Void Born

by R. J. Metcalf

  It hadn’t taken much wheedling or promises of favors for Weston to convince those in the workshop to turn down the “honor” of traveling to the Hollows—really, who wanted to take two weeks away from creating and designing?—but that still meant Weston needed to find someone to take over the teaching. And if Timothy didn’t learn fast enough, Weston would be forced to use someone from the workshop, and all hope of getting his mentor out of the prison would be lost.

  No. I’m not giving up on Andre. Weston touched the dagger on his hip. He never gave up on me.

  Jade perched on the edge of the table and swung her feet. Weston thought he heard Zaborah hiss something about “princess form,” but Jade ignored whatever the Monomi said and leaned forward, settling her elbows on her knees. Zak leaned against the edge of the wood next to her, watching as Timothy took another shot. Jade gripped the table with her fingers. “What’s the plan for when you get there?”

  Timothy scratched at the beard shadow growth on his face and shrugged as he plucked a bullet off the table. “Get in. Get my target. Get out.”

  Jade’s eye twitched. “Obviously. How are you going to do it?”

  Weston chewed his cheek. How Timothy was going to accomplish this would be close to a miracle—and the man knew it. Yet he’d still volunteered when Francene had offered the job.

  “Hopefully, I’ll escort him out with forged documents. Prisoner transfer from the Hollows back to here for a trial.” Timothy squeezed the leather bag, then tilted it by his ear, listening for the slosh of water. He muttered, “Maybe one more shot before refilling. Soldiers will need a water source on them.”

  As far as Weston could find in the records, there had been only two prisoner transfers in the entire history of the Hollows. To say it was a slim shot would be an understatement.

  “Yes, we know about the water issue. We’ll be giving an extra canteen to each soldier who gets a rifle.” Weston resisted the urge to toe at the grass with the tips of his polished black boots. “I know Francene is working on the documents, but what if those don’t work?”

  Timothy shrugged. “Then it’s a good thing I’m better with a sword. We’ll fight through whatever veebs we find, break through the upper ring, and get out.”

  “Because that’s going to be so easy,” Zak muttered. He shook his head and heaved a sigh. “I wish I could go with you to help.”

  “If we had Geist with us, we could send him,” Jade added.

  Zaborah’s eyebrows raised. “Geist knows how to get out of the Hollows?”

  Jade and Zak exchanged looks, and they both chuckled. “Let’s just say that Geist knows his way around a jailbreak,” Jade explained with a small grin. She caught Weston’s eye, and the humor sparkling in her face softened some of the anxiety that had tightened around his heart. Jade stood, her bearing regal despite her casual garb. She lifted her hand to Timothy, palm down. “You have my thanks for the effort and danger you will be undertaking.”

  Timothy didn’t miss a beat, taking her hand in his, bowing over it before kissing her knuckles. “It is a relief to be of service, Your Majesty.”

  Jade’s smile dimmed. “You mentioned veebs. Do you expect to have problems with Void Born there?”

  Timothy shrugged, and his shirt momentarily strained at the seams with his motion. “No idea. But I know that there’s some amount of a Veeb population there, thanks to some kingdoms that capture them instead of executing the monsters. I’m planning for the worst case, regardless.”

  A shadow crossed Jade’s face, and she nodded, silent.

  Weston dared to join her side, not leaning against the table, but closer nonetheless. “Are you okay?”

  Jade tilted her head to the side. “Worried about my uncle. Worried about this mission in general.” She worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “We know there was a Void Born in the citadel when my father was killed. What are the odds that he was caught? Sent to the Hollows? Are all Void Born like that one? What makes them Void Born?” She took a shuddering breath, her body rocking side to side. “There’s been so much going on, I haven’t been able to even think everything through.”

  Weston reached out, his hand hovering over her wrist. “We have to have faith that Andre is holding his own, and that we’ll get there in time.” She didn’t move away, so he let his fingers rest on her skin. “As for the veebs, I have no idea.”

  “Veebs.” A note of scorn rang in Jade’s voice. “I don’t know what I think of Void Born as a whole, but I’m not going to use derogatory names for them.”

