But I kept that thought to myself. She'd probably sever my manhood if I broached the subject.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, noticing my stare.
"I...uh...curious about your injuries," I said, scrambling for an excuse that wasn't what I was actually thinking. "How is your head, any pain?"
"Not as much as the one in my ass." She'd meant to say it under her breath, but I heard it.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Remember, I can take back my jumpsuit at anytime, Captain."
"I suggest you pay more attention to your own pants," she said with a smile.
I looked down and jumped three feet; in my attentiveness to her, my pant leg had ventured too close to the fire and caught. With a hiss, I patted it out and sniffed at my singed hem.
"What did you do with my jumpsuit, anyway?" she asked.
"Over there," I said, nodding to the pile of bloody clothes on the other side of the camp. "It was pretty torn up. Mine seems to be a little thicker and warmer."
She glanced down at the name on her chest and grimaced again. "I'd rather freeze to death than wear this. If your soldiers come, I don't want them confusing me for a Kylaen."
Her pride in her country was incredible. I never thought someone could be so thickheadedly loyal to something. "There's no way you could pass for a Kylaen. I think you bleed black and gold."
I was pleased at the smile that appeared on her face. Maybe I was growing on her after all.
Theo
I prayed that my last days in this world would not be filled with the princeling's terrible sense of humor. His superiority was disgusting, and his attempts to remind me of his status as a royal only served to make me wish I had the nerve to kill him.
"So...tell me about yourself."
I glanced over at the princeling across the fire. "This isn't a date."
"No, because if it were, I doubt I'd choose someone with such a piss-poor attitude, but here we are."
I had to give him credit; he had some bite to him. "What do you want to know?"
"For starters, what's your name?"
"Theo."
"That's not your name," he scoffed. "That's...a nickname or—"
"Theo Kallistrate," I said, not bothering to explain to him what kallistrate meant in the old Raven language. I doubt he knew anything about my country, seeing as his father was intent on wiping it out.
"But Theo's a guy's name." He seemed preoccupied with this fact. "I mean, are you trying to pretend to be a guy for military purposes or—"
"That is the name they gave me at the orphanage and that is the name I use," I said, hoping the conversation would end.
Unfortunately, it didn't. "You're an orphan?"
I closed my eyes and sighed. "Yes."
"Did you even know your parents?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Princeling, if you're going to doubt everything I tell you, why ask at all?"
"Why do you keep calling me that?" he asked. To my pointed look, he added, "I won't doubt what you say."
"Because you're the...princeling," I said with a small shrug. "You aren't the heir, and you aren't the military hero. You're just..."
"I see," he said. "So I'm a big joke to you guys too, huh?"
"The tabloid stories didn't help."
"Oh son of a... It was like, twice!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing in the clearing. "I'm not allowed to make a mistake twice?"
I wondered if I should contradict him, seeing as our lucky wall back in Rave had no less than six separate instances of public intoxication, and, at last count, ten different girls. But I decided against it, seeing as he was arguing with me anyway.
"And I suppose you've never made a mistake in your entire life?" he asked me.
"Not one that made the papers."
He snorted and grumbled under his breath. At least he had the decency to be embarrassed. If his claims about his medical degree were true, then perhaps he was trying to make a change for the better.
But the conversation was making my head ache—I needed peace and quiet, and the sun was starting to set.
"It would probably be best if we took turns staying up and guarding the campsite from predators," I said. "So one of us should sleep now." You, please.
"Predators?" He nervously glanced into the darkening woods. "You think?"
"I think we should prepare for all possibilities." I shifted and nodded towards the makeshift tent. "You sleep now. I'm used to staying up all night anyway."
"Why?"
I wished I hadn't said anything. I had made a habit of staying up to watch over the newer female pilots so that the male ones wouldn't bother them, like some of the older girls had done for me when I was a kid. But I didn't want to tell the princeling anything about Rave. I just wanted him to shut up and let me think.
"Go to sleep, princeling," I snapped, hoping it would end the conversation.
"You know," he said, standing up and walking over to the tent. "If we're gonna be stuck here, you might have to suffer and talk to me for more than two minutes." And with that, he lay down away from me, and quieted.
I glared at his back for a moment, and then the reality of our situation came to me. I was trapped on a deserted island with the Prince of Kylae, without whom I would be dead. And by some cruel twist of fate, we were dependent on each other. He was useless as he was, and I was useless with my injury. But our supplies would not last through another day, and it was imperative that we work together to secure food, shelter, and water.
I glanced at the half-empty water bottle and grimaced. Unless I could find a fresh water pond somewhere (doubtful), I would have to figure out how to desalinate the seawater. Somewhere in the back of my memory, I knew the basic principles of evaporation and condensation, but finding the right tools would be the challenge.
Without the incessant yapping of the princeling, I could hear the quiet forest, the far off lapping of the sea waves against the beach, the sound of small bugs chirping and sleep pulled at me.
