Skybuilders (Sorcery and Science Book 4) (16 page)

“That seems to be the plan,” replied Ariella.

“Oh, good. And here I thought we were walking to our deaths without first formulating any semblance of a plan.”

* * *

526AX August 23, The Falsified Forest

“One day when I went over to see Nic, Marin was in the backyard, playing with this catapult of hers.”

“Who’s Nic?” Ariella asked.

“Marin’s older brother. He was my best friend back in Beechwheat,” Leonidas said. “Anyway, Nic’s parents wouldn’t let him go play until he’d finished his homework. So while I waited, I watched Marin play with her catapult. She was using it to fling stones into a pond outside a neighbor’s house across the street. When she boasted she could accurately throw stones twice that distance, of course I demanded that she prove it.”

Ariella cracked a smile. “How old were you?”

“Let me think.” Leonidas slid between two trees. “Nic and I must have been around fourteen. Marin was twelve.”

Silas stopped and faced down a wall of trees, all two closely spaced for any of them to squeeze through. Every so often, they reached a wall like this. And just as now, Silas squeezed through the only spot big enough for him to pass. It looked like the forest had been designed to lead them only in the direction its makers wanted them to go. That was both disturbing and encouraging. Perhaps they were being led to their doom, but at least they wouldn’t get lost on their way to it.

“So, did Marin prove it?” Ariella asked Leonidas.

“Well, you know Marin.”

“She couldn’t resist?”

“You’ve got it. And I might have teased her until she agreed.”

Leonidas and Marin had one of the most dysfunctional friendships Silas had ever seen. If it could even be called a friendship. All they ever did was fight and torment each other. Still, Marin cared enough about Leonidas to ask Ariella to hide him. And he cared enough about her to be here now, risking his life to save hers. It was truly perplexing.

“Eventually, Nic finished his homework. We borrowed his parents’ car and drove Marin to Rivercrest.”

Borrowed. Like Marin, Leonidas operated under the belief that as long as you planned to return what you took, it wasn’t really stealing. The two of them were more alike than either cared to admit.

“Rivercrest is the capital city of Swarden,” Silas said.

“Right. It’s where Lady Lexi has her castle. A garish thing with a dozen towers, each lit up from base to tip with a few thousand blinding lights. So we brought Marin to the woods just outside the castle grounds and demanded that she prove her claims by catapulting stones over the fence and into Lady Lexi’s pond.”

“Did she do it?” Ariella asked.

“Oh, she proved it all right. After the fifth or sixth stone hit the water, Lady Lexi’s guards went to see what was going on. And that’s when we decided we’d best be getting home for dinner.”

Ariella chewed on her lip, her eyes raised in thought. “That’s the catapult incident Marin mentioned. She said you broke it.”

Leonidas expelled an exaggerated sigh. “That wasn’t even my fault. The guards did it. I’ll admit that I’ve broken a lot of Marin’s things over the years, but that catapult was not one of them. She just blames me because I dared her to fling stones into Lady Lexi’s pond, and she's completely incapable of resisting a challenge.”

Ariella let out her first real laugh since they'd set out on this mission. “Which you knew.”

“Of course. It’s easiest to torment someone you really understand.” Like a heavy cloud of steam, regret peeled off of Leonidas. Regret and joy and sadness and…

Silas looked Leonidas in the eye. “How long have you been in love with Marin?”

Beside him, Ariella nearly slammed into a tree.

“What was that?” Leonidas said, his voice as smooth as cream, his heart hiccuping once. “You have really strange ideas, Silas.” His laugh was so calm, it was fake.

“You aren't a very good liar,” Silas told him. Truth be told, Leonidas was actually a good liar, but his resonance gave him away.

“Of course,” said Ariella. “It all makes sense now.”

“Nothing makes sense.” Leonidas shook his head. “You two are so bored that you decided to invent gossip. You needn’t have bothered. I have enough gossip to fill out the rest of the year. What would you like to hear about? Something about Lady Helena’s latest lover? Or maybe about Lord Nolan’s bloody hobby? Or thirteen-year-old Lord Skylar’s latest acquisition? And speaking of brats, I’m sure I could think of some dirty gossip on Lord Rylan to interest you.”

