Ethan whispered, “He says we’re his friends and tells his father he has to help.”
Mara’s eyebrows rose. “You speak Kerani?”
“Ta,” he replied. “Yes. I’m fluent in all languages. It’s part of our training as Magi because we never know where we might be sent to serve.”
“That’s helpful.” She frowned at him when a thought occurred to her. “Thanks for all the translation help while we’ve been surrounded by people speaking exclusively in Lingatian.”
Ethan barked out a laugh that drew Tomar’s attention. Mara winced and dipped her head in apology. Ethan pulled her closer and leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “I wouldn’t have translated that if you’d begged me. Let’s just say it hasn’t been entirely appropriate.”
A shiver went down her spine as his breath tickled her ear. She smirked up at him. “What, jealous?”
“Never,” he growled.
She opened her mouth to reply when Tomar approached. His eyes darted between them, but he made no comment about the way they were wrapped together, and Mara wouldn’t apologize. She’d almost lost him, and it would be a while before she’d be comfortable letting go of him.
Tomar threw back his shoulders. “I apologize for almost killing you. Tamil says you’ve been crucial to his advancement. Thank you.”
Ethan dipped his head. “The pleasure is all mine. Tamil has been a dream to work with.”
Tomar swelled with pride. He turned to Mara. “For you, I pledge my aid when you need it. Tamil has told me what you did for him, and it would bring shame of my family if I turned you away in your hour of need. When you are ready to confront the Order, send an Avem to the Mubali Oasis with the message. I’ll assemble my Gifted to support you.”
“Thank you.” Movement caught her eyes, and she noticed the Kerani Gifted were slipping out of the room, keeping their backs to the wall and their eyes on the Lingatians as if they expected an attack. “Are you leaving so soon? You are more than welcome to stay a few days and rest.”
Wynn made a noise of protest, but Tomar said, “No. I thank you for the offer, but it is a long journey home and Tamil misses his mother.”
“Of course.” She turned to Tamil, emotion thick in her throat. Tamil wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. “Thank you for saving Ethan. I’m going to miss you.”
“You, too. But I won’t miss your snoring.”
“I do not snore!” Mara said, outraged. Then she giggled and brushed her nose back and forth against his. She patted the top of his head where the tear-drop shaped patch of hair had been shaved in his head. “I expect an invitation to your coming-of-age ceremony, though. You can’t get rid of me this easily.”
“If you miss it, I will hunt you down and yank your teeth from your skull,” he deadpanned.
“I would expect nothing less.” She stepped back and wiped away her tears as Ethan made his goodbyes.
Tomar and Tamil left at last, Tamil giving a final wave over his shoulder. Mara realized that family isn’t always forged in blood and bone. Sometimes, the best family is the one you choose for yourself.
Wynn threw a scathing look at Mara. “Ya just had to go and ruin my fun, didn’t ya.”
Mara sniffed and pulled Wynn into a stifling embrace. Wynn tried to pull away. “Hey, let me go! Ye’re ruining my image here.”
“Love you too, Wynn.”
Wynn patted her on the back and sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Love ya, too, girly. I’ll probably kill ya tomorrow.”
25
The days passed quickly and the change in Wynn was startling. She rose to her new position with grace and an openness that Mara found impressive given her history. With the chance of assassination diminished, Wynn spent most of her time in the hive getting to know the people. Watching her, Mara couldn’t help but think that this was the woman she’d always been meant to be.
The change in the people was even more monumental—they followed Wynn like she was their savior.
Wynn’s first official order as Warlord was to send most of the Cultors home, telling them to heal the land as they went. The barren landscape quickly changed as trees healed and hardy plant life spread across the ground. It wouldn’t last long, not with winter creeping south at an alarming rate, but it was enough to raise their spirits.
Now, Mara found herself at the base of the Aonach Neart, staring up at the summit with trepidation. “You know, I think I changed my mind.”
