by RS McCoy
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he whispered before he closed the door.
In a bed she hated, in clothes that felt all wrong, Blossom wanted nothing more than to go home. Back to the manor. Back to Kaide. He would hold her and tell her he would kill whoever had done this to the Hammonds. And he would understand why she felt responsible, just as she understood his hatred for Aero.
It was all so clear now.
Blossom let her fingers search out the familiar warmth of her alder wood ring, but of course, she found it missing. She’d given it up, she remembered. Eton had it. She made up her mind to ask him about it when he returned, but otherwise, she closed her eyes, willing away the images that seemed burned into them.
She had no idea how much time had passed when her door opened again. Without looking up, she asked Eton, “Can I have my ring?”
“What ring?” Blossom jerked up to see the saddened features of Yveline Dodd. “Advisor Samina said you might want some company. I’m guessing it didn’t go so well with the Syndicate?”
Blossom shook her head and flopped back onto her pillow, annoyed it was so soft.
Dressed in her fine cloak and her hair done just so, Yveline was elegant and lovely while Blossom felt like a pile of ash, burned and empty.
Yveline’s cloak swished quietly as she neared and sat on the edge of Blossom’s too-large bed. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked tentatively.
“Not really.” Blossom was too afraid to say the words aloud. She didn’t have the energy to cry anymore.
“Come on then. Get dressed. I have a surprise for you.” Yveline rushed to the wardrobe and rifled through the dozen matching suits, searching for what, Blossom didn’t know.
“Leave her be,” Eton demanded through the open door.
“You asked me to come over, and here I am. So kindly go away.” Yveline somehow managed to be stunningly elegant and also unwaveringly firm in the same breath. Blossom was sure she’d never be able to manage such a feat.
Despite how she never wanted to move again, Blossom wanted to listen to them bicker even less. So she heaved off the thick blankets and let Yveline help her put her suit together, each piece in the right order this time, then a fresh cloak.
Buttoned up tight in her Aero uniform, Blossom felt surprisingly better, as if looking put together made her feel that way, if only a little. Yveline reached up and stroked a hand through Blossom’s chestnut hair a few times before she was satisfied.
“She’s not ready.” Eton stood in the doorway, blocking their exit.
“That’s not your decision to make,” Yveline argued. “Step aside.”
Ignoring her, Eton maintained his stance and looked to Blossom. “I made a promise. She’s taking you to the Gallant—”
“Shhh!” Yveline interrupted. “It’s not much of a surprise if you spoil it.” While she stood a full head-and-a-half below Eton, she glared at him with a fierceness that made Blossom nervous.
But Eton wouldn’t budge.
Blossom put up her hand to stop them. “It’s fine. I’ll go. Thank you, Eton.” She looked up at him with genuine gratitude. Where before they’d been uneasy partners, now things were different. And they both knew it. Blossom nodded her thanks to him as she followed Yveline to some place called the Gallant.
Blossom stopped in her tracks in the corridor. Emerging from the far side was none other than Lota Castor, the Terra Vice Syndicate known for his taste in too-young girls. His bulging eyes and sallow cheeks made him one of the least attractive men Blossom had ever seen, but as always, he wore a pleasant smile and held his hands clasped behind his back. In his moss-green cloak with a vine decoration embroidered in walnut-brown thread along the front, Castor looked more like a powerful political figure than a disgusting monster.
“Good evening, my dear Apprentice Dodd,” Castor purred to Yveline. His eyes caught on Blossom a half-second later. “By the Mother. Is that Miss Blossom Frane?” He sauntered over with unexpected quickness and took Blossom’s hand in his, lifting it to his lips and kissing her knuckles. He scanned her features, lingering on the redness and puffiness from too long spent crying. She hated to be so exposed before him.
“You’re a Vice Syndicate now? An Aero Vice Syndicate,” he corrected, smiling his amusement.
It made Blossom’s stomach churn to have his hand on hers, to watch his eyes roam over her figure.
