by Nisa Ryan
“Your eyes are as blue as the Scyra ocean. Have you ever seen it?” he asked. His voice was just barely above a whisper. I felt my face grow warm despite the cold rain. His eyes seemed to penetrate my thoughts and fears. I didn’t like it. Everything about Niam was confusing and made me question his motives.
I swallowed hard, pulling my eyes from his, “No. You can let me go now.”
A shadow passed over his face, he looked torn, and his lips parted as if to say something only to press them together in a thin line, remaining silent. Before I could fully register the emotion, Niams’ face spread into his familiar, natural smile as he leaned in against me, squeezing briefly as he pressed his forehead to my cheek.
I felt my face flush at the intimacy of it. I could feel the muscle coiled beneath the fabric of Niam’s jerkin sleeve and the hard planes of his chest pressed against mine. It wasn’t unpleasant, and that made me angrier.
“Sure thing, princess,” he laughed.
Niam sat up, releasing me, and I rolled up to sit beside him, trying to avoid looking at him while he sat there, grinning at me. Niam knew I hated it when he called me that. I was most certainly not some dainty little lady who indulged herself in both food and men at a whim. I was strong and independent and born in the alley-roots of Wisteria. I was nothing like the Royal family that lived above our heads, and I was thankful for that.
I opened my mouth to say something when my father and Julian vaulted onto the roof next to us and leaped over to my rescue. They were both panting with effort, their faces white with worry. My father whispered quickly,
“Niam, Raina? Are you all right? I saw – and for a moment I thought – good gods don’t ever do that again! You know better than to take your eyes off the ground here,” he growled, crossed his legs, and sat in front of us while Julian kept watch. The commotion may have attracted unwanted attention. Lucian’s eyes went wide as he shot his arm out and pressed a hand to my forehead,
“Raina, your face is flushed, and you feel warm. We can’t have you getting sick. You need to get out of the rain and get something hot to drink.”
Niam glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and grinned, “I think she just did,” he chuckled, rising to his feet and stretching out his arms over his head.
“What?” my father barked and looked between us. We both sat silent, but Niam continued to grin like an idiot. My father shook his head when neither of us answered, and I glared at Niam in disbelief and more than a bit of shock, my eyes were drilling invisible holes into his back as he walked to the edge of the roof and slipped into the growing fog, “I’ll catch you guys later, yeah?” he said and was gone.
Niam had never expressed anything but utter disdain for me. We’ve done nothing but argue the last six years. If we weren’t competing for my fathers’ attention, we were fighting like cats and dogs. There were times over the previous few years that he had taken to playing petty tricks on me. I knew I shouldn’t let his actions get to me, it’s just the way Niam was, but I couldn’t help it. He was very good at rattling me. I always seemed to be the target of his jokes. Both benign and cruel, though, I never understood why.
I shook my head silently and went to get up when Julian dropped down beside me leaning back on his heels, he rested an elbow on my shoulder and tilted his head towards me, saying, “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought Niam was flirting with you just then.”
I frowned, sulking outwardly, and with a dramatic flair in my voice, I said, “Sure when Yggrasil dies, and all it’s leaves fall to the ground and crumble to dust.”
Julian looked up into the moonlit sky above us, occasionally if you looked hard enough, you could catch the flash of leaves far above, but not tonight, it was too cloudy, and the rain made it hard to see.
He met my eyes and squeezed my shoulder gently, saying, “Why would it be so hard to believe? Anyway, he can’t have you ‘cause you're already taken. We’ve been betrothed since I was eight.”
My jaw dropped, and my face grew warm again, “Julian! I was only five when I told you that. You can’t possibly still be holding that against me.”
“Of course, I am,” he laughed out loud at the expression on my face and then turned serious, “I’ll never forget it.”
I sighed, screwing my lips to one side before relenting, “Just help me up, please?” I asked, and both Julian and my father helped me to my feet only I winced in pain as they hoisted my arms across their shoulders. The fall had done nothing but hurt my pride, but the rescue had badly twisted my arm, and it ached enough that a cry was forced between my clamped jaw. Lucian grimaced as my face went pale from the pain of it,
“I’m going to need to take a better look at that once were home, you might be stuck in a sling for a few days from the looks of it,” he said, “How did you manage to grab her so quickly. When came over the roof...I could have sworn you were too far away, Niam,” Lucian wondered and then shrugged. Niam stepped to the edge of the roof, kneeling and checking that we were still in the clear and that no curious eyes were spying on us.
Niam grimaced, “It doesn’t matter, what matters is getting everyone home.”
I worried at my lip and squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to cry. Julian, always the positive one out of the group, continued, “Better a hurt arm than a broken neck. Niam came through in the end,” he said and slapped Niam on the back. Niam slapped his hand away and grunted.
“I know,” I agreed, nodding, “I just wish it hadn’t of happened in the first place. I should have been paying more attention, it’s my fault. Damn.” I cursed as they helped me down from the ledge and to the street below. Julian’s hands around my waist were firm and comforting as Lucian lowered me to him. Niam, dropping down beside us, took my uninjured arm over his shoulder while Julain carefully wrapped the other in a tempory sling, and kept pace beside me. My father followed behind.
