by Ben Wolf
Rewarded? Axel raised an eyebrow. A reward was just the start as far as Axel was concerned, especially given all he’d lost. Now that Lilly was back—and she was a feather-flyin’ princess—he’d probably never see her again once they left Aeropolis. At the very least, he needed to leave here a rich man.
“We don’t want your gold,” Calum said. “Or anything else, except one thing.”
Axel’s head snapped toward him. “Wait, what?”
Calum gave him a slight nod and continued to address the Premier. “We want your help in finding the Arcanum.”
The Premier’s eyes narrowed at Calum, and he scowled.
“Calum, that’s—” Axel faced the Premier. “—that’s not what we want. We’re more than happy to take your—to accept your gold, and whatever else you have to offer.”
The Premier’s scowl persisted. “You desire to free Lumen, the ancient warrior, the General of Light, do you?”
“Yes.” Calum showed the Premier the Windgale salute and bent down on one knee. “I will free him, and he will save Kanarah from the King.”
“And why do you presume you are the one to accomplish this?”
Calum looked up. “I’ve had dreams, Premier.”
Axel rolled his eyes. Not the dream talk again. If anything was going to ruin their chances of walking—or being lowered—out of here with more coin than they could imagine, it was Calum’s wacky dream-talk.
“Lilly, bring him forward,” the Premier gently ordered.
Lilly touched Calum on his shoulder and escorted him up the marble steps toward the throne.
The Premier’s hard visage didn’t change as he stared into Calum’s eyes. “What kind of dreams?”
“Lumen has appeared to me several times. He has called me to free him, and he’s showing me how to find him,” Calum said. “It started with him telling me to cross Trader’s Pass and head to the Blood Mountains, and in my last dream, he told me to find the Arcanum, which I believe is at a specific spot in the Blood Mountains.”
“Lumen means to rule Kanarah, you know. All of Kanarah, both the East and West. When you set him free, that’s his goal.” The Premier raised his chin and looked down his nose at Calum. “What makes him any better than the King?”
Calum’s jaw hardened. “I only know one thing for sure. The King’s men murdered my parents when I was a child, and then they took me to a quarry where I worked as a slave for the next eight years. Any King who treats his subjects like that doesn’t deserve to be King.”
Axel raised an eyebrow. This was not the same Calum he’d grown up with.
In his place stood a strong man, both in will and in body, determined to follow the path laid before him, no matter how crazy it seemed to anyone else. While Axel didn’t put much stock in Calum’s dreams, he realized now that he’d begun to trust Calum’s resolve more with every step they took toward the Blood Mountains.
No, Axel still didn’t believe they’d find anything there, but he believed that Calum believed they would, and for now, that was good enough.
The Premier’s stony visage cracked with a smirk. “You’ve obviously endured more than your share of hardships.”
“Respectfully,” Calum said, “you don’t know the half of it.”
“My court scholars will immediately search our royal archives for information on the Arcanum. You’ve granted me the deepest desires of my heart—my daughter’s safe return—” The Premier eyed Condor again. “—and the life of my greatest enemy. It’s the least I can do.”
“Premier?” Magnus nodded to him and executed the Windgale salute across his chest. “If it pleases you, we would appreciate shelter, food, and a few days to rest while your scholars perform their search.”
The Premier stared at Magnus for a long time, then nodded. “You are welcome in the Sky Fortress as our guests for as long as you wish to stay. We will provide for all of your needs.”
“Don’t do anything special for us,” Calum said.
“Calum.” Axel wanted to smack him upside his head.
Calum shot a glare back at him. “We’d rather you take care of the Windgales who live at the ground level and can’t fly because they don’t have capes.”
Axel rolled his eyes. They’d finally gotten in front of someone who was not only willing to help them but who actually owed them, big time. And here Calum was trying to redirect their reward to a bunch of nobodies down on the ground.
They’d already handed out free capes. What more did they have to give up to help those people? Why couldn’t they enjoy something for themselves for once?
The Premier eyed him. “Their plight is an unfortunate reality of our age.”
