by SM Blooding
“Is he the one you suspect?”
I nodded and turned to Marko. “Are we done here?”
He looked at Pavel. “I only need his report.”
I glanced at Mother.
She opened her mouth.
I cut her off. “I have things to do.” I needed to take the lists and go to the command center. If I had to perform a radio check with every ship on the lists to ensure their safety, then that’s exactly what I was going to do.
Pavel grasped my forearm, ferocity shooting from his eyes like flame. “Thank you, El’Asim.”
I nodded curtly and left.
These were not supposed to be the dying games.
CHAPTER 21
A REVIEW OF THE SITUATION
I stopped at the lists tacked to a post. I wanted to just take it, but I was pushing my limits as it was. Mother and her elders weren’t going to allow much more out of me. I’d pushed enough buttons for one day. I needed a different plan.
Several names were crossed out already. Most of the airmen’s names had been removed. I shook my head and reviewed the other lists, searching for my friends. Haji’s name was still there, as was Oki’s. I really didn’t think either of them would have any issues.
Keeley was missing, which was expected. She preferred to stay behind the scenes and didn’t appreciate the spotlight.
Joshua’s name wasn’t on the lists either.
I really needed his brain. So where was he?
I blinked, not sure what to do. I needed a copy of the lists and I needed a communications console so I could check in with all the ships. Using Ino’s command center would be a bit too ballsy, even if I was in Mother’s good graces, which I wasn’t.
I turned and headed back to the docks, the lower ones designed more for sea creatures and smaller letharan. Asim City was nowhere to be seen. I scanned the writhing ocean, the rain drenching me. How was I supposed to get in touch with them? Had Oki even made it back from her maneuvers yet?
One of the men manning the docks saw me “Can I help you, El’Asim?”
I frowned, feeling stupid. “I need to get to my lethara.”
He nodded and walked over to another man, this one standing at a tall metal tube. He pushed some buttons and gestured with his hand.
The man who’d first noticed me came back. “We’ve let Asim City know you are here. They’ve sent a confirmation they received the message.”
I raised my eyebrows. The dark sky over the monstrous medusa of Ino City was green. I didn’t want to ride this storm. It could tear an airship into splinters.
I waited several minutes before I saw a glow grow beneath the spraying waves. The black water turned to green then blue and finally to a pulsating white as a lethara rose to the surface. His medusa cleared and water poured from him in a wind-buffeted waterfall.
He was gorgeous.
Asim City docked beside me and a platform lowered by rope and pulley. I hopped aboard and was taken to one of the docks.
Someone waited for me. He was clearly of Sakin descent. “I am Tanaka Raiden, trained in the city of Ino. I have been acting as Ino Oki’s second while she commands your city.”
I bowed my head. “It is good to meet you, Raiden.”
“What are your orders, sayyd?”
“Has my Ino Oki made it back from her maneuvers?”
“Yes. She made it back this morning.”
“Good. I need a copy of the lists.”
He nodded.
“And can someone please find Joshua Bahrain? Ask him to come see me. It’s urgent.”
Raiden smiled, gesturing for me to lead. “You will find him in your command center, sayyd. I will have a copy of the list to you within the hour.”
“Thank you. Time is of the essence.” I ran to the elevator.
When the metal grate lifted, I stepped into the command center and searched for my friend’s bushy red head.
He sat behind a dark, metal console. He glanced up and then back down, only to immediately look up again.
I smiled, pushing down the need to throttle him.
An answering grin split his freckled face as he stood and walked toward me. “I bloody well though’ we’d lost you for good this time.”
I clapped him on the back, giving him a quick hug and pulled back. “You’re looking good.”
And he was. He was normally tall, but he’d also been on the slightly skinny side the last time I’d seen him. He filled out his clothes now, and there was a new energy behind his green eyes. They almost sizzled.
“I was hoping to have seen you by now,” I told him as we headed toward the equipment. “I’ve been back from the Hands for weeks.”
He shrugged. “I’ve been busy.”
It was good to see him. “I have been as well.”
His green eyes widened as he reclaimed his seat, pointing a finger at me. “Ye’ve turned everything right on its head, ya have. Now, how in the seven kinds of dirt did you manage to get a knighthood from Queen Dreadful?”
I threw my head back and laughed. Joshua said exactly what was on his mind.
He went back to work on the contraption in front of him. “Tell me you didn’t bed the woman, ‘cause if remember correctly, that’s what ruddy got you in trouble in the first place.”
I took in a sobering sigh and smiled down at what he was working on. “No. I told her to hump dirt and left.”
Laughter burst from him as he slammed his hands on the console.
I chuckled. “She didn’t appreciate that much.”
He twisted around to look up at me. “I bet not.” He turned back. “I bet not.”
I clucked my tongue, trying to make sense of what he was working on. “What’s this?”
“A new weapons system. It’s not been test driven yet. Thought yours’d be a good one to test it on, what with you being in the middle of the everything and whatnot.”
I shook my head. “We’re trying to make peace, Joshua.”
