by Kevin George
She hadn’t set foot outside for weeks but wasn’t surprised to find it as white and desolate as always. She scurried to her feet and found BabyDoll already circling to the side of the building, every gust of wind nearly knocking the little Aviary over.
“What are we doing out here?” Sally asked, unable to stifle a shiver.
“I don’t sleep much,” BabyDoll said, as if that were the logical answer to Sally’s question. “For the entire first part of my life, I was kept in one place. I like to come out here and see so much space. Most of the others hate coming out here; they think of The Mountain, become gripped by their fear. They squawk and they chirp and they cry and they whine, but when a Mountainer showed up here, we dealt with him just fine.”
BabyDoll glanced back at Sally, her face twisted in a smile, which disappeared the moment another gust almost toppled her. BabyDoll turned back around, staring into the Nothingness opposite of The Mountain. Sally squinted in the same direction but saw nothing. Before she could ask what BabyDoll was watching, the little girl faced the building again, craning her neck back.
“I’m not the only one who comes out for this sight,” she said. “You already saw who prowls the halls at night.”
“Quinn,” Sally said.
“He is very impressed with himself,” BabyDoll said with a lilting chirp that sounded like a chuckle, “so impressed that he notices nobody else. The night you and your friend first arrived, Quinn did not notice I followed him outside. . . that I saw him standing right in this spot.”
BabyDoll pointed up at the massive tower atop the building. Early morning gusts caused the tower to sway. Sally’s stomach dropped, afraid the tower might tip over at any moment.
“I watched him soar up there. . . a long time I stood here,” BabyDoll continued. “When he finally came down, he no longer frowned. Whatever it was Quinn did up in the tower ensured that the radio room no longer had power.”
“I had no idea,” Sally said. “Quinn kept me away from the radio room for weeks. Tonight was the first time I set foot in there since I arrived. Whoever James was radioing could’ve tried calling us back right away.”
“We never would have known,” BabyDoll said.
Sally frowned, wondering where James and she could’ve been at that moment had their communications not been cut off. She looked up, squinting through the falling snow, trying to see toward the top of the tower. During her life in The Fifth, she’d climbed plenty of high scaffolding while installing lava lines, she’d face plenty of danger where a single slip could’ve cost her life. But as high as The Fifth’s ceiling stretched, she’d never climbed as high as the tower. Her stomach swirled again, though she gritted her teeth and told herself there was no other option.
“I’ll do it, I’ll climb up there. . . somehow,” Sally said, uncertain exactly how she’d do it but determined to get to the top. “Do you have any idea what I have to look for to turn power back on?”
BabyDoll nodded. “There’s a switch near the tower, flip it up and we’ll get power.”
Sally wondered exactly where to find that switch, exactly what it looked like, exactly what she’d have to do to turn it back on, when another thought came to mind. She turned away from the tower, looking down at the little girl standing beside her.
“Quinn told you about the switch?”
BabyDoll shook her head as she stared up. “He didn’t need to, there’s things that I can do, things he doesn’t know, things no one I’ll show, except you,” she said.
The little Aviary appeared deep in thought, her young face lined with concern. Sally didn’t know what BabyDoll meant, but she reached out and patted the girl’s bony shoulder.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find a way up.”
Sally circled to the side of the building and a ladder attached to the wall. She didn’t know how she’d get to the top of the tower, but reaching the roof would be the first step. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a rung and began to climb, the metal bar frozen and slippery, her grip nearly sliding off. With the wintry elements ready to battle her the entire way, Sally wasn’t sure she’d survive even if she managed to reach the top.
Turn on the power first. . . worry about everything else later. . .
She didn’t hesitate to climb but only made it up two more rungs before nearly slipping again. Sally paused to readjust her grip—and to steel her courage—but didn’t have a chance to restart climbing when she heard a voice from the bottom of the ladder. It was clearly BabyDoll’s voice, but she sounded so strong—so authoritative—that Sally had to glance down to make sure the little girl hadn’t transformed.
“Stop,” BabyDoll said, “come back down. I’ll show you a reason there’s no need to frown.”
“It will be okay, I can do this,” Sally said, still holding on tightly. “I promise we’ll all be okay.”
“We both know you cannot promise that,” BabyDoll said. “Please, come down now, before you go splat.”
Sally’s grip slipping, she turned and leapt from the ladder, as if that was exactly what she intended to do all along. Her feet sank into the snow but she remained upright.
“I believe in you, in what you’re trying to do,” BabyDoll said. “If we want all our futures to be better ahead, we have to make sure the radio’s not dead. But I must tell you, I must really warn, this won’t be a popular choice in the Swarm.”
Sally nodded. “I understand. Please, go inside and return to the others, pretend to be sleeping if you must. If anyone questions me about this later, I’ll tell them I figured everything out on my own.”
BabyDoll smiled and reached up for Sally’s face again. “That is not what I want, you’re not on your own,” the little Aviary said. “I want you to know that you’re not in this alone. Not now and not after the thing we must do. We’ll stand together, you’re not one, we’re two.” Her smile faded and she stared deeply into Sally’s eyes, as if able to peer all the way into her soul.