“No thank you. I already know more than I’d like to about the Selpe aristocracy’s dirty little secrets.” Ariella had reached back and was squeezing the hilt of her sword.
Petting
her sword. Silas didn’t think she even knew she was doing it.

“Elitions then,” Leonidas said quickly. “I can do that too.”

“You can start with the two Elitions who stole something from you,” said Silas. “I seem to remember that happened right when I was in Lear.”

“On second thought, I think we should just pass the time in silence,” Leonidas decided.

And he jogged past Silas to take the lead.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

~
Foresights ~

526AX August 23, The Falsified Forest

AFTER THE HELLHOUNDS, the electric fish, the metal birds with dagger feathers, and the golems, a few pesky assassins should be easy. Or so Ariella tried to tell herself. The alternative—that the assassins who had survived the mythological beasts and mechanical menaces were even more dangerous than the things attacking them—well, that wasn't something she wanted to think about right now.

Ariella, Silas, and Leonidas squeezed and slid through the tightly woven forest of metallic trees for a few hours, then stopped to eat. Actually, Silas and Leonidas stopped to eat. Ariella stopped for a nap. Pressing her hand against a cracked rib that had not yet fully mended, Ariella lowered her aching body onto the squishy fake grass and tried to catch a few minutes of sleep.

As soon as her eyes closed, she fell into a dream. A hellhound with Lord Adrian’s face chased her into the maze of mechanical menaces she and Isis had been stuck inside of in Wellspring. Hound Adrian nipped at their heels, burning holes in their clothes with a splatter of saliva.

They ran and ran, but the dog was gaining on them. They ran through the frosted fields of the Tundra, through a dark dungeon, and past the broken stones of the Black Ruins.

As they came up on the imperial palace at Orion, Ariella realized that Isis was no longer with her. But Hound Adrian was there. He and his fanged jaws, just a hair’s breadth from her leg. She kicked him hard in the face. She heard a pained squeal, but she didn’t turn to look. She just kept running down the long hallway, on toward the door at the end.

It burst open before her, and she dashed inside. She turned to slam it shut behind her, but Hound Adrian was already there, cutting her off. He sprang at her, two rows of bloody fangs exposed in his wide open mouth.

A sword appeared in Ariella’s hand, and she didn’t stop to think. She swung the blade at the dog, splitting him right down the middle. Cheers broke out, and every light in the room turned on, blinding her.

When she could see again, she was completely surrounded by Selpes. Worse yet, Lord Adrian was there, now in his own body. Which in some ways was even creepier than his dog hybrid form. Aaron stood beside Lord Adrian, the crown of the Selpe emperor on his head. They were in the imperial ballroom. Ariella was in the ballroom too.

Not again.

Her foresight was desaturated and drab—all except for Aaron and Isis. They popped out with vibrant color, two lighthouses in a stormy sea. His suit was a very dark shade of blue, not black as Ariella had thought before, and the rose on his lapel was pale pink. Isis’s gown was icy white and sparkled with hundreds of tiny gemstones, colorless and pink and blue. The ribbon laces on her high-heeled boots were the exact shade of her eyes, the pink diamonds on her necklace that of her hair.

The Selpe aristocracy, the tables, the food, the decorations, and all the other things were black and white. Just as one of her glimpses into the future should be. The intrusion of color was beginning to unnerve Ariella, especially as it seemed to be growing more pronounced with every repetition of this foresight.

Isis passed the Diamond Edges on her way up the staircase, ignoring their smirks and stares. She reached the top and took Aaron’s hand, her fate sealed as so many times before.

The stench of blood and dead Elitions flooded Ariella’s nose, and she crumpled over to throw up.

“Are you all right?” Davin asked, his hand squeezing her arm.

“No.” She managed to straighten. Barely. Her stomach was still churning, her mouth burning with acid. “You?”

He spared a quick glance at the scene of death below them, a scene splashed with the crimson of shed blood, then turned his back to it. “No. I’m really not.” His voice shook.
Really
shook. He looked like he would throw up too.

Isis and Aaron strode through the graveyard of unburied bodies. One of these bodies, bloody and missing larger chunks of flesh, reached out to pull Aaron down. Isis skewered him on her sword. Then, her eyes phasing a shade of sapphire so vibrant it was blinding, she jumped at Aaron and kissed him.