“I heard, but you always talk peace while preparin’ for war.”
I didn’t have an answer to that.
“What’s the problem ye’ve got?”
I frowned. “Is it on my face?”
“No, but with the position ye’ve put yourself inta, it’s just a guess.”
“Hmm.” I undid my belt and removed my raincoat. “Someone’s sabotaging the air games.”
“That’s a fair dangerous thing ta say.” But it also got his undivided attention. “What drew ya to tha’ conclusion?”
“A conversation, my gut, and the fact that I saw two airships go down at the same time because the jelly slipped the harness.”
His eyes widened and he leaned back.
I canted my jaw, my teeth on edge. “We nearly lost two ships out there today. If Ryo and I hadn’t been there, or more like, if those two ships hadn’t been trying to attack mine, they’d be at the bottom of the ocean and their crews would be lost.”
“Tha’ is serious. Wha’ happened out there?”
I pulled out a chair and sat. “Someone poured an irritant or a poison over either the harness or the air jelly. Whatever it was, the jelly wouldn’t go back in the ropes, no matter what the airmen did. Without a harnessed airjelly, an airship falls out of the sky.”
Joshua licked his lips. “Do you know who?”
I leaned forward, careful not to touch any buttons. “Iszak Tokarz.”
The other man frowned and shook his head.
I shrugged. “The night of the opening games—”
“Stirrin’ speech, by the way. I greatly appreciated the fist to the air thing. It was brilliant.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but didn’t offer further comment on the matter. I’d like to see him give a speech. “Haji and I went out for drinks, and that’s when I met him. He was playing a game of dice with us. I don’t know what it was that set me off, but he just seems . . . ” I shook my head, unable to come up with the right word.
“Tha’s not much to go on, Synn.”
“I know. When we were waiting to board our airships, he said something. It was the way he said it. It just gave me a bad feeling. He wants a seat on the council.”
“Sounds great for him.”
I propped my head up with my hand. “I don’t think he realizes there aren’t a set number of seats though. He doesn’t have to kill anyone.”
“You didn’t make that clear in your speech.”
I sat up and looked at him. “How are you going to get a seat on the council?”
He turned away, concentrating on switches. “Keeley and I are the only survivors. We don’t have a city and we don’t have a Great Family, tribe, or clan, so wha’ are we supposed to lead?”
I shrugged. “So what are you going to do?”
He grinned. “I’ll letcha know jus’ as soon as I figure it out. But the real question is wha’ yer gonna do. You can’t let this thin’ get any worse.”
“First, I need to know how much worse it really is. I need to go down the list of the airships that went out and figure out which ones haven’t made it back. Those that haven’t need to be contacted to see if they’re all right.”
The metal grate to the elevator groaned open.
Joshua nodded. “Tha’s great and something tha’ someone else can do.”
I opened my mouth.
He shushed me. “You’re no’ a boy anymore, Synn.”
I rolled my eyes and glanced through the room. “I feel like—” I bit off what I was about to say and glared at the woman standing in the middle of my command center.
“How about you let me figure out how many ships are missing.” He turned an angelic smile up at me as I stood. “And you deal with that.”
“Thanks,” I muttered.
“Don’ mention it.”
Queen Nix stood in the center of the room, her dark eyes not even bothering to study the equipment around her.
I took in a deep, steadying breath and walked around the weapons console. “Nix.” I really didn’t want her seeing our technology, or how far we’d advanced.
She said nothing, watching my approach.
I stopped just outside arms reach. “What are you doing here?”
The technicians in the room studied their screens a little too hard.
“I want to talk.”
I ran my tongue over my teeth, but nodded, gesturing for her to lead the way to the elevator. Once inside, I looked at the platform technician. “Eighth level, please.”
Nix didn’t say anything until the grate lifted and we were walking down a wide, pale-tiled hallway. “Where are we?”
“Living quarters.”
“Why did you bring me here?”
I stopped, staring down at her. “There are fewer people. I didn’t bring you down here because my bed is right over there.”
Her dark gaze drifted down the hall, but her expression was completely devoid of emotion.
I clasped my hands in front of me. “What are you doing here, Nix?”
“I don’t know.”
I tipped my head, a frown furrowing my brow.
She was so still. Her dark eyes stared at nothing. “You’ve made me see so many things.”
I held my tongue, not sure what to say.
Her lips parted. “You’ve opened my eyes.”
“I don’t believe you.”
She didn’t even flinch.
I took a step away and let out a long sigh. “Okay. Let’s play. What have I made you see?”
She blinked.
“The kind of person you’ve become?”
Her mouth opened as she took in long breaths. Her body language lacked her natural seductive air. She looked like someone had just kicked her in the gut.
What was going on inside that head of hers?
“Can I ever be forgiven?”
I stared at her, my eyebrows shooting into my hairline. “After what you’ve done?”
Her gaze dropped further, her long, dark lashes feathering against her cheeks. “All I wanted to do was to keep people safe.”