Sally shook her head. “I appreciate your loyalty—it’s probably the only reason James and I have been allowed to stay in the building—but I don’t want you to be mixed up in—”
Without warning, BabyDoll took a step back and hunched over, a tiny, strained grunt escaping her lips. Panicked, Sally rushed forward, about to ask if she was okay, when BabyDoll suddenly stood up straight, a pair of small, yet perfectly formed wings popping out from the back of her shirt. The little Aviary was physically misshapen in so many other ways that Sally didn’t think it possible for those beautiful little wings to work. But BabyDoll fluttered them so quickly that Sally only saw the wings as a blur. BabyDoll hovered several feet above the snow, her face a mask of serious concentration.
“We are in this together,” BabyDoll said.
Her wings fluttered even faster, creating the slightest buzzing noise. Sally watched the wind push BabyDoll from side to side, but the little Aviary didn’t give up as she rose higher and higher toward the tower. . .
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Are we going to spend the entire ride in silence?”
Queen Raefaline sat in the back of the hovercraft speeding back toward One. She was alone with Ryo, who didn’t turn around or respond to her question. Instead, he pushed the craft’s throttle as fast as it would go. The queen slid closer to the front, ending up in the seat just behind Ryo. She leaned as close to him as her swollen belly would allow, close enough for him to feel the warmth of her breath on the back of his neck.
“I want you to slow down,” she said.
Ryo shook his head. “The hovercraft is traveling at its maximum approved speed for safety in the Main Tunnel,” he said with an utter lack of emotion. “I need to get you back to One so I can return to King Edmond’s side.”
The queen laughter dripped with condescension. “Did it seem like he cared if you were by his side?” she asked. “He practically dismissed you.”
Ryo turned to her so suddenly that the hovercraft jerked to one side. He quickly faced forward, righting the craf
t just before it hit the tunnel wall.
“King Edmond gave me this job because he trusts me to protect the Jonas Heir,” he growled.
“Or he wants to get rid of you,” the queen said. “The same as he’ll do to me once this child is born.”
Ryo couldn’t help but notice the way her voice cracked, or the way she sounded genuinely afraid.
“The king appreciates everything I’ve done for him; he tells me all the time,” Ryo said.
“Empty words he says to everyone.”
Ryo shook his head. “I’m not everyone. He made me leader of the royal guardsmen.”
“And how long will that last if something bad happens to me?” she asked.
“I told you, I’m not driving any faster than—”
Raefaline slid toward the side of the craft, leaning her body a few inches over the side. She stared down at the tunnel floor rushing beneath her and placed a hand on her belly, but she didn’t return to the safety of her seat.
“Stop the craft or I will throw myself over,” she said.
Ryo’s eyes widened as he glanced back. “You’ll do no such thing, not to your child,” he said, though he pulled the throttle back to half speed.
“Not good enough,” the queen said, leaning over further. “The king will think you pushed me off the craft. . . he’ll think you killed his unborn child.”
“The Lord will tell him the truth,” Ryo said, unable to muster conviction in his voice.
“We both know that certain things happen without the Lord seeing,” the queen said, “or else you wouldn’t be alive today.”
Ryo frowned and cut power to the hovercraft, which slowly glided to a stop. Raefaline sat back down in her seat, her pulse gradually steadying. Ryo remained facing forward, not speaking for nearly a minute.
“What do you want from me?” he finally asked.
“I want to know why you changed,” she said. “You aren’t the man I first met. . . the man that cared for my safety and. . . comforted me when I most needed it.”
Ryo didn’t budge, but Raefaline saw the side of his jaw clenching.
“I work my hardest to protect the interests of the Lord and Jonas,” he said. “Everything I do is to protect the king, as well as improve the lives for my kind.”
Queen Raefaline slithered closer to the front of the craft, climbing into the passenger seat directly next to Ryo. His head and neck didn’t budge, but his eyes glanced toward her before turning forward again. She leaned closer until her lips were inches from his ear.
“Do you think the Lord and Jonas want to see this?” she asked.
As soon as Ryo sensed her movement, he tried to leap out of the driver’s seat. But Raefaline moved surprisingly quick for a woman in her condition and she soon pinned him down by sitting on his lap.
“The Lord sees nothing without the king, and Edmond is nowhere to be found!” she called out, her voice echoing down the empty section of tunnel.
Ryo’s instinct told him to push Raefaline away, but he fought the urge and gently moved her aside as he inched away. She pressed into him, though it was mostly her belly against him.
“You don’t want me anymore?” she asked angrily.
“You are with child and about to become a mother,” Ryo said, clearly disgusted. “Act like it.”
“And you act like you’re more than just my husband’s slave,” the queen snapped.
Ryo’s hand shot toward her throat, barely touching her before he moved it away. He shook his head and leapt off the craft.
“If you were anyone else. . .”
“And if you were who you once wanted to be. . . if you had ambition. . . desire. . . real desire to become something. . . to show your people that the other guards—the real One guards—couldn’t look down at you any longer. . .”
Ryo’s chuckle conveyed more anger than amusement. He crossed his arms over his broad chest and shook his head.
“Nobody can look down on me anymore,” he said with a sneer. “Not since I live so high up now.”
