He nodded. “I forget about it, too. I’ll catch sight of myself in a mirror and wonder who the hell the dude in the reflection is. I expect gray skin, and I see this, instead.” He sighed, lifting his tanned arms. “I even feel my wings sometimes, though I know they’re not there anymore. I think I miss them the most.”
“Would you change it, if you could?” I asked, as we headed down into the basement. The dim lamps washed the room in a sickly shade of yellow, revealing the dustsheets and detritus I’d woven through the previous day. I could still feel the bruise on my hip, where I’d bumped into something.
For a long time, Ronad didn’t answer. Instead, he walked over to a box in the corner and lifted it onto the sheeted remains of an old table. Inside, there were unwanted cloaks and coats. He plucked out a dark gray trench coat of thick, wool-like fabric, chucking a long cloak in my direction. The cloak was made from a forest-green wool, with a fuzzy interior and a brown fur trim, the hem sweeping the floor.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot.” Ronad finally spoke as he threw on the dark gray coat and buttoned it up to the throat. “I became more human so I could stay on Earth, and now I’m back here. To be honest, I feel like I went through all that pain and suffering for nothing. More often than not, I find myself wishing I’d never done it.”
“Is there a way you could reverse it?”
He laughed tightly. “It would probably be twice as painful to grow everything back again. Even if the option was on the table, I’m not sure I’d go for it,” he admitted. I thought about the wing serum that Queen Brisha had given me, and the agony it had caused. That had been bad enough, and it was only a temporary procedure. “Anyway, forget all of that. Nothing I can do about it now. Do you think you’ll be warm enough?”
I peered into the box of clothes and pulled out a sweater. It was way too big but looked incredibly warm. Putting my cloak to the side, I pulled the sweater over my t-shirt, before fastening the cloak around my throat. Ronad smiled.
“Of all the clothes in that box, you pick the one thing that belonged to Navan. Maybe you two really are destined to be together,” he teased, putting the box back where it had come from.
“This is Navan’s?”
He nodded. “It was his favorite when he was a teenager. He called it his lucky sweater. Not that it ever actually did anything for him,” he said with a playful wink.
“Well, it’s my lucky sweater now.” I grinned. “Hopefully, it’ll stop us from getting ourselves killed. Do you have the pay device?”
Ronad nodded, taking it out of his pocket. “Check.”
“Disguise on?”
“Check.”
“Then we’re good to go.”
We hurried back up the basement steps and entered the kitchen again, letting ourselves out the back door, which led through the garden. Ronad fiddled with the latch, leaving it off so we could slip back in, undetected.
I’d forgotten just how cold Vysanthe could be, but remembered in a hurry as an icy wind whipped through the grounds, shaking the boughs of the gigantic trees. The leaves susurrated with whispers of warning. I was surprised that any flowers could grow in weather like this, but there were many vibrant petals holding on for dear life against the wintry gusts.
“Rask, was it always this cold?” Ronad hissed.
My face was already numb. “Yeah, it sucks.”
We exited through the silver archway at the bottom of the Idrax garden, checking for any unseen observers before continuing down the wide road. There were no houses to our left, only the dense rustle of thick forest. I couldn’t help peering into the shadows, wondering who might be watching from within.
We followed the road all the way down the entire length of the affluent neighborhood, until it came to a halt at an expanse of open parkland. On the opposite side of the greenery, there was a stretch of shops, though nobody seemed to be shopping today.
As we reached the storefronts, I peered into the darkened windows, trying to guess what each shop was selling. There was a clothing store, a bar, a comm device shop, and a blood bank, all of which were closed, no doubt in honor of Queen Gianne’s weekly executions. After all, everyone had to attend.
Up ahead, we could see a few coldbloods, but they seemed to be in a rush, their faces panicked. One man, presumably a shopkeeper, bolted out of the door in front of us, taking me by surprise. He muttered a vague apology before sprinting down the street, pausing at an obelisk that protruded from the sidewalk. He pressed a button on the side, gazing impatiently skyward. A few moments later, a squat, silver vehicle descended from above, its engines clattering. It was half the size of a Snapper, with a small back compartment for passengers.
This must be what a coldblood cab looks like, I thought, watching as the flustered Vysanthean hopped in the back, before the sky-cab took off again.
Ronad stepped forward, pressing the same glowing button. I looked up at the sky, like a child watching fireworks, waiting for our cab to descend. It did, a minute or so later, with a particularly gruff-looking cabbie at the proverbial wheel.
“After you,” Ronad insisted, opening the door to let me in.
“Thank you kindly,” I replied, my heart gripped with sudden panic.
As Ronad got in beside me, I knew there was no going back now.
Chapter Eight
“It’s eighteen credits to get to the queen’s show. I need the dough up front. No credits, no ride,” the cabbie informed us, turning over his shoulder to look at us. He was an older coldblood, with a crinkled face and a shock of thinning gray hair.
“That’s not where we’re going,” I said firmly, pushing the fear from my voice.
“We need to go to the eastern edge of Lake Tristitia,” Ronad chimed in, since he had the directions. I had no idea where Ianthan’s secret man cave was. “You can drop us off by the concert hall.”