So, this was the game she was going to play. The wounded damsel who did all the wrong things for all the right reasons. I wasn’t in the mood. I paced away from her, my hands balling into fists.
“I did all this to protect Sky City.”
“No, you didn’t!” I roared, spinning around to face her. “You killed innocent people, Nix! People who were only trying to defend themselves against a tyrant. You murdered children to prove a point to a boy. How do you justify that?”
She swallowed. “The people of Sky City needed to understand there were consequences to disobeying me.”
“That’s what happens when you force them to follow you out of fear, not loyalty.”
She flinched.
“A good ruler doesn’t have to bully people into respecting her.”
We were both silent for a long moment.
“I didn’t realize you were going to go this far.”
What was she talking about?
“With the games,” she added quietly.
“It seemed like a good idea.”
“What are you trying to do, Synn?” She turned her gaze on me. A hint of the Nix I knew peeked out from the recesses of her eyes. “Are you intending to gather an army around you and destroy me?”
I took a step closer. “You offered peace, Nix. I’m offering it to everyone who wants it, not just to the biggest bully.”
She closed her eyes and walked slowly away, her fingertips trailing the cool blue walls. “So this is where you hid from me all those months?”
I didn’t answer her.
Her eyes took in the hallway, which ran the entire length of the floor. “This is a smart way to live.”
I kept my silence.
“It’s very versatile.”
“It’s natural.”
She turned to me, her eyes misted with unshed tears. Her hand shook. “It smells like home. I had forgotten that.”
I ran my fingers along my jaw, trying to figure out what was going on inside that head.
“Do you think I’m pretty, Synn?”
I tensed. What the— “You can be, I suppose.”
The corners of her full, red lips rose slightly.
“But then you open your mouth, and all traces of beauty disappear. You are ugly underneath.”
She let out a breath through pursed lips.
I waited.
“I didn’t used to be.”
I opened my mouth, but closed it again, a frown so deep on my forehead, my face hurt.
“I used to be nice.”
“What happened?” Did I really care? Yes. Sky help me, I did.
“I don’t know.”
I didn’t think that was true. I gripped her chin and forced her to look at me. “What happened to you, Nix?”
The queen I knew was nowhere in those dark eyes. “They erased me.”
I frowned. “Who?”
She pulled her chin out of my grasp and leaned against the wall, her voice a low whisper. “My family. My friends. When my Mark came, they shunned me, alienated me, made my . . . son—” She took in a ragged breath. “—fear me.”
Did knowing make her more or less a tyrant? I needed to hate her. I couldn’t afford to see her as a human being. “That’s why you decided to destroy the entire Shankara Family.”
“Yes.”
“Including your son.”
Her lip quivered. “He was apprenticed elsewhere for the season.”
I snorted. Those were probably the first true words she’d spoken in years.
She straightened her back against the wall. “What have I become, Synn?”
I blinked and said just as softly, “A monster.”
She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes, her fingers flexing. “How do I fix that?”
“I don’t know if you can.”
“Was I wrong?”
I tipped my head.
“To protect my people?”
“From people who wer
en’t intent in harming them?” Did I have to answer that question? “Yes.”
Silence gathered around us like a blanket. People talked at the far end of the hallway, the voices growing closer. They grew quiet once they saw who stood in the hallway.
Nix noticed them, but didn’t move, barely breathed.
I remained still. She seemed to need it.
She waited until the people passed and then pushed herself off the wall. “It would appear I made a good choice in you.”
I took a step back, giving her space. “You didn’t choose me, Nix. You killed my father and then burned me alive.”
She stared at the ground. “I won’t be erased again, Synn.”
I tipped my head. “The world will remember you.”
Her head bobbed, the moving bits on her crown tinkling with the movement. She straightened, sliding more into the Nix I knew. “Well, I wanted to see you in your new city.” Her dark eyes scanned the hallways. “I like it, though I doubt it suits you.”
“It has its advantages.”
She didn’t move for a long moment, then nodded once and headed toward the elevator. “I’ll see my way out.”
“Make sure it’s not the long way, Nix,” I called after her. “You’re leaving, not touring.”
The grate lifted and she entered the platform shaft. Her red painted nails touched the grate as she watched me. Then the platform took her out of my sight.
I probably should have escorted her out, or sent a guard with her, but she’d thrown me off. I stared around me in surprise.
What just happened?
CHAPTER 22
RESCUE AND ASSIST
I took the stairs back to the command center. It was a long trek. Climbing stairs is not like climbing the rigging of a ship. It’s tiring, but also, exactly what I needed after that strange conversation.
Had I missed something? Was I just being played again? What I’d seen had seemed real, but what . . . I . . .
Sky-felled woman. I had no idea what was going on with her, but the best course of action would be to get it out of my mind and concentrate on something that did need my attention.
The airships that could be in danger.
By the time I made it to the top level of my lethara, I was sweaty and breathing hard.
Joshua took in my appearance with an upraised eyebrow, a pair of large, brown headphones draped over his ears. “Send us the heading.”