“A pleasure to see you again, Vice Syndicate Castor.” Blossom offered him a half-hearted bow. She didn’t like him—or any child molesters, for that matter—but she knew better than to insult him in the presence of Yveline.
“What brings you to Aerona?” Blossom asked.
Castor shook his head like it was nothing. “Your compatriot Vice Syndicate Peppers and I had some business to discuss before tonight’s ceremony. I look forward to seeing you there.” With one more kiss to her hand, Lota Castor entered the empty elevator. Blossom didn’t mention that she wouldn’t be in attendance. She didn’t want to explain any of it, especially not to him.
Blossom and Yveline waited for the doors to shut before they said a word.
“You know him?” Yveline pressed when they were alone again.
Blossom shook her head. “Not really. I’ve only met him once before.”
With Castor gone, the two girls took the elevator to the Robin platform. Blossom entered without complaint, steeling herself against the motion, and forever grateful that Yveline’s tales filled her ears for the few minutes it took to arrive.
The Gallant was like nothing Blossom had ever seen—in Aerona or otherwise. The lights were dim and cast long shadows across the dark space. The floors and walls were all black stone. If Blossom hadn’t known better, she’d have thought they’d traveled to Pyrona—or at least the Syndicate Building in the capital.
A dozen chairs lined each side of the wide space, and Blossom didn’t put up even the smallest fight as Yveline ushered her into the nearest one. The walls were covered in cabinets and shelves, each filled with various devices, jars, canisters, and a myriad of other objects Blossom couldn’t name.
A man not much older than Blossom emerged from a hidden black door and approached them. He paused for a moment when he saw them but soon recovered as he neared. He had hair as dark and smooth as ink, and when he was close enough, Blossom caught a glimpse of a tattoo peeking out from the sleeve of his shirt.
He was Pyro once, Blossom realized.
“Welcome, Vice Syndicate Frane, Apprentice Vice Syndicate Dodd,” he said formally.
Yveline shot him a playful grin. “Don’t be silly, Mallie. This is Blossom’s first time. We don’t want to scare her.”
Eton’s warning came rushing back. Leave her be. She’s not ready.
But Blossom’s anxieties faded as soon as they’d come. There was nothing they could do to her. With Kaide gone, her ring taken, and the Hammonds dead, Blossom couldn’t think of anything that could happen in that chair that would make things worse. So she let them talk and waited patiently.
“Close your eyes,” Yveline instructed, bent at the waist so her face was even with Blossom’s. She wore a beaming smile, so bright and genuine, Blossom couldn’t deny her. “This will hurt a bit, but not too bad. Just close your eyes for a moment.”
Blossom sighed and did as she was told, trying to picture what was going on around her. Metal clicked and glass containers clanked together. Even when some cold, metallic object was pressed to the side of her nose, she didn’t figure it out.
Then, something shot her. A loud noise startled her as pain erupted from the edge of her nostril. Blossom screamed out in surprise and put a hand to the spot. Where her nose had been smooth only moments before, there now sat a cold metal hoop.
A nose ring.
A reward for failing to save the Hammonds.
Her eyes found Yveline, her hands clasped and her smile beaming. “It looks wonderful!” she purred. “Mallie, get a mirror. Let her see.”
The Aero man offered her
a small square of reflective glass. In it, Blossom saw the shining silver color of the hoop through her nose. Seeing faces so punctured with metal in Aerona, Blossom wasn’t all that surprised, but she’d never thought about having any piercings on her own face. Seeing and wearing were two entirely different things.
Yveline extended her white card to the man named Mallie. “My treat,” she told Blossom with a smile.
“Thank you.” Blossom tried to sound earnest but wasn’t quite sure she managed it.
And then, without another word, Yveline and Blossom headed back to the Robin. “I’m sorry I have to rush back,” Yveline began, though Blossom hadn’t even thought to mention it. “Herson will be sour if I don’t start getting dressed for the Ascension Ceremony. I hope you don’t mind.”
“That’s all right. I hope you have fun.” Blossom didn’t mention how much she was glad to be spared from the evening’s event. She wasn’t in the mood to pretend to enjoy herself.