That got the cabbie’s attention. His whole body twisted around in his seat so he could get a good look at us through the glass divider. I pulled the hood of my cloak tighter around my face, while Ronad did the same with his coat.
“You’re skipping the execution?” he hissed. “You got yourselves a death wish? If you miss it, you’ll be the next ones on the chopping block! She’ll dip your heads in that sap stuff and put them on pikes around her palace walls! I mean, come on, Queen Gianne is out of her freaking—never mind. She just wouldn’t be too happy to hear about folks skipping out on her execution, that’s all.” He sounded like he was about to say something rude about her, stopping himself before anything treasonous could pass his lips. I supposed he thought anyone could be listening in.
“Well, then you’ll have to make sure nobody hears about it,” I insisted.
He looked uncertain, peering through the windshield of the cab as he took off. “Look, even if I wanted to take you where you want to go, there’s no point. Everything by Lake Tristitia is probably a smoking pile of debris by now. It was one of the first places that got hit—there was a huge aerial battle over it, just a couple of weeks ago.”
I shot a worried glance at Ronad, whose expression mirrored mine. We’d come this far, and we weren’t turning back, not without getting the black box. No, we had no other choice but to go there anyway and hope the battle had missed Ianthan’s cabin.
“If the place is a wreck, can you at least take us to the outskirts of the lake? It doesn’t matter where, as long as it’s close,” I pressed, ignoring the waves of anxiety flooding through me.
The cabbie shook his head defiantly. “No way. It’s not worth the trouble, lady. You might be willing to risk your necks, but I’m not!”
“You have to take us there—just get us close!” I urged.
“Again, even if I wanted to, I’d never get you there and back in time. I’ve got to stop running fifteen minutes before the event, so I can get there myself,” he replied, glancing at the clock on the cab’s console. “Every able-bodied citizen has to be there, or be labeled a traitor. You know that,
so don’t ask me to risk my life for a fare!”
I edged closer to the glass divider, pulling my hood over my face. “You have to get us there. This is a matter of life or death.” It was a little dramatic, but I was desperate.
A panicked expression rippled across the cabbie’s face. “Wait a second, I know what this is! You’re soldiers from Queen Gianne’s court, aren’t you? You’ve been sent to test my loyalty, haven’t you? I’d heard about a few cabbies trying to get out of going to the execution—I knew there’d be a clampdown!”
I realized we only had one option. We’d have to go to the convocation and make our way to Ianthan’s cabin from there. If we said anything to contradict his idea that we’d been sent by Gianne, the cabbie would either abandon us somewhere, or report us to the authorities for asking to be taken somewhere other than the convocation. Plus, if all the transportation was stopping soon, we didn’t have time to find another means of travel.
“Are the gallows grounds closer to Lake Tristitia?” I whispered as I moved back to the farthest seats, where Ronad sat.
He nodded, moving forward to take my place in front of the glass divider. “I see we could not fool you, sir. We have been sent by the queen, to test the loyalty of the nation’s sky-cab captains, after hearing several rumors of dissent in your ranks,” he said, his tone steely with authority. “Already, one of your ilk has been taken into custody, after avoiding last week’s executions. You, however, have passed the test. Indeed, I thought we might have a traitor on our hands—I believe you were about to speak treason against our monarch earlier but restrained yourself at the last moment. Is that right?”
The cabbie looked horrified. “No, not at all! We honor Queen Gianne every evening in our household. I have never spoken a treasonous word against her!” he insisted. I felt sorry for the poor guy, but I could understand why Ronad was trying to frighten him. We needed to make sure he didn’t breathe a word of our presence.
“Relax, you have proven yourself worthy… this time,” Ronad remarked. “I would ask that you do not tell a soul of our meeting today. We must weed out the liars and the traitors, and, to do that, we need full anonymity.”
A glisten of sweat shone on the cabbie’s forehead. “I won’t tell a soul, sir.”
“Good.” Ronad smiled, settling into the back seat with me.
“So, it’s the execution showground you’re after?” the cabbie asked, his voice trembling. I cast Ronad a guilty look. I didn’t like scaring people like this.
Ronad nodded. “Yes, if you’d be so kind.”
As the cab flew through the sky, I watched the landscape rush by below us through a clear floor. Music echoed from tinny speakers, playing a classical tune. I didn’t recognize any of the instruments, but the sound was pleasant enough.
“You know, I thought you two looked strange!” the cabbie shouted back to us. “I guess it makes sense that Queen Gianne would send spies that nobody would suspect, right?”
“That is generally the point of a spy,” Ronad said derisively, gaining another disapproving look from me. He shrugged, grinning, evidently relishing the opportunity to do a little roleplay.
“Of course. Sorry,” the cabbie murmured. “Hey, since you two work for the queen, the ride’s on me! No need to pay.”
I shook my head, still feeling guilty. “No, it’s fine. We’ll pay our way.”
“I’m going there anyway! Honestly, the ride is on me. Your credits are no good here.”