Condor scoffed, and the blond Wisp in the gray armor backhanded him in the face. Condor took the blow, straightened up, and grinned at him. “Oh, Falcroné. You’re gonna regret that, old friend.”
“We are no longer friends,” Falcroné said. “And you have no authority here anymore, traitor.”
“And you never had any to begin with,” Condor countered, still grinning.
Falcroné drew his hand back for another strike, but the Premier spoke before Falcroné could deliver the blow. “Hold, Falcroné. His time will come soon enough.”
Falcroné used his raised hand to brush his long golden hair behind his shoulders instead, and he donned a smirk of his own.
The Premier turned back to Calum. “As I was saying, those poor souls are either victims of circumstance, or they are criminals. I regret that we cannot help all of our citizens meet their needs.”
“After we defeated the Raven’s Brood and captured Condor, we distributed what few spare capes we could to those in need on the ground level, but the need is still great.” Calum motioned toward Condor. “He seems to think you can do more. He suggested that was part of why he rebelled.”
Axel noticed a slight grin on Lilly’s face while Calum spoke, and her gaze remained fixed on him.
The Premier’s scowl returned and he extended a finger toward Condor. “That man is a liar and a murderer. You would do well to disregard every single word from his wretched mouth.”
Axel stepped forward. “We don’t believe him. He tried to kill us, and he tried to kill Lilly as well. He’s the one who put that bruise on her face.”
Lilly’s eyes widened, and she shot a scowl at Axel. “Father, it’s almost healed. It wasn’t even a bad—
The Premier held up his hand and motioned Lilly close to him. He examined her cheek. Without looking at Condor, he said, “Falcroné, you may strike the prisoner again.”
“With pleasure, Premier.” Falcroné reeled his arm back and delivered a hefty blow to Condor’s left cheek.
Now it was Axel’s turn to grin. He already knew he liked Falcroné, even if the only thing they had in common was wanting to beat on Condor.
Condor glared at Falcroné again, but this time a drizzle of red blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. “You never could hit very hard. Why don’t you summon General Balena? Perhaps he can show you how to throw an effective punch.”
Falcroné drove his fist into Condor’s gut, and he doubled over. A vicious uppercut from Falcroné jerked Condor’s head back up, but the Wisps holding him didn’t let go.
“Better?” Falcroné cracked his armored knuckles.
Condor spat a dollop of blood onto the floor at Falcroné’s feet. “Easy to land a good blow when two men are holding your opponent in place. Untie me, and we’ll see how things go then.”
“I’d bring you down, just as I did when you rebelled.”
Condor laughed. “You didn’t bring me down. Not even close. I fled once I realized my men had turned against me. All you did was chase me for a few minutes until you gave up. You’ve never once defeated me in a fight, not in twenty years of sparring or otherwise.
“It’s why, despite my caste, I made Captain of the Royal Guard and you didn’t—at least not until I left the post vacant, anyway.” Condor’s condescending smile matched his tone. “I do w
orry for the Premier’s safety now that I am gone, what with a lesser man filling the position. Tell me, Premier, how well do you sleep at night knowing you’re protected by the second best?”
Falcroné raised his fist to strike Condor again.
“Enough. Falcroné, step back.” Frustration lined the Premier’s voice. “Condor will be dealt with according to our laws for treason, and not before then. Don’t let him goad you into executing the law beyond your charge.”
Falcroné bowed his head toward the Premier. “Yes, Premier. I apologize.”
“You also can’t think for yourself,” Condor muttered. “Another reason why you didn’t make Captain.”
Falcroné whirled around and bashed Condor’s face with his fist. “How’s that for thinking for myself?”
Blood ran from Condor’s nose onto his upper lip. He bared his teeth at first, but the corners of his lips turned up in a smile, and he laughed. “Barely felt that at all. Go ahead. Hit me again.”
“Falcroné.” This time the Premier left his throne, actually grabbed him by the back collar of his armor, and jerked him away from Condor. “If you so much as lay another finger on him before his hearing, I’ll try you for treason, too.”