Ethan reached out and took her hand. Since his near-death experience, they’d been virtually inseparable. Mara couldn’t imagine being without him now, and here he was, preparing to sled to their deaths together. It would be romantic except for the certain doom part.
Conner, Astrid, and Harris, another former member of the Tuir clan, snickered. Mara glanced at Harris out of the corner of her eye. Deep grooves ran down the side of his face, just missing his eye by a hair. What had happened to him?
Astrid elbowed her in the ribs. “No need to be a baby about it, eachtrannach. It’s only 3,481 feet high.”
“It’s not the height I’m worried about—it’s the throttling at full speed to my death part. Don’t you have a nice, safe sport instead? I wouldn’t be opposed to competitive reading, or a friendly game of tiles.”
“It’s a rush you’ll never get to experience again,” Conner said. “Why not make the most of it?”
During the tour of Orgate, Astrid had convinced Mara to go volcano sledding. She claimed that it was the most fun to be had anywhere on the continent. Now, Mara wasn’t sure if they had mixed up the word fun with insanity.
In truth, she’d hoped Astrid had forgotten.
She carried her board under her arm. The top was wooden, and the bottom had a piece of polished metal attached to it. The front was curved slightly so they sled wouldn’t burrow into the porous volcanic rock. It would take most of the morning to climb to the top of the sloping side of the volcano, but only minutes to sled down. And somehow, this was considered the pinnacle of fun. Why would she expect anything less of the brutal, violent people?
Astrid dropped a metal box on the ground and gestured to Conner. He held his hands over the ground and lifted. A pumpkin-sized section of dirt and rock rose from the ground leaving a pit behind. Astrid moved the metal box into the hole and Conner covered it up with the newly-excavated dirt.
She caught Mara’s baffled look and explained, “Lunch. The residual heat from the volcano will cook it as we climb. We’ll be able to eat when we get back.”
Just another way these people had adapted to a deadly environment.
Astrid tied her hair back and grabbed her board. “Okay, who’s ready to climb?”
Ethan tilted his head down and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, “I’ll count to three. You blast them, and we’ll make a run for it.”
Mara giggled. “I like that plan. After all, what does it matter if they think we’re cowards?”
“I don’t see Wynn volunteering.”
“She’s stuck in meetings all day. What was Alex’s excuse?”
“A deep-rooted desire for survival,” he said.
“Ah, that figures.”
“If it’s any consolation, he did say that he would give a heart-rending eulogy at our funerals.”
“That makes me feel so much better.” Mara rolled her eyes. “Come on, we’d better catch up before Astrid drags us up the mountain.”
Three hundred feet up and her calves burned from the effort. Ethan’s labored breathing reached her ears. Maybe he should have taken a few more days to recover. There were no lingering effects of the poison that she could tell, other than fatigue, but Healer Oliver insisted that would pass quickly with rest.
The sun was directly overhead by the time they reached the summit. If she climbed another fifty feet up, she could peer over the lip and into the crater of the volcano. And then probably fall to her death. She turned before curiosity could get the best of her and gasped at the view. From this height, she could see for mil
es. Somewhere past that stretch of land was the border to Crystalmoor. How was Steel doing? The emperor was convinced that Steel had claimed the throne and she wondered how Steel was handling the transition to Miestryri. She hoped he was finally happy.
Ethan’s grip was white-knuckled on his board, and his jaw was clenched tight. “You know, I don’t think I’m quite prepared for this level of excitement today. I’ll just walk down.”
“Nice try, Magi, but now that you’re up here, there’s only one way down,” Conner said.
Mara slipped on her leather gloves, adding to the full leather ensemble that made her look twenty times tougher than she felt. She paused to admire how handsome Ethan looked in his leather outfit that accentuated all his best features. He caught her looking and she quickly pulled on a clear resin mask over her face to hide her blush. The Lingatians had been strangely tight-lipped when Ethan asked about how the masks were made, offering only the explanation that the process had originated in Aravell. From the slight pine smell, Mara guess that it was formed from some sort of hardened tree sap. Ethan looked like a child whose favorite toy was taken away when they wouldn’t detail the process, but as long as the masks protected her face and eyes from the sharp volcanic rock, Mara didn’t care.
