Take Back the Skies

by Lucy Saxon

  She shook her head, answering the unspoken question as another sob escaped her.

  ‘Storms. I … how?’

  ‘Alexander,’ she told him quietly, pointing at the now lifeless mecha-soldier on the table. ‘Shot him from behind.’

  She felt a large hand on her back, and leaned into Matt’s arm, still not letting go of Fox’s body.

  ‘Gods, I never thought … I thought we were safe. I thought we were done with this,’ he muttered, his cheek pressed against her hair. ‘Cat, I’m so, so sorry, sweetheart.’

  A siren began to wail, and Cat winced.

  ‘The Mericans are here,’ Matt murmured, making her scowl.

  ‘Too bloody late, aren’t they?’

  ‘Cat, we need to find the others, there’s nothing we can do for the kids. They’re all brain-dead, technically dead. The only reason they’re still moving is their machinery. We’re getting ready to hand things over to the Merican soldiers.’

  Cat shook her head, clinging tighter to Fox’s body.

  ‘I’m not leaving him,’ she insisted. Matt squeezed her shoulders.

  ‘Just let me pick him up, Cat. I’ll be careful, I promise. But we need to go upstairs, and you can’t carry him,’ he reasoned, his voice low.

  Cat bit her lip, but eventually nodded, letting Matt take Fox from her lap. The muscular man cradled the limp body protectively, bracing Fox’s head in the crook of his arm.

  Slipping the satchel over Fox’s head and slinging it over her own shoulder, Cat stayed close by, walking at Matt’s side, her hand gripping Fox’s.

  They took the pulley-lift, Cat wordlessly cranking the lever to raise them to the upper level. When the gate pulled back, she met Ben’s eyes, and felt the tears start anew.

  ‘Matt, what are you …’ Ben trailed off when he saw the blood covering Fox’s stomach and Cat’s hands. ‘No. No, no,’ he murmured, shaking his head. ‘It can’t be true. Tell me that’s not what I think it is.’

  Matt shook his head, his eyes earnest and tearful as they locked with Ben’s.

  ‘I’m sorry, Benny,’ he said hoarsely, and Ben’s face crumpled. Stepping out of the lift, Cat allowed Ben to run a gentle hand through her hair, pulling her close. But her eyes didn’t leave Fox’s body.

  ‘Oh, Cat,’ Ben breathed, letting her go when Harry approached, flanked by soldiers in the red and white uniform of the Merican army. The man slowed when he saw Fox lying in Matt’s arms, all colour draining from his face.

  ‘Harry …’ Matt shook his head sadly; he didn’t need to say anything more. Harry swallowed tightly, his eyes glistening.

  ‘He can’t be … bloody hell. How am I gonna tell Alice?’ he choked. ‘Cat, lass, what happened?’

  ‘One of the mecha-soldiers woke up … shot him in the back. I tried, I tried to help, I sent James for a doctor, but … it happened so quickly. He wouldn’t stop bleeding,’ she sobbed, gripping the cold hand that didn’t grip her back.

  ‘We should take him back to our ship, and get him ready for … for burial. We’ll bring him home for you,’ the soldier on Harry’s left said in accented Anglyan.

  Matt nodded, stepping closer to the soldier, moving to shift Fox into the man’s arms. Cat stopped him, tugging on his sleeve.

  ‘Wait,’ she murmured quietly. Stepping up on tiptoe, she brushed the bright red fringe from his smooth forehead, wincing as her fingers touched icy skin. She leaned forward, kissing unresponsive lips.

  ‘Goodbye, William Michael Foxe. I love you, and I always will,’ she breathed against his ear, then stepped back, closing her eyes tightly. ‘Take him,’ she said to the soldier, who nodded, carefully taking Fox’s body from Matt. He nodded respectfully to Cat after she’d opened her eyes, a sympathetic look on his face.

  ‘I’m sorry for your loss, miss,’ he said softly.

  Cat watched as the foreigner walked away with the dead body of the love of her life, and felt like he was taking her heart with him.

  Chapter 29

  Swallowing harshly, Cat squared her shoulders, determined to at least finish what she’d started.

  The sound of frantic footsteps startled her, and she looked up, seeing James running towards her.

  ‘Cat! I got the doctor, but you weren’t in the lab and … what happened?’ She shook her head, unable to get the words out.

  ‘You were too late, lad. There … there was nothing you could have done,’ Matt told James, who gasped. He immediately went towards Cat, attempting to put an arm around her. Feeling an irrational bout of anger, she shoved him away, glaring.