  “Sorry.” Weston recoiled with a wince. “Some habits die hard.”

  Zak shot Weston a look, then leaned into Jade’s space. Zaborah coughed, and Zak nodded to Weston. “Still on for tonight?”

  Weston grasped the change of subject as if it were a lifeline to prevent drowning. “Yes. Niles and an escort will be at the villa just before five.”

  What darkness existed in Jade’s face eased. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I’m glad.” Weston smiled at her. “Here’s to hoping for a relaxing, quiet night.”

  Zak turned away to watch Zaborah fire a shot down the range. “Don’t jinx it.”

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Jade

  Jade leaned back in her chair, inhaling the familiar scent of turbine oil, ceramics, and polished wood. Even if it was only for part of the day, to be back on the Sapphire with her family and her friends was one of the best gifts she could have received right now. To have her mother, Krista’s father, and some of Jade’s crew back in time for this was beyond perfect. And dinner made by Briar? The night couldn’t get any better.

  “Are you done? Can I take that for you?” Weston lingered behind her chair, hesitantly leaning toward the table, pointing at her plate.

  She blinked up at him before bobbing her head. “Yes. Thank you.” She tucked her hands under her legs and offered him a genuine smile. He’d worked hard in the heat of the day to train Timothy. Then he’d cleaned up and helped to make a trip home possible for her. “And thank you again for tonight.”

  Weston’s cheeks darkened to a dusky rose, and he nodded hard enough that the tight curls of his hair bounced. He visibly swallowed. “Of course.” He clumsily clunked her silverware on the plate and whisked it away, hastening to the kitchen where Zak and Krista were washing the dishes.

  She watched him go, curious as to this softer, more helpful side. She’d noticed it before but thought it was a fluke. But now? Maybe he really was changing. Whatever had brought about this development must’ve been drastic.

  Briar leaned back into her view, a black eyebrow raised over his small smirk. She coughed and looked away. “Thank you for dinner, Briar. It was fantastic.”

  “I lost my leg, not my cooking ability,” he quipped. Jade winced, and he laughed. “Sorry, can’t help it.”

  Jade’s smile probably looked more like a grimace. She and Krista had made significant progress in their work on his prosthetic, thanks to Pistoia and her workshop. While Jade wasn’t able to go there often, Krista was, and she’d just finished assembling a new prototype for him to try when he was healed enough for them to attach it. He’d had little to do during recovery, wheeling about in his chair from room to room, unable to train with Zak, useless at tinkering with her and Krista, unable to work in the kitchen with Francene’s cook. How he kept any amount of good humor through it all was beyond her.

  She skimmed her hand over the smoothness of the table, feeling the worn spots, the dent she’d made as a child. “Do you miss this?” she asked suddenly, lifting her eyes from the wood to take in her mother with William and Zaborah. Zaborah’s intense disapproval had eased up a fraction in the last day, but only barely. It was only a matter of time until she said something to Samantha. Jade looked to Briar. “The Sapphire?” she elaborated.

  Briar shifted in his chair. “Of course.” He laid his hand over hers. “But this is the best place for me right now. It’s easier to get around when not on an airship.” He
gestured to the wheels on his chair and lifted his shoulders in a rueful shrug. “And it means I can be here for you.” He gently squeezed her hand and pulled back with a crooked grin. “And it means way more time with Krista. Now that she has no engine room to hide in, I’m her primary project.”

  Humor lightened the weight on Jade’s heart. “I’m glad she has you.”

  A soft smile lit Briar’s eyes. “Me too.” He tilted his head, studying her. “I know you can keep a secret like this.” He glanced back at the door, then leaned forward, his voice low. “I’ve been thinking of proposing.”

  Jade shot up in her chair, excitement bubbling. “Really? That’s wonderful! When?”

  “I don’t know.” Briar tapped his pocket with an absent-minded frown. “I’ve been wanting to ever since everything that happened in—” His eyes darted toward her, then away. “Doldra.”

  “If it’s been that long, then why haven’t you yet?” Even as the words left her mouth, Jade understood, and she bowed her head. “If you’ve been holding off because of all this madness here, please don’t hold off any longer. Not on my behalf. Life is too short.”