Squeezed between them, we made our way steadily home, keeping to the shadows as best we could in case the night watch questioned us.
I cursed as we walked over cobblestone alleys lit with lanterns. The gnarled roots of the tree snaked over, and under roofs, many homes had been carved directly into them, looking like tunnels of wood while other houses had been built around the roots so that homes had tendrils curling out roofs or walls. At night, the entire tree glowed gently from the lights of dwellings that went from root tip to canopy. From the lowest laborer to the queen herself.
It took us a better part of the night to find out way back home.
Chapter 3
Our home was rooted in the inner city-tree of Wisteria, not close to the base of the tree but not very far, either. The higher the ranking your family was, the closer you were located to the actual tree itself, and the more secure you were in the tree’s protective aura.
Only the highest of the noble families, royal guards and military personnel, and the wealthiest of merchants lived around the base and in the homes built into the trunk of the ancient tree. The royal family itself was located in the expansive lower branches and the many platforms suspended above the city. A complex pulley system allowed travel to and from the lower limbs, but it was located inside a towered fortress built up against the farthest side of the trunk and was heavily guarded. Special orders were required to be allowed to travel to the royal quarters. The only other way to reach them was to fly, but all Pylons, the giant floating ships used to travel far distances, were grounded upon entering the landing pads built up against the inside of the great city’s walls, taking up precious space in the already overcrowded city. No one lived above the lower branches, and no one had ever traveled above that as far as I had ever known. Our home was close enough to the inner roots, nearer to the trunk, to give us some small amount of rank. But far enough away for us to not have any rights to special treatment and far enough away so that we didn’t walk into our many higher-ranking employers while going about our daily business, sparing them the embarrassment they must feel at having resorted to hiring us when threats
and gifts didn’t solve their many issues.
The home we lived in was just big enough for our needs with two stories of four bedrooms, a kitchen that doubled as a dining area, a living area, and a large workshop. As part of our prestige, we also had a working toilet and bathing room so that we didn’t have to make use of the public bathing houses. Our home was mostly made of stone and wood with glass windows, which also gave us some symbol of status. When my father wasn’t accepting jobs for our secret troupe, he ran a carpentry business, and much of his work graced even the fanciest of noble houses. Julian and Niam worked as his apprentices in both espionage and in this while I helped keep the home in order and took care of the customers.
The next morning, as I came down the steps into the kitchen, my father immediately jumped up and pressed a hand to my forehead, “Raina, how do you feel? How is your arm?”
My arm was wrapped tightly in a sling to keep from injuring it further despite my protests that there was no need. Nothing was broken, but it had been dislocated in the fall and was tender after my father had popped it back into place. It would be like that for at least a week or more, but I wouldn’t let it get in the way of my work. We couldn’t afford for it to. Jobs had been fewer in recent days due to an impending war far away that had nothing to do with us but had the annoying side effect of slowing down the trade ships that came from across the sea and down the river to Wisteria. Slow trade meant slow money, and no one wanted to spend what they didn’t have.
I pushed my father’s hand away and made a face, “I’m fine father, don’t baby me. I’m too old for you to keep babying me.”
Sitting down at the large wooden kitchen table, I tossed my long dark-brown braid over my shoulder and had begun to pop fresh-cut apple slices into my mouth when Julian and Niam came down to join us from the room they shared. Neither of them was dressed for the day. As usual, they both wore the baggy blue pants and the shirts they slept in. And where Julian had severe bed head, his short blonde hair was stuck up all over, Niam had at least taken the time to comb out his crimson locks and had already tied it up. His knee was bandaged from where he’d held me.
I glanced over at Julian to see that his jaw had a deep purple shadow marring his otherwise perfect face as he smiled at us. However, it obviously pained him to speak when he whispered his “Good morning” before sitting down and attempting to eat some hot oatmeal with his apples. Niam snickered to himself about something and flipped his chair around backward to sit as he reached one long arm over the table to pluck a grape from the fruit bowl my father had just sat down in between us. We all ate in silence as my father continued to chop fruits that he would later set out to dry on the window sill. I was just finishing up my apples and reached for a poppy seed scone when Niam looked at me with a thoughtful expression on his face. He flashed a smile at me before announcing,
“Isn’t your birthday this week?”
I nearly gagged on my apple and choked out a strangled, “Yes” before pressing a finger or my lips. The last thing I wanted was for my father to suddenly be reminded that it was my birthday. He was never able to find anything that I might actually like unless it was related to some new kind of weaponry, and I’m not actually sure he even knew anything about me other than that I’m light enough to scale the walls faster than any of them and sometimes it’s useful that I’m female when we need to distract potential enemies when all else fails.
Julian frowned, pushed his spoon around in his oatmeal, and without looking at Niam, quietly said, “Strange that you would remember that, of all people.”
Niam ignored him and looked at me as a wide grin spread across his face, “Doesn’t that mean you should start planning the wedding?”