  ‘Don’t touch me!’ she exclaimed. ‘He’s gone – are you happy? He’s dead, you don’t have to worry about competing with him any more.’

  James’s eyes widened, and he held out his hands in an attempt to soothe her.

  ‘No, no, gods, Cat, I never wanted this to happen. I might have been jealous of him, but … I never wanted him dead. I’m sorry. He was a good man,’ he said sincerely, his voice low and calm.

  ‘He was,’ Cat agreed, swallowing back another sob.

  ‘Excuse me, sir? Are the experiments contained?’ a stocky blond soldier asked Matt, who nodded.

  ‘They’re dead – the ones we found, anyway. We were too late to save them. You’re welcome to search the ship for survivors, though,’ he replied.

  Four of the soldiers nodded and walked away, and their commander looked at the assembled crew.

  ‘Why don’t you all go back to your ship? Just stay in the area and keep the zip-line connected – we’ll send someone over when we’re ready to bring the ship back to Anglya,’ he suggested.

  Cat frowned, but Harry cut across her and nodded.

  ‘I think you might have the right idea,’ he agreed.

  ‘But what about the workers?’

  ‘We’ve got it covered, miss,’ the commander insisted, smiling kindly at her. ‘We’ll arrest the workers and make sure there aren’t any dangerous experiments still active. You’ve done enough. Let us take it from here.’

  Biting her lip, Cat nodded reluctantly, allowing Harry to usher her towards the trap leading up to the deck. Harry kept her moving, pushing her gently to the ladder.

  She pulled her goggles up when she got on deck, huddling into her coat. There were two soldiers standing guard by the bottom of the mast, and Cat craned her neck to see the zip-line strung taut between the ship’s mast and that of the Stormdancer.

  ‘You go on up first, Cat,’ Matt said, handing her the body-ropes.

  She nodded, winding the ropes around her legs and waist, then scrambled up the rigging to the top of the mast, clamping the free end of the body-ropes into the zip-line mechanism. She landed with only a slight wobble at the top of the mast of her own ship. Wriggling out of her body-ropes, she left them hooked to the mechanism and tugged on the send-rope, prompting Matt to start reeling it back.

  Climbing down the rigging, Cat was met on deck by Alice, who screamed when she saw the blood covering Cat.

  ‘Oh, gods, what happened? Where are you hurt?’ she asked frantically, moving to fuss over Cat, who ducked away from the older woman, wrapping her arms defensively around her chest.

  ‘It’s not mine. I’m fine,’ she insisted quietly. She ignored the woman’s questions, watching Matt descend the rigging, and squinted across at the other ship, seeing Ben reeling back the mechanism.

  ‘What happened?’ Alice asked, her brow furrowing in dread. ‘Where’s Fox?’

  Cat shook her head, unable to speak, and was glad when a long arm rested comfortingly across her shoulders.

  ‘He … he didn’t make it,’ Matt told them, and Cat winced at the loud wail of grief that escaped Alice’s lips.

  Matt hugged Alice tightly, stroking her hair. She was speechless, her sobs muffled by Matt’s coat, until she straightened up and composed herself, turning to Cat.

  ‘Oh, Cat, dear … come on, come with me. We’ll get you cleaned up,’ she urged, tears running down her face.

  Cat allowed
herself to be led down the trap, dazed. She didn’t struggle, even when Alice took Fox’s bag from her and began to strip her of her bloodied clothes, the bath running and a fresh set of clothes folded on the shelf. The water turned pink when she stepped into the bath, even though Alice had scrubbed her hands thoroughly.

  She complied silently, allowing Alice to wash her hair and wrap a fluffy towel around her body, only moving when it came to putting on her clothes. When she was dressed, Alice took her along the corridor to the galley. Letting herself be directed into a seat, Cat stared blankly at the table. All she wanted was to hide in her room and cry. She accepted the tea nudged into her hands, but blinked when she heard Alice say the word ‘lunch’.

  ‘I’m not hungry,’ she said mechanically, making the older woman pause in her fussing.

  ‘Are you sure, dear?’ she checked, and Cat nodded.

  ‘I … I think I’m just going to lie down for a while,’ Cat replied in a quiet voice.

  Walking into her own room, the sobs started afresh when she spotted the all too familiar jacket slung over the back of her chair. When had Fox left that there? Unable to help herself, she picked it up and held it to her face, inhaling deeply. Exhaling slowly, she was half sobbing, half laughing; it still smelt of him.