She eyed the slope with more than a little trepidation.
“Are you ready?” Astrid asked her.
No. “Yes.” She nodded, trying to convince herself more than the others. “But maybe you should go first. Show us how it’s done.”
Harris shrugged and set his board on the ground, adjusting the front so it pointed down the slope. To prevent it from veering and tipping over? She made a mental note to do the same thing when it was her turn.
Astrid chimed in, “Now, since it’s your first time, you’re going to want to sit down. The only person dumb enough to try standing on their first try was Harris.”
Harris tapped the scars on the side of his face and winked. “It’s less fun when you slide down on your face.”
Right. Slide on bottom, good. Slide on face, bad. Got it.
She exchanged a panicked look with Ethan. How had they been talked into this?
Harris sat down on the sled and kicked off, making a ‘see you later’ gesture over his shoulder. The sled started slow. Huh, that didn’t look too bad. Then he picked up momentum until he flew down the hill. Chunks of rock and debris spat into the air.
The whole trip was over in a matter of minutes, and it did nothing to calm her fears.
“Okay, your turn, Mara.”
She trudged over to the path that Harris had taken. She set down the sled, taking her time to position it just right. Then she adjusted it some more. Couldn’t be too careful, right? Finally, when she couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer, she sat down on the sled. Her hands shook as she gripped the sides. Astrid put her boot on the back of the sled and gave it a shove. A scream tore free from her throat as she hurtled down the slope. She squeezed her eyes shut. Rock crunched under the sled, and a chunk hit her mask. She flinched, and the sled tipped precariously to the side, thrown off balance by her sudden movement. She threw her weight to the right to correct it.
Shards of volcanic rock pummeled her face and chest. She was instantly grateful for the mask and protective clothing.
As the sled picked up speed, her scream turned into a laugh. Once she got past the fear of dying, this was actually fun! Not that she ever wanted to do it again.
The slope smoothed out and the sled came to a stop. She braced her hands on the sled and stood, legs shaking. Harris trotted over with a huge grin on his face. He offered his arm and she took it gratefully.
“Eachtrannach, you did it!”
“Why do you call me that?” She reached up and pulled her mask off.
“It means ‘foreigner’ in our language.”
Mara’s nose wrinkled. “That doesn’t sound very flattering.”
Harris rubbed the back of his neck. “Eh, maybe not. How’d you like it?”
“It was fun. Exhilarating! I never want to do it again.”
Conner came next, riding his sled on his feet. Ethan followed, his scream reaching Mara’s ears all the way down the slope. She had a strong suspicion that he’d come ridden with his eyes shut.
Astrid came last. Her sled was thinner than the rest, and it had straps on it to latch her boots to the surface of the board. She rode down standing sideways, weaving the sled across the slope and back. It reminded Mara of how a snake slithered across sand, leaving grooves behind.
Once she reached the bottom, Astrid unstrapped her boots from the sled and pulled off her mask. Her cheeks were bright red from the exertion.
“You did good, Eachtrannach.” Astrid clapped her on the back. “Wanna go again?”
“Not a chance.”
“Give it time and you’ll be begging for it. Come on, let’s go eat.”
They carried their sleds to the spot where they’d started the climb up the volcano and crowded around the site. Conner dug up the metal box before creating stone seating from the volcanic rock. Astrid dished out the food for them. Mara took her plate, eager to dig in—who knew that sledding down a volcano would work up such an appetite? She chewed around the unfamiliar flavors, unsure if she liked it or not. There were sausages, baked beans, stewed tomatoes, meat pasties wrapped in a flaky dough, and something called black pudding.
