPTER 4
DOING WHAT’S RIGHT
Getting in to see Nix wasn’t my problem. I really was Nix’s toy, and she was excited to play with me.
The problem was, she wasn’t just going to hand over the knighthood. I had to prove myself to her, that I could be trusted, that I’d earned the position.
What would I have to do in order to accomplish that?
What had she made me do in order to earn the freedom of taking a few classes the last time she’d had her hands on me? Or to be able to spend time with my newfound friends in the laboratory?
I’d had to play her game of seduction. She taken her hand and wrapped it around more than just my body. She’d forced herself into my soul. How was it even possible to loathe and crave the same person?
I wasn’t skilled in the area of seduction. I’d never even really thought about it. Yes, I had to do my duty and find a woman to marry, but I knew all of the available women to choose from. I had time, time to pursue other things like inventing. And as I’d discovered with Nix, I simply lacked the fortitude of finesse to play the seduction game.
So why put myself through that again? Did I really need the knighthood? I didn’t want it, didn’t want to become what I would have to in order to earn the title of her knight. I didn’t want to be the person she sent out to blindly destroy entire cities so she could get what she wanted.
My heart said I needed to be with my family, fighting with them instead of possibly being pitted against them.
I shook my head and listened to the ocean move around the city over the whir of the fans. If I left, if I joined the Great Families again, Nix would destroy anyone who stood in her way. She’d already proven that.
What I really wanted was to be free of her, of her plans, of her control. “Off her leash.”
I took in a deep breath and stared at the large red planet hovering halfway over the horizon. What did I hope to achieve? What did I think I could do?
For one, I could talk to Mother. She was the leader of the Ino, the strongest of the seven Families. The El’Asim was a close second.
No. We had been when my father was alive. I had no doubt that while we might remain one of the largest, we were no longer among the strongest.
What could my mother do?
She could convene the Great Families, have a council to—
Wait. As leader of the El’Asim, I could do that.
But not as the Knight of Wands.
Dirt!
What would I lose by becoming Nix’s knight, her chew toy as Carilyn had so aptly put it?
I would lose the Families’ trust, their loyalty.
What would I gain?
Protection of the Great Families and the tribes. Nix wouldn’t be forced to destroy them in order to find me, to control me.
But would that stop her? She wanted to control the world. She’d just find some other reason to destroy the cities of the Great Families and the tribes.
What had drawn me to this idea in the first place?
Dyna. She thought I could gain Nix’s trust. I shook my head, my lips tight. In order for that to happen, I’d have to trust Nix. That wasn’t going to happen. Ever.
Would I have the inside edge?
I snorted, folding my arms over my chest. Not likely.
Could I negotiate a treaty?
We weren’t even at war yet.
Maybe not physically, but in our hearts, we were.
Metallic heels clicked the stone pavement behind me.
I didn’t turn. I knew that cadence.
“There you are,” Nix said as she stood next to me, staring across the waters, blinking at the mist.
I didn’t acknowledge her presence.
“Are you considering h
ow to ingratiate yourself into my ranks so I’ll knight you?”
I watched the water crash against the sheer metal cliff of the city. The more I thought, the more I realized what my answer was. “We both know you won’t.”
She gave a little “hmm” of approval.
“I’m leaving.” Was this the right decision? My gut sure felt it was. “Dyna has already said I can do so whenever I wish. You and I both know there’s nothing you can do to keep me here.”
Her gaze rested on the black tattoos lacing their way up my neck and along my jaw.
“There’s nothing I can do here, nothing good anyway. You want war. I want peace.” I met her gaze squarely. “And there is absolutely nothing I can do to talk you into giving us peace.”
She ran her fingertips on my arm, the sun glinting off the moving parts of her gear-work crown. “I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you could convince me.”
I pushed her hand away and took a step back, staring down at her through narrowed eyes.
Her eyes widened.
“You may see me as a toy, Nix, but I am in no mood to be played with.”
She pursed her lips, her cheeks drawn.
Her silence was the vindication I needed. This was the first time I’d been able to get that kind of reaction out of her, which meant this had to be right. I turned back to the city. There was nothing to do now except to see if Dyna was serious about securing me safe passage out of there.
“Synn,” Nix called.
I ignored her.
“Synn, wait!”
I paused, though what I was waiting for, I really didn’t know. There wasn’t anything she could offer me that I’d want. My heart told me what I needed to do. Dyna might have thought being Nix’s knight was the right thing to do, but she was wrong. There was no way I could pull it off. I wasn’t that kind of person, and I wasn’t going to allow her to break me. Not again.
Her heels tinked on the pavement in a hurried cadence as she came to stand before me. Her red painted nails and her one diamond studded claw flexed as she reached for me. She stopped and flinched, letting her hands fall.
Was that true vulnerability? Or was she playing me? Again.
“I will give you what you want. I will make you a knight.”
“That’s what Dyna wants.”
She took a step forward, her eyes searching mine, her ruby lips full. “But you stayed.”
I had.
Something flickered in the depths of her dark gaze. “You wanted to be here. With me.”
“Maybe then.” Bile rose in my throat at the truth in that statement. “But not now.”
“How could that have changed in the span of a few weeks?”
I shrugged and moved to step around her. I wish I knew.
Her nails dug into my arm.
I immediately reached for the power of my Mark, buried deep inside, nestled in a streambed of anger. The black rivers along my arms and neck sizzled. The smell of burning silk filled the air.
Her mouth opened, her chin raised as she let go and took a step back.
“I’m not your sky-felled toy, Nix,” I said through clenched teeth. “I will not be played with. You will not break me.”
“But I will not stop until I have you.” Her eyes shot pure fury. “You may leave me. My sister can even protect you for a mere moment, but I will destroy every—”
“Enough of this!” I advanced, shoving my face in hers. “When will you learn, spoiled princess, that you don’t always get your way. I will never be yours!”