  She collapsed on the bed, Fox’s jacket hugged tightly to her chest, tears falling freely, hiccuping sobs breaking free. She didn’t know how long she lay there, only that she was interrupted by a knock on the door far, far too soon.

  ‘Go away!’ she shouted in irritation – flinching when the door swung open and James stepped in. ‘Leave me alone,’ she spat. ‘You’re the last person I want to see right now.’

  Ignoring her, he walked right into the room and perched on the edge of the bed. She turned away from him, lying on her side to face the wall.

  ‘I’m not going away,’ he told her simply. ‘I might not have cared for Fox the same way you do, but I am sad he’s gone. He made you happy, I can’t argue with that.’

  She bit her lip in an attempt to stop the tirade of angry words she wanted to shout at the boy. She knew he was trying to help, but she really didn’t want to hear it.

  ‘Then why are you here?’ she asked miserably.

  He shifted to lean against the headboard, Cat’s head next to his thigh. ‘Do you want the better-sounding answer, or the truth?’ he asked wryly.

  ‘The truth, if you don’t mind.’ Cat heard a long sigh escape the young prince’s lips, and moved on to her back, not quite facing him but not turned away.

  ‘I’m terrified,’ he admitted freely. ‘There’s now nothing stopping Mother and me from regaining our titles, and … I’m scared witless. I never thought this day would actually come.’

  Cat sighed. ‘You’ll be a great king, when it’s your turn. Besides, you can’t do any worse than the last people in charge,’ she pointed out.

  ‘Yes, I suppose you’re right,’ James said quietly. ‘But, still … I’d be greater if I had a great queen by my side.’

  Instantly, Cat shut down. ‘Don’t. Don’t start, not even in jest. It’s far too soon … he just died. Please … don’t,’ she begged in a whisper.

  James frowned. ‘You’re right, I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me. But, you have to know … I’m not going to give up. Even if it takes years,’ he told her bluntly.

  Cat sighed again, bringing up a hand to rub the bridge of her nose, trying to rid herself of the headache that was building.

  ‘James, you’ll have a wonderful kingdom and a long reign when the time comes, and I’ll be there to help you through it, but … not as your wife. And please, allow me to mourn the love of my life before trying to take his place,’ she said frankly, desperate for him to leave. He raised an eyebrow at her, an incredulous expression on his face.

  ‘You barely even knew each other,’ he pointed out.

  ‘Does it matter?’ she said furiously. ‘I loved – no, I love him, and he’s gone. You can’t change that, and you can’t make me love you!’

  ‘I’m not asking you to. I’m just asking you to remember … I … we – we were friends once.’

  ‘We were six,’ Cat retorted drily. James’s lips flickered in a smile.

  ‘Still, we were friends. Closer than friends, even – we grew up together. Maybe one day, we’ll be that close again. You’re all I remember from before. You and my parents. My father is gone, but … I don’t want to lose you too,’ he admitted. Cat bit her lip; she too had fond memories of those early years. She couldn’t blame James for having been kept from human contact for eight years.

  ‘Maybe we can be that close, one day. But don’t ever ask for more than that.’

  James smiled, looking confident. ‘You’re only fifteen, Cat. It’s too early to say never – you won’t need to marry for years yet. I’ve got plenty of time to prove that you could love me, if you give me a chance,’ he replied.

  Cat glared at him. ‘Get out of my room,’ she ordered flatly.

  ‘I’ve upset you,’ he noted.

  ‘Yes, you have. So please leave so I can be upset in peace,’ she snarled.

  After several seconds, Cat felt the mattress shift as James’s weight was removed, and the door creaked quietly as it was opened and then shut again. She buried her face in the soft wool lining of Fox’s jacket, feeling it dampen with tears. Why did James have to be so insensitive?

  ‘I won’t love him,’ she declared softly, not sure who she was vowing to.

  Epilogue

  ‘Hold still, sweetheart, you’ve got a curl coming loose.’

  Cat smiled patiently, allowing Alice to fix her hair. She caught a look at her reflection in the floor-length mirror hung on the wall, and despite the circumstances, couldn’t help but grin. She looked beautiful. Her hair had grown almost to the length it was before she’d cut it two years ago, and was currently pinned in elaborate curls, accenting the delicate silver and amethyst tiara resting among them. The fine netting of the veil looked like silver mist behind her head, trailing down to her waist, and her dress was … perfect.

