“Sure, what can we do for you?” I asked, knowing it was better to stay on Pandora’s good side, given her standing with the queen.
“Could you get me a list of ingredients that the queen has requested?” she replied.
I looked at her curiously, realizing that she was essentially passing off her responsibility to us. Maybe she couldn’t be bothered? Then again, it was probably a tough job being the queen’s advisor, constantly at her beck and call, doing her bidding. In Pandora’s position, I might have been tempted to do the same.
“Of course. Do you have the list on you, or do you want me to write it down?” Navan asked, patting down his pockets for a pen he didn’t have.
“Everything you’ll need to get is on here,” she replied, flashing Navan an almost derisive look as she handed over a small black device. When she tapped the center, a hologram flickered to life, listing all the items the queen desired. “Don’t you have these in the South?” she asked, narrowing her eyes again.
Navan grinned. “We do, Pandora. I was just teasing. I can’t even remember the last time I wrote something down.” He took the device and slipped it into his pocket.
“You’d better get going. You shouldn’t be out too late,” Pandora said brusquely. “If the queen finds out you’re gone, I won’t be able to cover for you.” She dipped a hand into her pocket and pulled out a ring of keys, removing a small silver one and placing it in my hand. “There’s an old emergency exit in the storage closet at the back of this galleria. This key will let you out.”
With that, she strode off and disappeared into the gloom. Navan and I let out a sigh of relief. I liked Pandora, but there was something about her that set my nerves on edge. Whether it was her impressive stature, her brusque manner, or her position as Brisha’s right-hand woman, I wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, I found her intimidating.
“We’ll have to be quick if we’re going to get all of this stuff.” Navan sighed, still looking toward the spot where Pandora had disappeared. “I hadn’t planned for us to stop by the market, but I guess we’re going to have to now.”
“Will we have enough time to do both?” I asked, worried.
Navan grimaced. “We’ll have to be fast, especially if we want to be back before dawn, but it should be okay,” he said, though he didn’t sound sure.
He took my hand and led me through the door of the ancient gallery, where dustsheets draped countless ghostly shapes and motheaten tapestries hung from moldering walls. I wondered what this place might have looked like in its glory days, though it was clear they were long gone.
We found the storage closet and descended the rickety staircase hidden at the back of it. Navan unlocked the door at the bottom, and a second later, we were stepping out into the cold night, into the forgotten garden I had seen from the balcony. From the shadows of the overgrown bushes and the boughs of skeletal trees, I could have sworn there were eyes watching me.
Shaking off my fears, I plucked the wing serum from my pocket. I still had two thirds of the first vial left, but I had the second one with me just in case.
“Take a long sip,” Navan said. “It needs to last longer than the first time.”
Letting out a breath, I placed the vial to my lips, tipping the liquid onto my tongue. I swallowed quickly, letting the viscous liquid get to work. This time, knowing what to expect, I sat down on the frost-tipped grass and waited for the pain to come. It did a moment later, ripping through my body like a blazing tornado. Clutching my stomach, I felt the familiar razorblade sensation of the wings pushing through my skin. I gritted my teeth against the searing agony, knowing it would pass.
As my wings spread out behind me, tearing through the fabric of my shirt, the pain ebbed, leaving me with the strange, weighted sensation. I got to my feet, feeling a little unsteady. Navan stepped up beside me, putting his arm around my waist, letting me lean against him until I felt balanced again.
“I think Brisha’s going to need to buy me a whole load of new shirts,” I chuckled. This was the second one I’d ruined with my wings.
“You’ll have to ask her for some like mine,” he replied with a smile, turning to show me the flexible gaps in his shirt fabric, which opened to allow his wings through, causing no harm to the shirt itself. “Now, before thoughts of ripping your shirt off distract me entirely, might I take you on a quick date, you beautiful creature?” Navan teased, turning back around and bending his head so he could kiss my shoulder blades.