  Wood scraped wood, and Samantha rapped the table to get Jade’s attention, then gestured to William and Zaborah. “We’ll be back. I’m just going to show them some new gear I found while out.”

  Jade nodded at her mother, distracted. “Have fun.” She stared at Briar with a pointedly raised eyebrow.

  “I will,” Briar promised.

  “Tonight.”

  His eyes widened, almost all pupil. “Tonight?” His voice rose a few octaves. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a short laugh. “I—Jade, I don’t know about that.”

  “You’ve already talked to William, I’m guessing?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Then tonight. Unless you’re planning something elaborate?”

  “No.” Briar shook his head with a small laugh. “Simple is best right now. She wouldn’t want all the grand gestures that I’ve thought of, not right now.” He rubbed at the little cooking scars on the back of his right hand. “I’ll do something big after everything has blown over.”

  “Sounds good. So, tonight, then.” Jade’s smile dimmed as she swallowed the sorrow that crept along the edges of the joy for her friends. They’d get their happy beginning, and she’d be living out the ending of her freedom in the same time span. “Before we leave the Sapphire.”

  Briar studied her, far too perceptive for her liking. “How are you doing?”

  “Don’t change the subject, Briar.”

  “I’m not. How are you doing? Really? And don’t give me the same shallow answer you give everyone else. I know you well enough to read those lies.”

  Jade huffed a laugh and dropped her hands in her lap, weaving her fingers together. “Not even in the kitchen, and you’re still talking through problems with me.”

  Briar’s warm chuckle melted the frost on the edges of her heart. “You weren’t the only one who’d come to the kitchen to work out the brain gears.” He leaned an arm on the table, intent. “But you need to vent some of those thoughts that I know are building steam in that head of yours. Everyone’s distracted, so talk to me.” His voice gentled, serious. “Krista told me you’ve chosen Zak over Weston.”

  Jade rubbed at her forehead. Same Briar, going for the jugular. “She told you right,” she said finally with a small shrug. “Weston has changed.” She gestured to her cleared spot at the table. “In a good way. But I can’t marry him.”

  Briar twirled the knife left on the table by his spot. “And you think you can somehow make it work politically with Zak?”

  Jade’s jaw clenched. “I don’t know, honestly.” She bit her lip and stared at her fingers. “But I’m going to fight for it.”

  “That, I assumed, hadn’t changed.” A trace of humor lightened Briar’s words. “But what would you do if you had to marry Weston?”

  “I—” Jade’s words stuck in her throat.

  Weston had gone out of his way to share his own haven, his workshop, and his master with her. He’d been the one to talk to Zak about making this night happen, and that showed a kindness and consideration that she hadn’t believed possible from the entitled prince. He tried to make her happy. And he showed consideration not only for her, but for Zak, Briar, and Krista. Tears pricked the back of her eyelids. Being on the Sapphire had eased some of the longing to escape, and yet it also strengthened her buried desire to not be queen, the desire to be only an airship captain. To be here, where she belonged. But she had to become queen; she saw no way around it. And if she had to marry Weston.... Her lips tingled with the memory of kissing Zak, and she brushed her fingers against her mouth.

  “He has changed,” she rasped, half as a reminder to herself. Her chin trembled, and she clenched her teeth, forcing herself to take a deep breath. “And he’ll be a strong ally. Enough to protect us.” Her heart ached, then warmth blossomed. “But Zak won’t let it get to that. And you heard Weston tonight: he’s looking into binding treaties that we can make that don’t require marriage. And we both want to get Andre free from the Hollows.”

  She lifted her chin, meeting Briar’s eyes. “I want my family, my friends, my people safe,” she said firmly. “I don’t want my decisions to get anyone else killed.” Sorrow clenched her heart as she remembered her last conversation with Zander. “If you’re not overcoming fear, it can’t be called bravery,” she quoted quietly. “So sometimes doing something, even when afraid, is the best you can do.”

  “Wise words.”

