The Almost King

by Lucy Saxon

  14

  Luka’s tiny skyship quickly became the focus of most of Aleks’s attention; the pair of them spent more time at the warehouse than the workshop, Luka guiding Aleks through the basics of skyship flight and mechanics. Aleks took to the whole thing like a duck to water, exhilarated at finally being able to pursue childhood dreams he’d never truly expected to fulfil.

  Despite not seeing any sign of Shulga for several days after his appearance at Luka’s shop – and the mechanic’s assurance that he’d filed quite the report at the kingsguard office, where they’d been utterly fooled by his ‘poor senile old man’ act – Aleks couldn’t help but be nervous outside the warehouse. He took long and winding routes back to the Compass to avoid being followed, and didn’t go to the main courtyard; the last thing he wanted was Saria getting caught up in his problems. He missed her company more than he cared to admit, but she was safer without him around. He would lie low for a while longer, then maybe go back to the main courtyard and see how she was doing. If he left it much longer, she’d no doubt forget about him. Perhaps that was for the best.

  Friday nights were always busy at the Compass, meaning Aleks didn’t have much time to dwell on thoughts of Saria. Darting from table to table, taking orders and depositing plates and glasses, he settled easily into the work that was becoming second nature to him now, keeping up an easy banter with Raina as he did so. For once, Aleks wasn’t wearing his hat – his hair had finally grown out of its military style and into something a little more ordinary – and Raina was teasing him, remarking that she was amazed he wasn’t secretly bald.

  ‘Aleks!’ Ksenia’s voice called from out in the bar. ‘There’s someone here to see you!’ Aleks froze, brain immediately summoning Shulga. He ignored his instincts and squared his shoulders as he stepped out of the kitchen.

  ‘Saria?’ he said, surprised, his heart rate slowing in relief. She was wrapped up in a dark fur coat and looked somewhat disgruntled. Disgruntled and very, very beautiful.

  ‘So, you are still in the city, then,’ she remarked, a hint of steel to her tone. Aleks winced; so much for her forgetting about him.

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ he asked, playing dumb. She raised an eyebrow at him, arms folded over her chest.

  ‘Well, I’ve not seen you in over a week, so I was beginning to wonder.’

  ‘Do you want to take a break, Aleks?’ Ksenia asked. ‘Raina can cope for twenty minutes or so.’

  ‘Thanks,’ he said, stepping out from behind the bar. ‘Saria, why don’t we go out the back? We can talk where it’s quieter.’ Saria didn’t look impressed, but followed him out behind the inn towards the stables, pausing for him to grab his coat from the hook in the kitchen. ‘Look, I can explain,’ he began, making her scoff.

  ‘I’ll bet you can. Did I do something to offend you?’

  ‘What? No, of course not! You’ve done nothing wrong, nothing at all,’ he insisted quickly. ‘I’ve been busy with work, and I just . . .’ He trailed off helplessly. There was nothing he could say that was convincing enough to cover the truth. Except . . . ‘I’ve been trying to make a decision.’ That seemed to catch her off guard.

  ‘About what?’ she asked. He bit his lip; he wouldn’t ever get a more perfect opening than this.

  ‘About whether or not I’m brave enough to ask you to go out to dinner with me. On a proper date,’ he clarified. He hadn’t planned on asking her out any time soon, but it was better than admitting why he’d been absent. She didn’t need to know about Shulga.

  Saria’s jaw dropped, and Aleks felt his pulse quicken, wondering if he’d just ruined everything. At least, if he had, it would keep her away. Keep her safe.

  ‘Oh,’ she murmured, making him grin despite himself. ‘A difficult decision, was it?’

  ‘Very.’

  She moved closer to him, the barest hint of a teasing smile crossing her lips. ‘And what did you decide?’

  His grin widened. ‘I would’ve thought that was obvious,’ he said, feeling his cheeks flush.

  ‘Well, you haven’t asked me yet.’ Saria’s tone was playful, though she too was blushing.

  ‘Will you go on a date with me, Saria?’ he asked, summoning his courage to look her in the eye as he spoke.

  She smiled properly, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘I would like that very much,’ she said, startling him. For all her teasing, he hadn’t actually expected her to say yes. Well, there went his plan to stay away until Shulga was gone. He could only hope Saria didn’t pay the price – he was being selfish, wanting to keep her in his life, but he just couldn’t bring himself to let this opportunity pass. Couldn’t bring himself to let her go.