I laughed. “I’d be delighted, you handsome devil.”
With that, we took to the skies, the Vysanthean night rushing past me, its icy fingers in my hair, twisting through my wings, filling my lungs with its bitter freshness. A grin spread across my face despite the dangers to come. With Navan by my side, the wind beneath my wings, and the world stretching out ahead of me with its endless possibilities, I knew I could get used to this.
Chapter Seven
“Down there,” Navan said, pointing to a peculiar structure in the distance.
I frowned, squinting at it. The place didn’t look like any city square I had ever seen. It stood next to a curved building with golden spires that I presumed to be the old university Navan had mentioned. A high stone wall formed the square, a crosshatched net of tangled bronze rods rising above and across it, like spun sugar cupped over a dessert in a fancy restaurant. Lights glowed through the strange domed roof of bronze branches, reminding me of stars seen through a canopy of trees.
As we landed, the hubbub of voices rose from within the covered piazza. It was a comforting sound, filled with chatter and laughter, and the telltale bark of bartering stall-owners. I threaded my fingers through Navan’s, smiling up at him. We had never been on a real date before, and if this was the closest to one we were going to get, I was more than happy to take it.
A gateway was embedded in the high stone wall of the square, though the two heavy metal doors were swung wide, allowing the public to pass in and out of the piazza with ease. As we stepped through, joining the steady stream of coldbloods entering the market, my eyes went wide with awe.
Flickering candles and glowing string lights twinkled all around, draping from the fronds of willow-like trees. Stalls lined the square, selling all manner of unusual wares. At the center, a band was playing a lively tune on instruments I had never seen before, though some looked vaguely drum-like, and others resembled violins, but these were made from dark metals that glinted in the low light. They still sounded like their Earthen counterparts, making me feel like I was at an Irish jig. As the music enveloped us, I almost felt tempted to take to the floor and lose myself in the melody.
There were other people dancing, a few young couples swinging each other around, but I couldn’t see Navan indulging me in a dance or two. I flashed him a look all the same, nodding in the direction of the music.
He shook his head. “No way,” he said, smirking. “I’ve told you before, I’m a terrible dancer. You’d run away from sheer embarrassment.”
“I’ll get a dance out of you before the night is out,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him, though of course it was an empty threat. As much as I wished we had longer to peruse the stalls and enjoy the atmosphere, I knew we couldn’t spend much time at the market. For one thing, we didn’t know how long it would take to find the poroporo fruit, and we were going to need as much time in the Fazar Mountains as possible to seek it out. Because if we didn’t manage to find the fruit, then we’d have to choose a different method of getting answers about the immortality elixir from Yorrek, a method that probably wouldn’t leave us with clean hands or a clean conscience… I shook the thought from my mind.
Hand in hand, listening to the music drifting through the square, we walked along the outer edges, peering at all the wondrous stalls. Everything was new and exciting to my human eyes. The stalls held everything from strange Vysanthean technologies, to handmade arts and crafts, to curious vials containing rare blood. I wasn’t as interested in the latter type of shop, but the rest
had me enraptured.
“This is beautiful,” I murmured, peering down at a dark metal bracelet with a pale gray gem in the center that seemed to be calling my name.
Navan frowned. “You like that?” he asked, pointing at the bracelet that had caught my eye.
I nodded. “Gorgeous.”
“The lady has fine taste,” the shopkeeper purred, picking up the bracelet and lifting it toward me. I held out my wrist to receive it, almost on impulse, my blood rushing in my ears, my pulse racing in anticipation. The ashen-faced woman was about to place it on my welcoming wrist, when Navan snatched my arm away.
“Not today, thank you,” he said sharply as the shopkeeper flashed her fangs at him.
“It would seem your lover doesn’t care for your desires, beautiful mistress,” she snarled, clutching the bracelet to her breast. “A shame. A real shame.”