“I can. . . the king can. . . especially when he finds out what you and I did. . . the fun we had together,” Raefaline said.
Ryo shook his head. “Nothing ever happened.”
“One whisper to palace guards about you forcing yourself onto me and the news will spread so quickly that my husband won’t care if it’s real or not,” the queen said, before turning her head conspiratorially to one side, “which we both know it is.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want the old version of you back,” Queen Raefaline said. “The man with big dreams, the man that wasn’t satisfied with anyone being better than him, the man that wasn’t afraid to take what—and who—he wants.”
Ryo thought for a moment, his eyes falling onto the queen’s face. For months, he’d avoided looking directly at her, at her beauty, at the lust burning in her eyes when she looked back at him. Even in her pregnant state, the sight of her was nothing short of alluring. He forced himself to look away, shaking his head as he clenched his jaw.
“That part of me disappeared forever when King Edmond gave me a chance nobody else ever would,” he said.
Raefaline’s face morphed into an expressionless façade and she returned to her seat in the back of the hovercraft. Satisfied that he’d dealt with the queen, Ryo climbed back into the driver’s seat and eased the throttle forward.
“I suggest you find that part of yourself, and very soon,” the queen added, her hands going to her belly, saying nothing else as Ryo sped them toward One.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Emma squeezed her jaw so tightly that her teeth almost ground each other to dust. She didn’t know what she hated more: the memory of Oliver beating her as punishment, or the fact that King Edmond took such pleasure thinking about it. Emma turned to the prince, who immediately looked away. She hooked her arm into his—giving it a hard squeeze—before staring into the king’s eyes.
“I’m glad Prince Oliver could see beyond my indiscretion of failing to report the vehicle being built,” Princess Emma said, each word tasting more bitter than the last. “Any punishment I received was. . . well-deserved.”
The king lowered an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“My concern is less about the past and more about the future,” Emma said. “We need to focus on what’s best for—”
“Those decisions are no concern of yours,” the king said, cutting her off. “The Lord and Jonas will do what’s best for everyone.”
Emma stood up straighter, her smile filled with hatred.
“I hope the Lord’s decisions work in One and The Second, but life has improved greatly in our sections since the prince and I took a hands-on approach to leadership,” Emma said.
The king’s hands began to shake and he took a step toward the princess. Oliver stepped between them, his movement so sudden that the royal guardsmen shifted behind King Edmond, causing Aytyn and his men to do the same. Edmond turned to his former guard leader. Aytyn apologized to the king but didn’t lower his weapon. Edmond snorted and held up a hand to his guardsmen.
“At ease, everyone, we’re only talking,” the king said. Once the guardsmen retreated to their lines, Edmond leaned in close enough to whisper to Emma. “I should’ve tossed your mother into the lava pool when I had the chance.”
“How do I know you didn’t?” she asked.
The king grinned. “I suppose you don’t.”
Emma started toward the king, but it was Oliver’s turn to hook his arm tighter in hers. King Edmond stepped back, raising his hands in innocence.
“I only wished to be invited to the wedding,” he said loudly enough for all to hear.
The prince turned to his wife. “I think it’s better if we both aren’t out here. . . together. . . where we could be in danger,” he said. “Go back to The Third. Stay safe until this passes.” Anger flashed in Emma’s eyes. Oliver hadn’t spent as much time with her as he’d wanted, but he knew her well enough to know she w
anted to stay. “Please, I don’t know what he’s here for. Let me talk to him and find out.”
Her eyes remained narrowed and her lips taut, but she nodded. “Don’t let him undo everything we’ve accomplished for our people,” she said.
“Our people?” he asked jovially, surprised by her choice of words.
Emma snorted, though one side of her mouth curled up, if only for a split second. “Don’t push your luck,” she said before turning to the king and bowing her head. “Your Illustriousness.”
King Edmond bowed in return, but Emma turned before she could see him. Oliver watched the Thirders part to let her through. A weight lifted from his shoulders to see her safely away from the king and his guards.
“Lovely girl, as always,” the king said.
“Please, has the Lord shown you what became of her parents?” Oliver asked.
King Edmond smiled. “Do you really think finding them will earn you forgiveness? She’ll never get over what you did to her. The Wellers aren’t the forgiving type.”
“Yet you come here, with the queen, hoping for my forgiveness?” Oliver asked, his voice so loud that it echoed in the tunnel.
King Edmond grimaced. With a slow, controlled breath, he nodded toward The Third’s entrance and took a step in that direction. His royal protectors and other guards followed in his footsteps.
“Maybe we can go somewhere in private and speak like two—”
Oliver held up an arm to stop him. “Right here is fine.”
King Edmond leaned in close, his voice a snarl. “I can go wherever I damn well please in my city.”
“Not anymore you can’t.”
The king stepped back and sighed. “You saw Raefaline wasn’t lying about being pregnant. You still expect me to cast her and my unborn child—your unborn sibling—into the lava pool?”
“I’d never expect you to put your own child at risk,” Oliver said snidely.
The king crossed his arms and went silent for a moment. “She’ll be punished, I assure you, but not until after the birth.”