Ethan had just taken a bite when Conner got an evil look in his eye. “Good, right?”
Ethan chewed thoughtfully. “It’s quite delicious, yes.”
Astrid laughed. “Don’t you dare tell him.”
“Tell him what?” Mara asked.
Conner grinned. “Black pudding is made from pig blood.”
Ethan paled. It looked like it took a gargantuan effort to swallow the bite he’d taken, but he managed somehow. Mara noticed that he pushed the rest to the side of his plate.
Once they were done eating, Astrid, Conner, and Harris grabbed their gear and started back up the mountain. Astrid paused and looked over her shoulder. “You sure you don’t want to go again?”
“I’ve never been more positive of anything in my life,” Mara said. “You go on ahead. Ethan and I are going to head back inside.”
Astrid shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’ll catch you later.”
Ethan waited until they were far enough away before scraping the black pudding back in the container. Mara gathered the dishes and stacked them by the box. “Should we take this back with us?”
“I can drop it off at the kitchen on my way to the alchemy room.”
Unlike the palace in Merrowhaven, the fortress hadn’t had a designated alchemy room, so Ethan had been forced to improvise. One of the benefits of not having a large clan was an abundance of empty rooms. Ethan claimed one and began to convert it into a functional workspace.
“How is everything going? Are you making progress?”
He picked up the box and they began walking toward the tunnel that would take them inside the Aonach Neart. “In a fashion. Finding a wide variety of ingredients is a struggle.” His expression grew wistful. “The Tuir clan had no vision.”
“Maybe we could write to Oona and have her send us some things from Merrowhaven?”
“And risk having her arrested for stealing from the crown?” His eyebrows shot to his hairline. “I think not.”
Mara shrugged. “It was just a thought.”
“No need to worry. I’ll figure something out.”
“I have no doubt.” She hoped he would, and soon. As wretched as Merrowhaven had been, being there had given Ethan the space to work and grow. Without that, she wondered if he could be happy here. “So, what do we do now? We have an entire afternoon to ourselves.”
“I don’t suppose you want to join Wynn in her meetings? I heard she’s assembling a team of Saxums from the Aonach Neart to extend the moat and redirect the flow of lava around the secondary tunnel. Though there’s a possibility we missed that one.”
“What a shame.�
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“But if we hurry, we might get back in time for the discussion about adding a second bathhouse and additional sanitary trenches.”
Mara wrinkled her nose. “I thank the gods every day that she’s Warlord and not me.”
Ethan shifted the box under his left arm and nudged her playfully. “I think we’re all thankful for that.”
“Hey!”
His eyes sparkled. “You would have made a terrible Warlord.”
“I really would have.” She stood on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek, giggling when his ears reddened.
He reached down to take her hand as they walked into the tunnel. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I have a few ideas how we can spend our time.”
“I’m all ears.” Her stomach somersaulted as he lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
26
Later that night, Mara sat across the table from Astrid playing a game of tiles in her room. Mara peeked at her tiles and shifted a white one to block a yellow. “Your move.”
Astrid took one look at the board before picking up a blue stack and placing it on another.
“You can’t double-stack your blues!”
“Who says?”
“Uh, the rules? You can’t go higher than five to a stack.” Mara countered with a stack of whites.
“This is just how we play in Lingate,” Astrid said innocently and reached for another blue tile, sliding it across the board.
Mara snorted. “That sounds like a clever way of saying you cheat.”
Astrid’s eyes sparkled, but she didn’t deny it. Mara grabbed a shortbread and munched while she studied the board. Each color tile had a different power assigned to it. By double-stacking her blues, Astrid had just claimed the entire north-eastern corner of the board. To win, a player had to control each section. Unfortunately, that meant Mara would have to stop her takeover of the south-western quadrant if she hoped to counter Astrid’s rule-defying move.
After a moment’s hesitation, she removed a red and placed it next to her yellow.
The Dreg Trilogy Omnibus Page 89