  The sympathy in Briar’s gaze would be her undoing tonight, and she buried her face in her hands. “I’m going to be queen, Briar. And I don’t want to be. And I know that my choices in my love life are going to cause problems.” She nodded to where Zaborah had been sitting earlier. “I can only imagine how much worse it’ll get whenever we do marry.”

  She rubbed the back of her hand against her cheeks. “I still want to be an airship captain. Fly the sky.” She tilted her head back, remembering the feel of the wind on her face. “Be free.”

  This time tears didn’t come. Just a quiet ache of acceptance that settled around her shoulders, calming the butterflies in her gut.

  “But some dreams need to die. I’ve learned that.” She offered a small smile. “I can face my future because I know I’ll have Zak with me.”

  Briar stared at the table, visibly chewing on her words. She reached over and tapped his arm, drawing his attention to her. “But not all dreams need to die. Propose to Krista. Have your other half at your side.”

  He blinked at her. “Now?”

  “Now.”

  A peel of laughter rang out from the galley, and Zak walked into the mess room, grinning while Krista and Weston followed behind. Krista giggled, clutching her stomach. She wiped tears of mirth from her eyes and fell into the chair next to Briar.

  “Can you believe Weston didn’t realize that dishes had to be dried before they were put away?” she gasped out. “He thought they could just go on the shelves still wet.”

  “Hey, I didn’t have to do chores growing up,” Weston protested, his voice mild. He pulled out a seat across from Jade at the table. “I’m learning.”

  “That you are,” Zak acknowledged. He stood behind Jade and rested his hands on her shoulders, lightly rubbing at the knots in her neck. “And you’re a pretty quick study.”

  Surprise crossed Weston’s face as he unrolled his sleeves, buttoning the cuffs at his wrists. “Thank you.”

  Briar raised an eyebrow at Jade, and she caught his unspoken question: Here, now? She nodded, unable to keep her lips from turning up. She wanted to witness Krista’s happiness. To see the joy light up her face.

  Briar nodded once and slipped his hand in his pocket, then turned his back to Jade, facing Krista entirely. “Hey, Gearhead.”

  Krista set her chin in her hand and smirked at Briar. “Hey, Cookie.”

  “I have to tell you something.” Briar’s v
oice turned serious. “And I want you to hear me out.”

  The humor in Krista’s eyes faded into concern, and she nodded slowly. “What’s wrong?”

  Briar took a deep breath and slipped out of his chair, balancing on his one knee, his stump grazing the floor. “I’m afraid I don’t have a leg to stand on for this, but I love you. And I don’t want to go another day without asking this.” He pulled two rings from his pocket and held them up to Krista, his hand trembling slightly. “Can two become one?”

  Krista’s gaze didn’t leave him, her mouth slightly ajar. Tears misted her eyes, and she lurched from her seat to be on her knees before him. She wrapped her hand around his. “It’s a good thing I love you enough to overlook the pun.”

  “So, is that a yes? Or a no?”

  “Yes, you dummy!” Krista laughed aloud, pulling him toward her in a bone-cracking hug before kissing him.

  Jade grinned. This was how it should be for those two. She wanted them happy, and this was what it should be. She glanced up and caught Weston’s eyes. He shot her a hollow smile before quietly excusing himself from the table, his footsteps rapidly retreating. She closed her eyes and dropped her head, grateful for the sudden warmth of Zak’s hand on her shoulder.

  Not everyone could have a happy ending.

  It was difficult to keep the noise and excitement down as Jade, Krista, Zak, and Weston walked through the dark streets to Francene’s villa. Samantha pushed Briar’s wheelchair while chatting with one of Weston’s guards, and Zaborah took up the rear with several other of Weston’s men. It was nearing midnight, and while the gaslight street lamps were still lit, most glowed dimly rather than the bright flames of the earlier night hours. Jade waited until they crossed under one of the lights, and then she grabbed Krista’s hand, again admiring the deep brown and rich gold whorls in the smooth wooden ring.

  Krista gave Jade a giddy grin and waggled her fingers. “Did you know?”

  “I had a suspicion.” Jade released her friend’s hand and resisted the desire to reach out for Zak’s. Zaborah was walking behind them, and there was no need to antagonize the elder Monomi. “How soon do you think you’ll—”