  ‘Twenty minutes … are you excited?’ Alice asked, beaming.

  Cat managed as close to a sincere smile as she could in reply.

  ‘Could I have some privacy? Just … just for a few minutes,’ she pleaded quietly.

  Alice met her gaze knowingly, patting her cheek.

  ‘Of course, sweetheart. I’ll call for you when it’s time.’

  Cat nodded, turning to the open balcony as Alice made to leave. Leaning her arms against the railing, she stared out over the city, smiling to herself at the angry-looking storm clouds gathering on the horizon. That looked like a hurricane; and that meant good luck. She almost laughed.

  The city had changed so much in just two short years; gone were the dirty streets, the multitude of poor and homeless, and the closed-off government district. The city was bright and clean, its people prospering. Once trade had reopened fully between Anglya and the rest of the world, the economic status of the country had shot up; after all, despite everything, Anglya was still the country with the largest tyrium mines. Most of the city had been rebuilt and remodelled, especially the crater that had once been the government compound. There were still plenty of cranes and scaffolding towers around half-finished buildings, but … they were getting there.

  ‘Gods, I can’t believe I’m doing this,’ she murmured with a sigh, glancing up into the clouds. ‘And so soon, too. You’d probably hate me for this – after you’d laughed yourself silly and punched him in the face, of course,’ she added with a slight smile, remembering hot red hair and an even hotter temper. ‘I wish it were you,’ she breathed, letting her eyes slide shut. ‘I only ever wanted you, but … we weren’t meant to be.’ Laughing sadly, she dropped her gaze to the single large diamond on the platinum band around her finger. It was ostentatious, and not what she would have preferred, but society had its expectations.

  ‘I miss you,’ she whispered, as if it were a crime to admit it.
‘And I haven’t stopped loving you. Not for a moment. I don’t love him … He’s not terrible, but storms, he’s not you.’ She paused, blinking fiercely as tears threatened to rise. Alice would kill her if she ruined her make-up.

  ‘You’d be proud, you know, Fox.’ And gods, if it didn’t still hurt to say his name. ‘You’d be so very proud of what this country has become, of what it’s yet to become. And … I hope you’re proud of me too. I’m doing what you asked. I’m doing my duty.’ She steeled herself, setting her shoulders back and raising her chin, the action causing her dress to ripple slightly. ‘I’m doing my duty, to crown and country.’

  ‘Cat, dear, it’s time!’ Alice’s voice called, and Cat’s posture faltered for a fraction of a second before she regained her composure. Leaving the balcony, she left through the doors opposite to find Alice and Harry waiting for her. Despite Alice’s playful nagging, the couple hadn’t made any move to settle down with kids of their own. Cat had had to call them and the crew in from Dalivia just for the wedding week.

  ‘You look radiant, lass,’ Harry said with a fatherly smile, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. She’d missed the kindly man very much recently. She’d missed all the crew; even when they were in Anglya, it was only for a few days, and she didn’t always get the chance to see them. She often found herself toying with the idea of repeating the past, of stowing away to join them once again. ‘Are you ready to go?’

  ‘If I say no, does it matter?’ she asked wryly, making the man snort with laughter.

  ‘You’ll be fine, lass. He’s a good lad, he’ll take care of you,’ Harry assured her, offering her his arm. As she slid her arm through his, she couldn’t help but remember heated arguments, glaring matches and her insisting she could take care of herself. But that had been with Fox, and Fox was gone.

  She walked with Harry towards a set of tall, ornate double doors. She heard muffled music start up inside, and the doors swung open, revealing a room full of people all dressed in their finery, a deep purple carpet trailing up the aisle to the head of the room. Letting her eyes rest on the young man standing at the end of the carpet, she swallowed, forcing herself to walk in time to the music as they had practised. She had to admit, he looked handsome; his hair, combed neatly to the side, shone like spun gold in the lamplight. Blue eyes bright, and lips pulled into a beaming grin, he was almost the spitting image of his late father at the same age. Standing beside him were Matt and Ben, both looking extremely dapper – if slightly uncomfortable – in their light grey three-piece suits, the vibrant purple bow ties matching the roses pinned to their jackets and the ribbons on their top hats. On the other side of the aisle, Mary was dressed in her royal best, crown atop her head, having easily settled back into her role as queen. She was beaming with joy; Cat wished she could return the sentiment.