Julian nearly jumped out of his skin, “Niam,” his voice was low, and he bristled with unspoken rage.
Niam didn’t even pause, rolling an uncut apple between his hands he smirked, “You’ll be eighteen now, right? More than ready for marriage.”
I stood and rest my hands on the table, leaning over to look down my nose at him as my face turned red with both embarrassment and anger. But he continued on, glowering at me from the shadow of his bangs,
“Certainly, she would make a decent enough wife. Well, on second thought she is a little rough with those calloused working hands. You wouldn’t mind would you, though? But beware, Julian, she could cut you in your sleep, and you would be bled out in bed before your eyelids even fluttered.”
Julian coughed on his oatmeal, and I felt my body grow warm at the mere suggestion of being in his bed. Julian's face turned red, and his hair seemed to become a shade darker from it. We both frowned at Niam while my father simply looked on with a bemused look. He was used to our daily arguments, and he knew better than to get in the way once Niam and I had gotten started, but this was taking it too far.
I squeezed my hands into fists, “I am never marrying anyone, anywhere, at any time and especially not either of you,” I growled before seeing the look of hurt in Julian’s eyes. He was more like a brother to me and always had been even though I knew that he felt strongly about me. Hearing what I just said probably hurt him more than any knife in his back would.
My father coughed lightly into a closed fist, “Yes, well, your birthday is coming up, and you are a lady of age now so naturally, you might...”
“Do not finish that sentence!” I growled, picked my plate up I headed up to my room, deciding to finish my scone alone. I don’t think I had ever been so embarrassed in my life. And to think that my father would ever have considered marrying me off. I have been training my entire life with him, working with him. I had dreams of continuing the business once my father could no longer do the jobs and maybe even train my own apprentices in time. To say I loved my work wouldn’t be giving me enough credit. I didn’t just love it, I reveled in it. I enjoyed the thrill of the chase, I enjoyed knowing that I could depend on the strength of my own body. And now I was injured and worse, talk of marriage. I liked the feeling of the air rushing against my face as I free-fell down the sides of the walls before catching myself in the landing. Most of all, I enjoyed the satisfaction of completing a mission and the praise that came along with it. I never had let the fact that I was born a female make me feel limited in any way, but with just one word, marriage, Niam had suddenly made me doubt myself or my place in this family and its business.
♦♦♦
I was sitting on my bed, fuming over those thoughts when there was a light knocking on my door, “Yes?” I said.
The door creaked open, and Niam stood there, leaning against the door frame with arms crossed. Strands of his long red hair hung loosely over his shoulder, and I got the feeling that after I had left, Julian had chewed him out for teasing me so severely.
“I had overheard what Julian and you spoke about last night. I was only teasing. I didn’t think you’d react so...vocally.”
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. Niam really knew how to push buttons, but I made it easy for him by blowing up, “I knew you were joking. It still pissed me off. I should have ignored you, but instead, I went and hurt Julian’s feelings.”
Niam stepped into my room and closed the door behind him carefully, leaving it open just a hairsbreadth. He surprised me by kneeling down on his knees in front of me, saying, “Look, I know Jules likes you. I shouldn’t have tried to get a rise out of him, and I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m...sorry.”
My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. Niam was apologizing? He never had, for the last six years that I had known him, ever apologized for anything much less express any kind of regret.
I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes, “Father sent you to apologize, didn’t he?”
Niam snapped his head up to look at me, his eyes meeting mine for just a second before they drifted to the side, and he stood, backing up a step away from me. His voice was tight when he dropped his head and said,
“You caught me. Like I’d ever apologized, it was supposed to be funny. B
ut you could at least say ‘thank you Niam for saving my life last night’ since you’d be dead if I hadn’t.”
I pressed my lips together into a thin line and narrowed my eyes,
“Thank you, Niam, for not following the plan and for leading us on a wild goose chase that dislocated my shoulder, almost broke my wrist, and nearly killed me in the process.”
A smile spread across his face as he stood. Crossing one arm over his chest, he bowed so low his ponytail flowed to the floor. Standing, he said, “Your welcome, princess,” before sauntering back out the door.
I frowned as he turned to leave and beat my pillow in frustration.
Chapter 4
Niam leaned back against the wall next to Raina’s door and frowned. He had teased Raina before about Julian, many times, in fact. Julian’s crush on her was so obvious it was kind of sick. But then, Raina’s relationship with Julian was different on every level. Niam was positive that if Julian had said what he had, she would have laughed it off as a silly joke. Niam had even spied them out practicing maneuvers with each other, and they moved together like a fine-tuned machine. Knowing each other every capability and knowing their limits as well. It’s what made them so efficient together and thus ideally suited as well.
Clenching a fist, he banged it against the wall. He had tried to get closer to them both, but it was like they had built up a wall together for the sole purpose of keeping him out. Especially Raina, she was like an impenetrable fortress. Even her father couldn’t a break-in. Only Julian held the keys to her castle. It didn’t help, of course, that Niam wasn’t exactly the most natural person to get along with. He was selfish, arrogant, and independent, he knew all of this. He preferred to keep to himself. But he treasured the three of them.