  ‘But that doesn’t excuse your avoidance of me.’

  ‘Of course not,’ he agreed quickly. ‘I am sorry for that.’ He was grinning like an idiot and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop. Saria had agreed to date him! ‘Brilliant,’ he breathed, making her laugh. ‘I, uh, when?’

  ‘I’m out of the city all weekend,’ Saria informed him, leaning closer to him. If she just tilted her head a little further, it would be resting on his shoulder. ‘My cousin is getting married tomorrow. But I’ll be back on Sunday evening, so . . . Monday?’

  ‘Monday is perfect,’ he replied. ‘Meet you by the fountain at six?’ He doubted Ksenia and Bodan would mind him missing evening service, especially when they’d both been telling him to make his move for weeks.

  ‘I look forward to it,’ she said.

  He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a loud, irritated whinny from the stable block, followed by several short bangs in quick succession. Saria jumped at the noise, and he closed his eyes briefly.

  ‘Shut up!’ he called, fond irritation in his voice. Saria’s eyes widened, and he realised how that had sounded. ‘Not you, him.’

  ‘Who?’ Bravely, he reached out to take her hand, leading her closer to the stables, over to where Quicksilver was kicking at his stall door.

  ‘Honestly, you are such a baby,’ he said to the horse, shaking his head even as he reached over to scratch his nose. Quicksilver stopped kicking, nuzzling him in satisfaction.

  ‘Oh, he’s lovely!’ Saria murmured, stepping closer and tentatively reaching out to stroke him. The young gelding preened under the attention, making Aleks roll his eyes.

  ‘He’s a brat,’ he insisted lightly, scratching the horse’s ear. ‘Saria, this is Quicksilver.’

  ‘A pretty name for a pretty boy,’ she said, grinning. Quicksilver tossed his head, setting his nose on Aleks’s shoulder and snuffling his neck, making him jolt at the sensation. Saria laughed, delighted. ‘He likes you!’

  ‘I should bloody hope so – I raised him,’ Aleks muttered, peering over the stable door; Quicksilver was out of hay. That was why he was causing such a fuss. ‘Oh, for storms’ sake, you are going to be enormous if you keep this up,’ he told the gelding, tapping him on the nose in reprimand. Aleks hadn’t managed to take him out as often as he was used to, but that didn’t seem to slow Quicksilver’s appetite any.

  ‘He’s yours?’ Saria asked. ‘I thought you said you weren’t one for horses?’ He winced; yes, he’d said that back when they’d first met and she’d suggested going to the kingsguard stables. He hadn’t thought she’d remembered.

  ‘I’m not one for the kingsguard,’ he clarified sheepishly, tossing a bale of hay over the stable door. ‘Horses suit me just fine.’

  ‘I can see that,’ Saria replied with a grin, plucking a stray piece of hay from his lapel. ‘Look, I need to get back before Da worries, but . . . no more avoiding me, all right? And I’ll see you on Monday.’

  ‘No more avoiding,’ he promised. ‘Have fun at your cousin’s wedding.’

  ‘I don’t doubt I will,’ she assured him. There was an awkward pause, neither of them sure how to say goodbye, before Aleks smiled and gave a short bow.

  ‘Go, before the snow comes down. Goddess guide you home safely.’

  �
�Goodnight, Aleks.’ She left, soon becoming a dark blur at the end of the street, and Aleks absently patted Quicksilver’s neck before heading back inside, a grin on his face.

  Raina was waiting in the kitchen, and she smirked at the look on his face. ‘Kissed and made up, have we?’ she teased, laughing when he flushed brightly.

  ‘Quiet, you,’ he growled lightly. ‘And for your information . . . Saria and I have a date. On Monday.’

  Raina’s eyes widened for the briefest moment, before she beamed, hugging him around the shoulders. ‘Awww, I’m so proud of you! Aunt Ksenia!’ she called, dragging him through to the bar. ‘Aleks has got himself a girlfriend!’

  He sighed; he was going to regret telling her that.