I frowned as Navan pulled me away from the jewelry stand and pressed me on along the avenue of stalls. I could still feel the almost magnetic pull of the bracelet calling me back, though I couldn’t explain why.
“What was that bracelet?” I asked, still sensing the way my blood had longed for it. “It made me feel all funny.”
Navan glanced around at the stalls. “Some Vysanthean stones hold that power. It’s believed that only certain types of stones work on certain types of people. The way a body responds to that power depends on who, and what, you are,” he explained. “Arcadium is particularly strong to most people, but I’ve never seen anyone respond quite as quickly to its pull before.”
I flushed, remembering the warning I’d been given after ingesting the silver root. It had been a long time since I’d thought about it. So long, in fact, that I’d almost forgotten about the very real issue of how I might react to things, in the future, now that the root was in my system—how it might make me more prone to addictions and vices, my body craving things it wouldn’t normally have wanted, or needed.
“We should hurry up and get the stuff on Queen Brisha’s list,” I said, wanting to change the subject. Even now, the pull of the Arcadium made me feel antsy to return to the stall and have the shopkeeper clamp that bracelet on my wrist.
“We can pick up a few things for our mission too,” Navan replied, running his fingertips absently across the edges of my folded wings. “I know the serum keeps you warmer in our bitter climate, but the northernmost mountains are going to be a different challenge completely. While we’re here, we should get you a better fur and a few other bits and pieces, if I can find them.”
“What sort of things?” I asked as we walked along, my eyes drawn to every sight, sound, and scent that filled the air.
“Yes!” Navan said suddenly, lifting his fist in triumph as he came to a halt beside a stall filled with a confusing array of bric-a-brac. I didn’t know what any of it was, save for a few lamps and a braided rope with a horn on the end that dangled from a hook at the edge of the shop. Navan, however, seemed thrilled by something in the middle of the mess, his hand grasping at a palm-sized amber stone that was buried under scraps of leather and a few motheaten books.
“What is it?” I marveled, peering at the flat, smooth stone.
“This is an emberstone,” he explained. “Basically, it heats up and warms the person who holds it, though it can also be used to make fires, which is why it’s banned in the South as a hazard. Fortunately for us, the North is a little more reckless.” He handed over some money and slipped the stone into my hands.
He was right. A minute or so later, the warmth penetrated my skin, seeping into my veins. Glancing down, I saw that the stone was glowing dimly as I held it between my palms, and its delicious warmth radiated through me.
“Where have you been all my life?” I murmured, reveling in the sensation.
“On a planet, far, far away,” Navan quipped.
I grinned. “I meant the stone.”
“Hey, I can keep you so much warmer than that stone ever could.” He pouted.
“I don’t doubt it, but if I came to you every time I needed to be warm, I’d never get anything done,” I replied with a wink.
“Then we’d better get this list purchased before we get sidetracked,” he murmured, slipping his arm around my waist. We continued along the line of stalls.
He picked up a thick fur next, which I wrapped around my shoulders, and as we continued walking, he kept stopping here and there, picking up items that were listed on the black device Pandora had given him. Apparently, the device was also a payment system that the merchants could scan. With each purchased item, Navan double-clicked the center of the device, making it light up red. I listened to the names as he asked for each ingredient, though they didn’t mean much to me: serotite shavings, parokium ore, maram root, garovian winterberries, liquid romjal. It was all completely alien, in every sense of the word.
“Last thing, then we can get out of here,” Navan promised, checking the list once more. “A vial of aged Ephranian platelets.”
I had no idea who, or what, Ephranians were, but I knew what platelets were, and the thought of such a thing being an easily bought-and-sold commodity made me feel slightly queasy. Once again, I was reminded how cruel Vysanthean trade could be—not that there was much in the way of actual trade. Barely anything was natively grown or produced here, with the majority of items stolen and pilfered and snatched, all at the expense of others.