Falcroné’s jaw tensed, but he nodded.
The Premier motioned toward the doors through which Axel and the group had entered. “Take him away. Lock him up until I have gathered the council.”
The Wisps holding Condor yanked him down the main walkway. He protested the entire way to the doors, spouting off about the supposed injustices of the Sky Realm and the Premier’s rule, but the sound of his voice ceased when the double doors shut.
The Premier refocused on Calum, his arms outstretched. “Forgive me for my rudeness. I have not properly introduced myself, and I do not know your names, either. I am Avian, Premier of the Sky Realm. Welcome to my fortress.”
Axel frowned. Everyone always looked to Calum, always welcomed him as the group’s leader.
At first it had been good for Calum. It had built his self-confidence, something which he’d been severely lacking.
Now it was just annoying. Axel had always been more decisive, more intelligent, more skilled, and thus more qualified to lead their little group, but he’d never gotten the chance to do it. Magnus had seen to that.
Someday that would change. Either he’d take control, probably when they reached the Blood Mountains and failed to find the mythological Lumen, or he’d leave. Then he’d truly be his own man, free to do whatever he wanted.
Avian waved his hand at another nearby Wisp, this one dressed in fine linen and adorned with silver jewelry instead of armed and wearing armor. “Ganosh will show you to your accommodations. Rest, relax, and recuperate in the safety of the skies.”
Calum bowed again. “Thank you.”
Let him make nice with the Premier. Why not? Axel needed to refocus on Lilly anyway. Even though Lilly hadn’t so much as made eye contact with him for the past several minutes now, Axel was owed some answers, and he intended to get them.
Ganosh approached Axel and performed the Windgale salute. “Shall we?”
At least someone saw fit to acknowledge him. Axel cast another glance at Lilly and finally met her blue eyes. She showed him a half-smile then looked away.
Axel sighed and nodded to Ganosh. If nothing else, maybe he would get some rest. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Almost a week went by before Axel had an opportunity to talk with Lilly again. She had been busy re-acclimating herself to being home and to her role as princess, just as Axel, Calum, and Magnus had to adjust to life within the Sky Fortress and Aeropolis.
Tasks that Windgales would deem simple, such as moving from platform to platform, proved difficult, or at the very least inconvenient, and that made exploring the wondrous city challenging. For the most part, Axel had stuck with Calum and Magnus, though he’d also managed to get some light sparring in with some of the royal guards in a training facility.
Even so, the time to rest and recuperate had done Axel good. His aches from escaping the pirate ship and the Jyrak had all but deserted him by now, and the cut on his left cheek from Krogan’s whip had healed into a scar he could be proud of for the rest of his life.
On top of that, he got to sleep in a bed again, the first time in months. It took a night to readjust to that level of comfort, but once he did, he slept as soundly as a freshly planted seed nestled in a soft bed of soil.
That day, Calum and Magnus had just left in one of the chariots to visit Riley, who had finally regained consciousness. Thanks to the combined efforts of Kanton and the elusive Lord Elmond, whom none of them had seen yet, Riley had started to recover from his wound.
Axel had elected to stay behind for this visit. He’d never been all that fond of Riley anyway, as he’d made more than evident after the battle with Condor and the Raven’s Brood, so what was the point?
Still, some small part of him had to admit he’d acted irrationally, and he’d even considered offering Riley and the others an apology. Maybe he would, eventually. When he got around to it.
For now, he had just reclined in a feather-stuffed chair when a knock sounded on his door. Axel exhaled a loud breath, frustrated at the interruption and rubbed his eyes. “Come in.”
At first, Axel didn’t recognize the beautiful blonde woman who entered his room with Falcroné close behind, still clad in his charcoal armor. When he realized she was Lilly, he straightened then pushed himself up to his feet.
“Lilly, hi,” he said, barely keeping himself from stammering.