  15

  Aleks arrived at the courtyard early for his date with Saria, a bouquet of snowdrops in his hand. He grinned upon seeing Saria already perched on the fountain ledge, looking anxious. Her hair was down for once, lying like spun gold over her shoulders, and she wore a pretty dark red coat over her ruby-red dress. As he got closer, he realised she was wearing make-up too, and his heart beat even faster. He was very glad he’d decided to buy some proper clothes, or he’d look like a street rat next to her.

  She smiled when she saw him, getting to her feet, and he couldn’t help but beam back. ‘Hello,’ he greeted her. ‘Uh, these are for you.’ He thrust the flowers at her somewhat awkwardly.

  ‘Oh, they’re beautiful,’ she murmured appreciatively. ‘Thank you very much.’ She tucked them in the crook of her arm, offering her other arm to him. He looped his own through it, grinning when she leaned into him.

  ‘Shall we?’ he said, turning them in the direction of the South side of the courtyard. Saria fell into step beside him, and he couldn’t keep his eyes from drifting to her every few moments. ‘You look beautiful,’ he told her. Her cheeks flushed to match her dress, but her smile was radiant.

  ‘Thank you. You clean up very well yourself,’ she added with a smile, smoothing a hand down the lapel of his new coat. Aleks wouldn’t tell her he’d needed Raina’s help to pick his outfit. ‘Where are we going, then?’

  ‘You’ll have to wait and see, won’t you?’ he teased. Saria huffed playfully, but allowed him to lead her through the streets, clearly trying to work out where they were going. The restaurant Aleks was taking her to was a little place that Raina had recommended. She had never been herself, but several of her friends had gone there on dates, and it offered good food at prices that wouldn’t leave Aleks broke. ‘Here we are.’ He let go of her arm in order to pull the door open for her, and resisted the urge to hold his breath and pray. He’d never been on a date before; he could only hope he turned out to be good at them.

  Luckily, Saria seemed happy; the food was wonderful, and though she led most of the conversation, Aleks managed to keep himself from getting too tongue-tied.

  ‘As much as I’d love to stay for dessert, I don’t know if we’d be able to get home if we stay any longer,’ he said with a frown as the waiter took their plates, eyeing the thick-falling snow in the lamplit street outside. Saria turned to see what he was looking at.

  ‘Oh, it looks awful out there! And it’s late too. My aunt will be terribly mad if I’m not home soon – she doesn’t exactly approve of this as it is. We’ll have to do dessert another time,’ she told him, smiling sweetly. He blinked, ignoring the remark about her aunt; did that mean she wanted to go on another date? Saria had already told him about her Aunt Anastasia and her very strict ideas about the kind of man Saria should aim to marry. Aleks definitely did not match those ideals, but that was a bridge he’d cross later.

  He flagged down the waiter and paid, then helped Saria with her coat, tugging on his gloves on the way to the door. He couldn’t help but shiver as they stepped out into the cold evening air, snow immediately settling on their heads and shoulders. Saria linked one arm through Aleks’s, huddling in close to him as they walked, telling him which streets to take to get to her house. He glanced sideways at her, frowning at the pinkness of her cheek.

  ‘You must be freezing,’ he muttered. She shifted her flowers to the crook of her arm and swept gloved fingers through her hair, brushing off the snow.

  ‘I’ll be fine. I just wish I’d remembered a scarf,’ she added ruefully. Aleks rolled his eyes, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he took off his hat, placing it on her head. It was a little big for her and came down almost past her eyes. ‘Oh, but now you’ll be cold! I can’t!’ she protested, reaching up to take the hat off, but he stilled her hand with his own.

  ‘I’m trying to be a gentleman here, Saria,’ he told her. She laughed, but released his hand and left the hat on.

  ‘If I must, then,’ she relented playfully. She reached up, brushing her fingers through his short fringe. ‘By the way, I do love that you’re not wearing your hat all the time now. I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever see your hair.’ Her smile was coy, bringing heat to his cheeks and butterflies to his stomach. ‘You should go without it more often.’

  They walked quickly to Saria’s house, and Aleks wasn’t surprised to see she lived in one of the high-end areas of the district; not obnoxiously affluent, but upscale for a shop owner’s family. Obviously the jewellery business did well. ‘This is me.’ She tugged on his arm, pointing him towards a house with a lamp above its blue door. Saria slipped her arm out of his, giving him a smile. ‘Thank you for tonight,’ she murmured. ‘I had a lovely time.’ He grinned, flushing with pleasure.