Navan paid for a small silver vial, plucked from the shelf of a trader who seemed to deal in exotic kinds of alien bodily fluids. As he placed it in the burlap sack he was carrying, Navan suddenly froze. His eyes narrowed as he went over the list again. With anxious hands, he checked through the items in the sack, his mouth moving in silent thought.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, alarmed by the expression on his face.
“I hope she isn’t making what I think she’s making,” he muttered, his brow furrowing.
“Why, what do you think she’s making?” I pressed.
After a moment of stony silence, he shook his head. “Forget I said anything. I’m probably wrong. It’s this place—it makes me paranoid,” he replied, flashing me a smile, though I didn’t quite believe him.
“What do you think she might be making, Navan?” I insisted, but he shook his head again.
“Honestly, I was just being silly. I thought it was something, but I don’t think it’s made that way. Anyway, let’s forget about Queen Brisha. There’s something I want to show you,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me down the avenue of stalls, to one in particular. I wanted to ask about the ingredients again, but I let it go for now, the sight of the items in front of me distracting my attention.
“What are they?” I asked, letting my fingertips trail across the pairs of small gemstones that gleamed on the table in front of me. Within each one, a strange light brightened then died every few seconds.
Navan smiled. “These are climpets,” he said. “They’re tokens that Vysantheans give to their loved ones to wear above their hearts. They feed off emotions, and myth has it that the light only goes out if one person ceases to love the other—though, I think they’re just meant to be a sweet gift, these days.” He picked up a set of pale gems, the color of his slate eyes. “I thought I might buy a pair for us, if you’d like that?” His gaze rested on mine, filled with such warmth that I couldn’t possibly refuse.
“Of course, but I don’t want you spending your money on me,” I said shyly, knowing he didn’t have much to fritter away, since whatever wealth he did have was locked away in the South. We only had the credits we’d earned from our military training, which wasn’t a massive amount, and I didn’t want him to waste it on me, not when he could use it on something more practical.
“There’s nothing I’d rather spend it on,” he announced, holding one of the gems out to me. “Come on, let me buy these for us.”
I smiled, knowing he wasn’t going to back down. “Okay, sir, if you insist.” Navan grinned and paid for the climpets, then handed one to me
.
“Thank you… Um, what do I do with it?” I asked.
“Watch.” He took his climpet and lifted up the edge of his t-shirt, revealing the rippling muscles of his torso, and placing the gem against his chest. It remained there when he took his fingertips away, clinging to the skin, the gemstone glittering as the light within glowed steadily.
“Does that hurt?” I asked, staring.
He shook his head. “Nope. Not one bit.”
Taking my own gem, I pulled down the collar of my t-shirt, stretching it all the way across my collarbone, until I had enough flesh exposed that I could place the gemstone where Navan had placed his without having to lift my shirt completely. I wasn’t quite as much of an exhibitionist as Navan, though he seemed disappointed by my discretion.
“I’m not going to lift my shirt up for you in public, so you can get that thought out of your mind,” I joked as I fitted the gem into place. Weirdly, it seemed to sink into the skin, gleaming there. I couldn’t take my eyes off it, and neither could Navan.
He stepped closer and put an arm around me. His other hand came to rest beneath my chin, tilting it upward. I smiled, my eyes gazing into his, relishing the closeness of him, and not caring in that moment who saw or tutted.
“May our light never go out,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss me deeply.
“I hope it never does,” I breathed, smiling against his lips as I kissed him back. My arms looped around his neck, pulling him closer to me.
Not for the first time, I wondered what it would be like, if the moment actually came for us to make love. If we were committing ourselves to one another like this, then surely that had to be in our future somewhere? I wanted to know what I was in for, on a physiological level more than anything else. I mean, what if Vysantheans had different equipment that I had no idea what to do with? Not that I exactly knew what to do with human equipment, either, but even so, I couldn’t help worrying about it. We existed on opposite ends of the universe. We probably weren’t ever supposed to meet, fall in love, and reach those kinds of desires. What if we weren’t… compatible?
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