Ariella turned around to look at Davin. He was right behind her, standing in an open doorway. As he clicked it shut, Ariella moved forward, deeper into the emperor’s chamber. She passed blue and gold furnishings and a vase of pink roses. Isis’s laugh sang out, answered by Aaron’s deeper rumble. Isis walked around him in a tight circle, tracing her fingertip across his back and then around to his naked chest as she moved. As soon as she was standing in front of him again, Aaron’s hand darted out and caught her wrist. He pulled her hard against him, kissing her.

“Ow,” he said. A tiny drop of blood beaded up on the surface of his lower lip.

“Ariella.” Isis reached out to her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

“Ok, enough of that.” When Aaron pulled Isis back to him, she gave him a wink. “I might just get jealous.”

Davin took Ariella’s hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “As will I.”

He kissed her collarbone, then worked his lips up her neck. Ariella shivered, stroking her hands through his hair as his lips pressed against hers. His mouth was warm and eager, tasting of peppermint spice. He slid his hands down her back, tugging her hard against him. Kissing Davin was every bit as incredible as she'd imagined. For years he'd held back, keeping her at a distance, but for this one moment everything was exactly as it should be.

A warm, balmy wind rustled the curtains in front of the open window, bringing in a sprinkling of pink-white blossoms. Laelia’s blossoms. Davin was still kissing Ariella, but they weren’t in Orion. They were in the high king’s chamber. Except it was Davin’s chamber.

Is he the high king?

The thought hiccuped and died in Ariella’s head. She couldn’t think well enough to ponder her own question. Davin stepped forward, his teal eyes burning her with a predatory hunger. He didn’t stop for a second, backing her up across the room toward the enormous bed. Holding her gaze, he slid the jacket off her shoulders and tossed it into the corner.

He leaned forward, pressing against her. Ariella’s breath caught in her throat. Dizzy and intoxicated with magic, she tipped over backwards as the mattress hit the back of her thighs. Davin caught her, easing her down onto the bed. A pair of shoes hit the floor with two heavy thumps, and Davin climbed on top of her. With a wicked grin, he caressed his hands down her ribs, toward her hips. His thumbs caught on the waist of her pants. A soft moan broke her lips as he slid them down her legs.

And proving that life just wasn’t fair, she woke up.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

~
The Chute ~

526AX August 23, The Falsified Forest

ARIELLA NEARLY JUMPED out of her skin as she woke up. Silas gave her a few seconds to come to, then hit her with a big wink.

“Nice dreams?” he asked, embracing the warm smile that tickled his lips, spreading them into a smile.

She looked from him to Leonidas, her cheeks crimson red. It probably wasn’t helping that the spy was snickering.

“You saw everything, didn’t you?” she said, her eyes downcast, her voice quiet.

Silas took a swig from their water canister. “Yes.”

“And he?” she asked, hitching her thumb toward Leonidas.

“I heard enough.” He smirked. “Enough to make me wish for your sort of dream.”

“What in Aurelia’s name was I saying?”

“Not so much saying as…making other sounds,” said Leonidas.

Ariella hid her face in her hands. Mortification, pure and undiluted, dripped off of her. Most Elitions couldn’t keep a mental wall up while sleeping, Ariella included. She hadn’t yet remembered to put it back up, and Silas wasn’t about to embarrass her further by mentioning it. If he’d known she’d take it this hard, he never would have teased her. He put on his neutral mask and sat in silence. The spy didn’t get the hint.

“I’d like to know how to get those sorts of dreams,” he said to Ariella, who was making a solid effort to turn invisible. “Much better than the sorts I get. I can’t tell you how many nightmares I’ve had about crazy behemoth Phantoms dangling me out of windows.”

“If you’d like a new nightmare, I'd be happy to oblige.”

Leonidas backed up and shut his mouth. Finally.

After a few minutes, Ariella unburied her face. She gobbled down the last of their food, and only then did she look at Silas.

“Something weird is going on with my foresights,” she said.

“Color.”

She nodded. “They’ve always been black and white. Always.”

“It’s because of the sort of Prophet you are,” he told her. “You see only what will happen, and there it is laid out without any room for interpretation.”

“So, since there are now bits of color in there, does that mean this future is still malleable?”

“Perhaps.” But he didn’t want to get her hopes up. “Or there could just be some odd element in there. Like maybe a person. Someone whose presence confuses your mind.”