Then, Blossom realized with a start that Kaide would be there. She would have been in the same room with him. He would have been there, and he would have seen her in Aero clothes, with Aero hair half-shaved, with a ring in her nose but not on her finger.
Blossom was glad he couldn’t see her like this. It was for the best, she knew, that she stay away from him until she had her life under her own control again.
She wouldn’t even be able to show him her totem, even if she wanted to.
For a brief moment, she contemplated asking Yveline to get a message to him. To tell him she was alive, she was loyal to him, she wanted to go back to him more than anything. But Eton’s warning sounded in her ear. No one in Aerona could be trusted, not even the sweet Apprentice Vice Syndicate.
So as much as she wanted to conspire to get word of her new position to Kaide, Blossom bit her lip until Yveline dropped her back at her apartment and left to get ready for the ceremony. Blossom was more than happy to strip from her constricting Aero cloak and suit and return to her room, though this time, she opted for the more comfortable rug.
Eton reappeared hours later, a platter of fish in his hands. “Hungry?”
Blossom took one whiff of the fish and shook her head. “Not particularly.”
“Suit yourself. Get dressed.”
“What now?” Blossom’s patience for being dragged around Aerona was quickly waning.
“A surprise you’ll actually like,” he insisted. “And not the full suit. Just these.” He tossed her the light undershirt and the hip-hugging bottoms she wore under her suits.
Intrigue got Blossom off the floor and moving. When she was dressed—mostly—Eton held out her cloak as she slipped her arms into the sleeves. Once buttoned, it was impossible to tell she lacked the full suit underneath.
“You’re wearing a suit,” she pointed out as they left.
“I don’t have a cloak,” he reminded her.
Instead of taking the elevator to the Robin platform, they descended to the lowest level of the lava tubes. “Where are we going?” Blossom asked, not at all sure she cared.
“To the caves.”
“These are all caves.”
“True. But these are different. You’ll see.” The elevator doors parted and released them into total darkness. Unlike the other levels, this one had no lights whatsoever, not even the dim ones of the outskirts.
“What are we doing down here, Eton?” she asked, her voice exasperated. All too late she wondered if she’d made another mistake. The last time she’d gone exploring with a stranger, she ended up nearly kidnapped in a warehouse. Like with Trean, she had trusted Eton’s kind eyes and promises, though she knew it had been a mistake. If the Syndicate had told Eton to kill her, he would do it without hesitation. Blossom was as good as dead.
“Going to see the caves. I told you.” He produced a beam of light from his pocket and aimed it ahead. Then, he stepped forward and left her standing at the elevator door.
“Wait for me!” Blossom shouted when the darkness came too close. She rushed after him—or the light he held—and planted a firm hand on his shoulder, determined not to be abandoned in the dark. Even her falcon eyes could discern nothing in such pure black.
Eton chuckled and led her further into the gloom. His beam of light cut through it like a sword. Minutes later, a low, bluish glow appeared ahead, but it wasn’t until they’d arrived that Blossom could see what it was: a pool of water, tinted a lovely teal color by some sort of light source deep within.
The light reflected across the sloping cavern ceiling, showcasing the slender pillars that punctured the far side. Closer, a low stone ledge met the surface of the perfectly still, clear water. “How does it do that?” Blossom asked of the soft glow produced so far within the Earth.
“These are off-shoots of subterranean rivers. Wherever they reach the surface, light enters, and these cave stones reflect it, bouncing it halfway across the realm until it ends up here.” Eton bent and tugged off his pointed white shoes, followed by his socks. Then, he rolled his pants to the knees and sat on the stone edge of the pool, dipping his legs in the water up to his calves.
Blossom followed suit, stripping out of her cloak and leaving it in a haphazard pile on the cave floor, followed by her shoes. She dipped a toe into the water. “It’s warm,” she said in awe.
“We’re far enough down, the Earth keeps it warm.” Eton kicked his feet in the water, disturbing the perfect smoothness of the surface.
Blossom took several steps back.
“What are you doing?” Eton asked over his shoulder.