Galian
Was I slightly nervous to be exposing my back to a Raven soldier? I'm not going to lie and say I was completely okay with it. After a while, I relaxed. But I did not sleep.
The day's events finally came washing over me in a delayed-response slow motion. From my first air battle to being shot out of the sky to finding Theo nearly dead in her ship. And I'd saved her, I'd given her my blood, the very same person who'd tried to kill me. And now we were stuck on this island together, relying on each other to make it until morning, or until the Kylaen air patrol found us.
I mulled her words. She was so sure the Kylaens would be the aggressors, shooting her on sight or taking her prisoner. Did she really have such a low opinion of my people?
This girl, this pilot, this soldier, she was an enigma to me. I had never met another person—female or otherwise—so intense and closed off. Every move she made seemed to be a calculation of her survival rate, and the odds never seemed to be in her favor. Rave was a hard country to grow up in, but to see one of its citizens up close, made it clear just how hard it was for them.
My pity for her grew as I thought about all the hardships she must have endured to get to this point. And yet, for all her gruffness, I did think she had a good soul, somewhere deep down.
When I turned over to glance back at her, she'd nodded off. I sat up and shook my head. So she wasn't completely infallible after all. I walked over and crouched down in front of her, waiting for her to wake up and bark some derogatory order at me. When she didn't even flinch, I gathered her in my arms and carried her to the makeshift shelter. After I laid her down, she curled into a ball, looking much calmer, and more peaceful than she had all day.
Desperately wishing for coffee or a book or something to pass the time, I settled for sitting next to the fire and watching this enigmatic Raven girl sleep.
FIVE
Galian
I was cold, and also very uncomfortable. For a brief moment, I'd thought that I
had been in my bed, perhaps having tossed the covers off of me and the window left open. But no, I opened my eyes, I was outside, sleeping next to a tree, a mostly dead fire smoldering in front of me and a Raven girl sleeping soundly next to me and wearing my jumpsuit.
Theo hadn't moved since I placed her there the night before. I probably needed to check her thigh and the rest of her injuries again, to make sure they weren't infected. But if I tried to get close to her in her sleep, she'd probably choke me.
I sighed loudly. I wanted a shower and I wanted my morning breakfast delivered to my room with a piping hot pot of coffee. There couldn't be much food left, which meant that if someone didn't find us soon—
Somewhere in the back of my head, I registered a buzzing sound.
A buzzing.
A buzzing.
A plane.
I was on my feet in a moment, sprinting toward the beach before I even realized what was going on. Exhilaration pulsed through me as I dashed over foliage and tree branches. I burst onto the beach and there was my ride home. A small metal tube glinting in the sunlight, buzzing around above us.
"Hey!" I screamed, waving my arms wildly, but I knew I was just a speck on the ground. I dashed over to my ship and dug through the supplies. My hopes soared when I found a flare gun.
I stepped away from the plane, squinting in the bright sky. A flare might not be visible. The plane was flying away so I had to think fast.
Theo's ship! It had been leaking fuel the day before, and would most assuredly catch fire. Dashing back through the forest, I prayed and hoped and begged whatever deity was up there to let the plane stay near. I ran into the clearing, aimed the flare gun, and fired.
The explosion was massive and instant, a fireball that plumed from the fuselage into the sky. I held my breath and—
"What the hell did you do?"
I spun around. Theo was awake, her face pale and her eyes glued on what was left of her plane.
"There was a plane," I stammered, taken aback by the shock on her face. "It's coming...or..."
I looked up at the sky, horribly devoid of the plane I had seen moments earlier. I was too late—even though this pile of metal was billowing black smoke high into the sky, it wasn't enough.
"Shit," I hissed kicking the ground.
A sobbing sound drew my attention from the sky. Theo had fallen to her knees, staring at the burning wreckage with her jaw open and tears—real, thick, honest tears—slipping down her cheeks.
Theo
My eyes were glued to the flaming wreckage. I sank to my knees and tears fell down my face.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"
"Y-you blew up my ship..."
"I thought I heard a plane." He sounded disappointed and infuriatingly unconcerned that he had destroyed the only thing I had ever called mine. I didn't care that she wouldn't fly, she was still my girl. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Of course I'm not okay. You blew up my ship."
"You're getting all worked up over a stupid plane?"
If I spent one more minute in his presence, I was going to rip his stupid head off. "Can you give me a moment?" I spat through bared teeth.
"Really?" he asked, sounding genuinely shocked. "You're an odd one, Theo."
I didn't expect him to understand, but was grateful that he walked away at that moment. I waited until the sound of his steps disappeared before the floodgates opened.
Letting my tears fall onto my knees, I thanked my ship for the five years she'd served me faithfully. She had protected me against Kylaen bullets, and had been the only thing I could count on in this world. Without her, I felt abandoned, like the kallistrate I was.
I punched the ground, my wails growing louder. Why was life so unfair? Why had I been born a Raven, doomed to serve as a slave my entire life? Why hadn't I just died in the crash?