Her body quivered as she stared at me. “You were,” she whispered.
“I was,” I whispered back. “But not now.”
She held my gaze in a vise-like grip. “I want you back.”
“I don’t.”
She grimaced. “What do I have to do?”
I took a step back. “Give up this idea of war. Forget your need to dominate through vengeance that isn’t even yours to take.” I shook my head, my lips tight. How could I make her understand? “I don’t know why you want me. It’s not because you know who I am.”
Her mouth opened, paused, then closed.
“I’m nothing but a thing to you.” My eyes searched the skies as my heart cried to be up there, listening to the creaking rigging, the snap of the sails, the groaning sides of the hull. Sky City was not my home. It was too still, the air too heavy, smelling of metal.
She invaded the space between us and put her hand on my chest. “I know the man you want to be.”
I took her wrist and removed it from my body. “No. You don’t. You think I want to be powerful, but you have no idea what you’ve already done to me, how your actions have shaped me. I don’t need power to rise above you.” I took a step back, throwing her hand away from me. “I already am.”
“You will never be free of me, Synn Primus!”
“I was never a Primus, Nix,” I shouted over my shoulder as I turned and walked away. “I have been and always will be El’Asim.”
This time, she didn’t follow.
I had no idea how Dyna was going to react to me leaving, but she’d told me if I didn’t feel I could do it, I was free to go. I closed my eyes, never slowing down, and opened them again. It felt really good knowing that Sky City would soon be a distant memory, one that I would never have to see again.
That brought several other questions to the surface. How was I going to get home? I had no way to communicate with the Families, no way of finding them. They were adept at hiding.
Another thought struck me. What if this was exactly what Dyna had hoped for? That I would want to leave, and then lead the Hands straight to the Great Families.
I’d just have to find another way.
Carilyn met me on the pale stone steps to the House of Swords, her arms folded over her chest as she leaned against the wall, a smirk on her face. As my eyes met hers, her shoulders with silent laughter shook and she pushed off the wall.
The heavy doors opened before us, light streaming into the massive great room. A throne had been brought in, set up on the far end. Did they have multiple uses for this room? I hadn’t remembered seeing it previously.
Queen Dyna sat on it, her uniform replaced by a state dress of silver and blue layers.
My hands went numb as I approached.
Aiyanna pulled herself from the shadows of one of the many square columns and joined Carilyn and I.
Drawing closer, it became apparent that Queen Dyna was far from upset. A smile curved her lips and her blue eyes almost twinkled.
I felt like a fly in a web. This whole thing had been a grand trap. I glanced at the priestess walking beside me. Her scarves swished and jingled with each hip-swaying step. Had she betrayed me, the secrets I kept? Had she endangered the Great Families?
Dyna’s fingers pressed and released, pressed and released the arms of her muted silver throne until we stopped.
Carilyn and Aiyanna bowed their heads, their hands fisted over their hearts.
I owed this woman nothing, no loyalty, no service. No respect. I remained where I stood.
Queen Dyna descended the three steps until she stood in front of me. She was a tall woman, taller than Nix, but without nearly the presence of the other queen.
I heard rustling behind her and saw the other two queens step around Dyna’s throne.
The Queen of Coins’ round figure was draped in folds of dark green velvet, her fading red hair wrapped in gold. She watched me through grey eyes, her thick fingers folded before her.
The Queen of Cups stared at me with sharp dark eyes, her brown hair severely pulled back. She hid her figure in full turquoise robes. The only thing that distinguished her as a queen, other than her carriage, was the circlet of gold around her head.
“You have done well, Synn El’Asim,” Queen Dyna said as her sisters joined her.
I stared at them confused.
Dyna lowered her chin. “I hear everything that occurs in this city.”
I watched them all wari
ly. “So you know what I told Nix.”
She nodded.
“I thought you wanted me to be her knight.”
“And I did.” The Queen of Swords bowed her head, revealing a complex knotwork of blond hair. “But I was wrong, and I am glad you discovered it. Had you attempted to follow my instructions, we would most likely be in a much graver situation.”
I shook my head, a frown furrowed in my forehead so deep, it hurt. “I don’t understand.”
She smiled. “You don’t have to.” She turned to the Queen of Cups. “You can provide safe transport—”
“You called a council of the queens and didn’t invite me?” Nix’s voice was cool. Her metal heels sounded on the stone tile in a slow cadence. “How rude, sisters.”
The Queen of Cups snarled and opened her mouth.
Dyna rested a hand on the other woman’s arm. “This is not an official council.”
“Official or not,” Nix said, pushing Aiyanna out of the way to stand beside me, “you are convening with my knight.”
“I’m not your knight.” I ground my teeth and stepped toward Carilyn.
Nix turned an icy stare to Dyna. “Were you taking him from me?”
“I am leaving,” I said. “As I already told you.”
“And she is assisting?”
“Since you weren’t.” For the love of Sky, I was a man, not a shoe to be fought over. “I don’t need your permission.”
She turned her angry gaze on me. Gone was the woman I’d shocked into silence. Here stood the queen I’d grown to loathe and despise. “You would do well to seek it.”
“I don’t care what you do.” I took a step closer, my Mark heating with a sizzle. “I am leaving.”
She closed the gap, tipping her head slightly to look up at me. “I will blow you out of the sky or the water.”
“You’d really risk killing me?”
“If I can’t have you.”
My eyes flared. I didn’t know how to respond.
Her expression softened.
My shoulders tensed and I looked away.
“Give me one night.” She opened her hands. “One night to change your mind.”
“I’m not sleeping with you, Nix.”
She let out a breath, tossing her head gently one way then the other. “I don’t need you to sleep with me.”