In answer, Blossom ran forward. Her feet pounded the hard stone floor as she gathered speed. At the water’s edge, she pointed her arms over her head and dove in, sailing into the pool like a bird through a cloud. It was the closest she’d been to flying in weeks.
Blossom savored the feel of water on her skin, like a warm bath large enough to swim through. As long as she could stand it, Blossom swam, holding her breath until her chest ached, hungry for air. Only when she was desperate did Blossom kick toward the surface.
With her head above water, Blossom sucked in one deep lungful after the other. She looked around and found she’d swum only halfway across the pool. Sitting on the far ledge, Eton looked tiny.
Blossom rolled onto her back and let the water hold her. Her newly punctured nose burned, but otherwise, she was content to swim and never return to the world. She lazily flipped her arms and kicked her legs to move about, but she didn’t care where she went. The calm of water on her skin was too good to resist.
Kaide would have loved this. They’d never gone swimming together, or even discussed it, but she knew Kaide would savor the magic of this place the same as she did.
If only she could ever get the chance to show him.
“I didn’t know you could swim,” Eton said when she drifted near enough to hear him.
Blossom answered without stopping. “Hale taught me.” Even saying his name felt strange. It had been so long since she’d seen the person she used to see most often. She’d been closest to Hale of all her brothers, and she hadn’t even talked to him in almost a month.
“Hale?” Eton asked.
“My brother,” she answered with a nostalgic sigh.
“I thought you were from the Alderwood.”
“I am. We moved our camp every few months. For a while, we lived in the west near Lake Hydra. I would sneak off to see the water, and Hale was afraid I would fall in and drown, so he taught me.” In her mind, the memory was as vivid as the day it happened. She’d been only seven or eight, and Hale had been at least twelve. He lifted one skinny arm after the other to show her the motions, how to kick to get the most power, how to lie on her back and let the water hold her if she tired.
She relished filling her mind with memories of something so assuredly good. Blossom still had her doubts about Eton, and knew that Kaide would never accept her new position, but her childhood in the Alderwood, her years of freedom in the trees, that could never be
wrong.
For the first time in a long time, Blossom wished for the Alderwood. She’d never known how much she’d needed it until it was far behind her. She’d crossed the realm a half-dozen times now, yet still her heart ached for the tall trees of her youth.
“I’m never going home, am I?” she heard herself ask, her own voice muffled by the water in her ears.
“Probably not, no.” Eton’s voice was warbled by water, but his words damaged her all the same. “It won’t always be this bad. We just have to get through this, and it’ll be better.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Blossom pulled her head up and began to tread, determined to hear his answer.
Eton looked at his feet where he kicked them. “My father was a Syndicate. Did you know that?” He shook his head and laughed. “Of course not. No one talks about it. Syndicate Jasper Samina. I was still a kid when he ascended.”
Getting the idea this was going to be a long story, Blossom swam to his side and rested her forearms on the stone ledge.
“He was really good, really fair. He took me to a lot of the meetings and things, though I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to be there. He spent a lot of time out in the Emporium, or just walking the lava tubes.”
“Which is why so many people know you,” Blossom interrupted. She didn’t mention the reverence they held for him, and now she knew his father was a beloved Syndicate of old, everything made more sense than she cared to admit.
With a nod, he continued. “All the Vice Syndicates hated it, that he was so involved with the lower classes, but he didn’t listen.”
“Someone killed him?” Blossom had been in Aerona long enough to know how this story would end.
Eton nodded. “I was ten. My aunt took me in until I came of age. She nominated me for Vice Syndicate, but I keep getting passed over.”
Blossom was thankful for her grip on the ledge. Without it, she wouldn’t have had the frame of mind to keep herself afloat. The reality of it hit her like a hammer. “You wanted this position,” Blossom said, putting voice to her thoughts.
“As my father’s son, I’m an obvious candidate. But because his name was tarnished after his death, and my lower-class aunt raised me, Mercer has enough reason to select someone else for the position. She assigned me as your advisor to rub it in my face.”