Instead of her pink armor, Lilly wore a sky-blue robe with white accents. Her shimmering blue cape looked as if it had been replaced with a new version, this one a deep forest-green that matched the cuffs on her sleeves and the hem at the bottom of her robe. A silver tiara topped her blonde hair, which now coiled around her head in two braids instead of hanging down.
She looked incredible. Axel had appreciated the rough-hewn, armor clad warrior version, but the sight of her all cleaned up and wearing finer clothes than he’d ever seen on anyone, anywhere, set his heart quivering.
“Hello, Axel.” She beamed at him then motioned toward her companion. “Have you met Falcroné yet?”
“I know who he is, but we haven’t been introduced.” Axel extended his hand.
Falcroné performed a casual Windgale salute and nodded but didn’t reach to shake Axel’s hand. “I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving my cousin.”
Cousin? That explained their matching hair color. They could’ve been brother and sister, for all Axel knew.
“Does that surprise you?” The corner of Lilly’s mouth curled upward.
Axel let his hand drop, clamped his mouth shut, and shrugged. “No, it makes sense.”
“We’re here to summon you and your friends to an audience with the Premier.” Falcroné’s sharp blue eyes flared wider for a moment, and then he grinned at Lilly, whose smile shrank slightly. “Now that Lilly has returned, we have some exciting news.”
Axel squinted at him. “Which is…?”
“We’ll save it for when we’re in the Premier’s presence,” Lilly said before Falcroné could continue.
Axel looked to Falcroné for more, but the Wisp only showed off his pristine white smile, just like Lilly’s. It made Axel self-conscious about his own teeth, and he made sure his lips stayed closed except when he had to talk.
“Well, Calum and Magnus just left to visit Riley,” Axel said. “I don’t know when they’re coming back.”
Lilly turned to Falcroné and put her hand on his armored chest. “Would you mind going over to fetch them? I’d like to speak with Axel alone, and we’ll meet you in the throne room.”
Axel’s heart skipped at her suggestion. Finally, he had a chance to clear the air with her. Beautiful or not, she’d betrayed his trust, and he wanted—he deserved answers.
A spark of hope lit up his soul. Who knew where the conversation might go? Maybe once everything was sorted out
, they could figure out what the future would look like. And maybe it might include the two of them—
“As you wish, Princess.” Falcroné’s voice yanked Axel out of his imagination. His pleasant demeanor faded and his eyes narrowed at Axel, but he nodded.
Once Falcroné floated out of the room, Axel raised an eyebrow and grinned at Lilly. “Thought I’d never get you alone.”
Lilly showed him a half-smile. “I just wanted to thank you while I still have the chance.”
Axel tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“I—” Lilly bit her lip and stared at the floor. “I’m staying here. I’m not coming with you and Calum to free Lumen.”
Axel raised his eyebrows. He’d expected as much, but her words implied he wasn’t staying here, either. And that meant any hope of a future for the two of them was nonexistent.
Upon that realization, the spark in his soul fizzled to nothing.
When Axel didn’t say anything, Lilly sighed and continued. “I’m home. I need to stay here now. I’m sorry, Axel.”
He clenched his jaw to stifle the emotion rising in his chest. It felt foreign—and terrible—to him. He hated it, and he fought it with every ounce of his being. “It’s not me you should apologize to. I have a feeling Calum is really gonna miss you.”
Lilly took his hand in hers, and a shiver ratcheted through his bones. “You don’t have to hide behind him. I know you’re hurt, too.”
Axel stared into her blue eyes, almost exactly the color of the crystal that formed the Sky Fortress’s walls. The bitter emotion swelled in his chest, accompanied by an impulse—one he’d wanted to gratify ever since he first laid eyes on her in that golden field.
She was right there, in front of him, and they were alone.
That had to mean something, right? Something wonderful.
He pulled Lilly close to him, curled his arms around her, and pressed his lips against hers, but the kiss didn’t last nearly as long as he had hoped it would. She planted her hands on his chest and pushed away.
“Axel, I—” Lilly’s blue eyes focused on something over his shoulder, and her mouth hung open slightly.