Sitting on the ground, I wallowed in my misery and the uncertainty of my fate. I was even less in control of my life on this island, and it was suffocating.
I wasn't sure how long I watched my ship burn, but by the time the flames died down to small flickers, my desolation had turned to fury. I convinced myself that I could have fixed my ship, given enough time. But now, all that was left was a hunk of metal. Useless, just like me. Just like that stupid son of a bitch who'd set my ship on fire.
I hated him even more than I had before. I wished with all my being that I had killed him when I had the chance. I wanted to rip off this disgusting jumpsuit with the vile Kylae crest and his repulsive name sewn onto the other side. Helmuth, the name of the king. The man who sent his minions to decimate my people, who continued this pointless war just to reclaim his glory.
And now his disgraceful son had taken the one thing I'd ever called mine.
"How ya doing?"
I clenched my jaw. "Don't talk to me."
"C'mon Theo, I was just trying to get us rescued! That was a hunk of junk. It wasn't gonna fly again—"
Rage screamed out of me. I needed to get away, far away, before I became a murderer on top of everything else. I began walking as fast as my broken leg could take me.
"You know what? Fine," he barked after me. "If you want to wander off on your own and get yourself killed, you go ahead and do that! You seem to have a death wish anyway!"
I hobbled until the pain in my leg overpowered my fury, and I collapsed on the ground, looking up at the gray sky and gritting my teeth in pain. I wasn't sure how far I had traveled, but I hoped it was far enough to hide me if his army showed up. Maybe if they found him, they wouldn't comb the island for me. Maybe I could just survive there like a wild woman.
I sat up and crawled to a nearby tree, sitting against it as my leg throbbed. I quieted my sobs and wiped my wet face, calming myself down.
Embarrassment began to set in as I considered the facts. My ship really was never going to fly again and it was awfully smart of him to try and get their attention. And, yet again, my injuries were so severe that it didn't do me any favors to make an enemy of the only other person on this island.
I tried to get up and hissed loudly at the sharp pain from my leg. As soon as I could pull myself up, I would apologize.
Unable to move, I distracted myself with the sounds of the island. The chirping birds were a good sign; at least there was meat on this barren hunk of land. Catching them would be a conundrum for another day.
The bushes in front of me rustled. To my complete shock and surprise, a rabbit appeared. Two ears, puffy tail. Big, twitching eyes.
How the hell had a rabbit gotten onto this island?
I moved, scaring it back into the recesses of the thick brush from whence it came. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? Or had my earlier hysteria caused some kind of a hallucination?
I heard more movement behind me, and figured it must be the princeling come to retrieve me back to camp.
"Princeling, I—"
A low growl answered me, one that was decidedly not human. Slowly, I looked behind the tree.
Shaggy coat, big, gleaming eyes, and razor-sharp teeth dripping with drool.
A wolf.
Galian
I sat on the beach, gazing at the sky, trying to will my blood pressure to return to normal after Theo and the plane. That couldn't have been the only plane. They had to come for me.
Still, somewhere in the back of my mind, I was worried. My mother would move heaven and earth to find me, but my father? Not so much. He might actually be happy if I died in battle, the same way Digory had.
But they'd pulled his body out of the floating wreckage in the south Madion sea. They'd seen him go down, saw him hit the water. How many precious war-focused resources would be used to locate my body?
"Please don't leave me here," I said, hoping my words would fly across the ocean to someone's ears. The wreckage was still smoldering, and a trail of smoke billowed overhead.
I looked down at the flare gun in my hand. I had two more flares in the box, so I loaded one in the empty barre
l and kept the second in my pocket. I removed the rest of the supplies from the ship, just in case, and left them on the beach.
Once that was finished, I stood on the beach and stared into the woods, glaring at the direction Theo had left in. She was being a real bitch. So what if I'd blown up her plane? It was nothing but a hunk of metal anyway, and she was stupid to think that she would've been able to fix it.
And she was even more stupid for wandering off by herself.
Again.
I probably would find her curled up in a ball, crying.
Her wound probably reopened.
She'd bleed out if I didn't tend to it quickly.
Again, Dr. Maitland's words echoed in my head. How many patients had he calmly tended to over the years who'd been obstinate and rude? And yet, he'd continued to treat them with respect and kindness.
The man was obviously a saint.
And he would be disappointed in me if I let her die.
"Fine!" I barked, kicking the sand.
Theo
I stared into the eyes of the wolf, frozen with fear. There was nothing I could do. Couldn't run, couldn't hide. I was sure it could smell the blood on my leg, and I was also sure that the beast thought me to be an easy meal.
Oh God, I was going to die.
Staring at the white-toothed, quite possible painful death in front of me, I realized very acutely that I wasn't ready to die.
It crept closer and closer. I clawed at the ground, searching for anything that would help me in a fight. The only things my fingers ran over were small twigs and pebbles, nothing of any use against a ninety-pound wolf.
"Stay?" I whispered, knowing that it was useless.
The Complete Madion War Trilogy Page 5