  Saria took a small step closer, and Aleks’s heart skipped a beat. She was looking at him like she wanted to kiss him. Was she going to kiss him? He’d never kissed a girl before – and he desperately wanted to kiss Saria. Aware that his arms were hanging uselessly at his sides, Aleks lifted one hand and tentatively rested it on Saria’s waist, feeling the curve of her corset under the thick wool of her coat. ‘Will you be in the courtyard tomorrow?’ she asked him, not reacting to his hand placement.

  ‘I should be,’ he confirmed. ‘Unless Luka decides to keep me late to make up for letting me out early today. But I doubt he will. I’ll see you tomorrow?’ He didn’t dare move, not wanting to upset her should he be reading the signs wrong.

  Her smile widened as her eyes fixed on his. ‘See you tomorrow,’ she agreed, and then she was kissing him.

  It wasn’t a particularly long kiss, and he didn’t really participate much, too shocked to even register the contact until Saria was on the verge of pulling away. But he managed to pull her closer and respond to the kiss, assuring her it was definitely welcome. When they parted they were both burning bright red. ‘Goodnight, Saria,’ he murmured, watching her step away and open her front door. It was only when she was safely inside and he was already walking away that he realised she still had his hat. He grinned to himself, jogging in order to get back before his ears got frostbite. Definitely worth it.

  As was usual now, Aleks found himself ensconced with Luka in the engine room of the ship, the old man methodically teaching his employee about each part of the ship’s mechanics and how they were all connected. It was still strange, having Luka so actively involved in his learning process; usually he just gave Aleks a challenge and waited for him to figure it out himself. Obviously, he understood that a skyship was a sight more complicated than a lamp with a timer switch or a mecha’s arm. Aleks liked it, though; even the smallest insight into the intelligent chaos that was Luka’s brain felt like a privilege, and to learn how the man had invented and created everything in front of him was incredible.

  Having been told that he wasn’t going to get to take the skyship off the ground until he could name and describe the function of everything in both the engine room and the control room, Aleks tried his best to memorise it all. Luka wouldn’t let him take notes, wary of them being stolen.

  He watched Luka point out each section of propeller and wing control, amazed at how closely they were linked. Luka took great pride in telling him that in ordinary skyships they functioned indepe
ndently, but his design connected them to allow better control in the smaller vehicle. ‘Otherwise you’d be putting too much power into one side at a time,’ the old man explained, ‘instead of giving equal power to both sides and keeping her steady. Not much of a difference in a large ship – it needs that much power just to stay upright. But in a little thing like her, you’ll capsize with a regular steering system.’ Aleks winced, imagining flipping a skyship completely. He hadn’t thought it was possible.

  ‘Makes sense, I suppose.’

  ‘Good, good. Let’s move on, then. The sooner you learn to fly this thing, the better. While you could probably keep her stable through weather that would ground most ships, it’s looking like a harsh winter ahead and I don’t want you crashing her. Eight years of work down the drain.’

  ‘Surely it’d be too dangerous to take her out in harsher weather, though?’ Aleks asked, confused.

  Luka scoffed, moving to another section of the engine room. ‘Haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said, boy? She’d be useless if she couldn’t handle harsh weather – it’s what I built her for.’

  ‘I thought you built her because you wanted a smaller, faster skyship,’ Aleks said. Actually, he’d thought Luka had invented the ship just to prove he could, but he wasn’t going to say that.

  ‘Don’t be daft, lad. If that was all I wanted, I would’ve been finished years ago!’ Luka told him, shaking his head. ‘No, this little beauty is designed to face the kinds of storms normal skyships are too heavy to survive. While they’ll be battered by wind and rain to the point of splintering, she’ll just rocket around in them and make it out the other side. She was designed to do something that no ship has done before.’

  Suddenly, it clicked. ‘You want to fly her through the Stormlands,’ Aleks said, stunned. Luka smiled ruefully, shaking his head.

  ‘Once upon a time, I did,’ he confirmed. ‘But you’ve seen the newscasts. You know what they’re saying about the Stormlands getting bigger. No, I’ve missed my chance, lad. Now I’d just like to get her up in the air where she belongs.’