“Let the kind man make this gesture if he wants to,” Ronad chided playfully, elbowing me in the ribs. I didn’t feel comfortable letting the cabbie do that, after the heart-attack-inducing ruse we’d just put him through, but it was better not to argue.
We traveled the rest of the way in relative silence. The journey took just over twenty minutes. Although it hadn’t been clear in the live recording we’d watched the previous week, I’d expected the executions to take place somewhere on the palace grounds, but I was wrong. The cab descended toward a horde of people, the enormous crowd stretching out in front of the mountain range that surrounded Regium. I could see the gallows set up in the shadow of the mountain, though colorful tapestries bearing the giant G of Gianne’s emblem, emblazoned in red and black, covered the rockface.
Nearly all of Southern Vysanthe had gathered on the plains outside Regium, awaiting their queen’s violent justice. There were people as far as the eye could see.
“Where’s best for you?” the cabbie asked.
“By the last of those stands over there,” Ronad instructed.
I glanced over his shoulder to see out the window. There, at the farthest edge of the crowds and the gallows plinth, were six hastily constructed towers of wood and fabric. People sat on benches at the top of each one, watching from their superior viewpoint, while the groundlings remained on the grass below, crushed together.
“It’s too close,” I whispered nervously.
“It’s nearest to where we need to be,” Ronad assured me.
“What if someone spots us?”
He grimaced. “We just need to blend in with the crowd and make our escape. There are so many tents and vehicles next to the tower that nobody will even notice two people making a run for it.”
A few minutes later, we touched down beside the last wooden tower in the row and got out, pulling our hoods closer to our faces. I was standing on the opposite side of the cab from Ronad, waiting for him to stop talking with the cabbie, when the crowd beside me suddenly surged forward. It felt like every bad, cramped, sweaty show I’d ever been to. The air was forced out of my lungs by people pushing from behind. Someone had appeared on the gallows stage, and they were apparently eager to see if it was their queen. I was dragged along on the tide of the crowd’s enthusiasm, unable to struggle my way back to Ronad. I could see him looking around, his eyes panicked, but I couldn’t reach him.
“Over here!” I shouted, praying it didn’t get me noticed. I shouldn’t have worried. The words got carried away on the roar of everyone else’s voices, my cry lost in the wind.
Once it became clear that the person on stage was just a technician, the crowd eased off. But it was too late. The cab had gone, and Ronad was nowhere to be seen.
Keeping my hood up, I forced my way back to the crowd’s edge, only to bump into a metal barrier that had probably been put up to control the throngs of people. Glancing back, I could see the gap in the fence, where I’d managed to get dragged along, but that was way behind me now, through a dense swarm of people.
I cursed under my breath, wondering how easy it would be to vault the barrier. Even if I managed it, I was pretty sure it would draw unwanted attention. I glanced back again, trying to judge the distance between me and the barrier gap, when a flash of red caught my attention. A figure emerged from behind one of the towers, dressed in bright scarlet robes that billowed in the icy wind. The sight made my blood run cold.
Aurelius had appeared from the shadows, and he was coming straight at me.
He made his way down the side of the barrier. Half my body was already hanging over the top of the fence, but optimism prompted me to duck back into the crowd, hoping he hadn’t seen me. I would’ve believed it was possible, if his eyes hadn’t been fixed on me. I tried to weave through the people beside me, wanting to get deeper into the crowd, but they all stood too close together, boxing me in.
In a matter of seconds, he was going to come to a halt next to me and demand I be hauled from the crowd. I could feel his wrath building behind me. After all, the last time I’d seen him, he’d just taken a beating from Navan.
I turned my face away as a rustle of scarlet whispered in my ears. I braced for the punishment that was about to come… but it never did. Aurelius passed right by me, his mouth set in a grim line of determination.
“Seraphina!” he shouted.
I hurried back to the edge of the barrier and peered along the line, just in time to see Seraphina step through a gap in the fence a short way up ahead, greeting Au
relius with a calm look on her face. She looked more exhausted than she had when I’d seen her a week ago, and she seemed thinner, like she’d lost her appetite. In her situation, I’d have lost mine, too.
Curious to overhear their conversation, I edged in slightly, so I was in line with the other people ahead of me. I tilted my head outward, letting their words come to me, glancing up at them from under the edge of my hood. Besides, if I wanted Ronad to stand a chance of finding me, it was better to stay in one place.
“You are looking particularly delicious today, my darling,” Aurelius purred, making my skin crawl. “Ever since news of our betrothal, you have grown in beauty, and only continue to stir my passions. I look at the necklace I bought you and the way it curves around your throat—I cannot help but feel envy at the touch of its cold metal against your skin, wishing it were my lips instead.” He gave a quiet, nauseating groan that made my stomach churn.
“You are too generous, Aurelius,” Seraphina said politely. Not for the first time, I realized she was definitely a braver woman than me. I’d have slapped him by now, regardless of the consequences.
“I am very much looking forward to our wedding night. It has been many years since I’ve felt the touch of a woman, but now I understand why. I have been saving every wasted moment for you,” he murmured, reaching out to touch the necklace he’d spoken of. Seraphina stiffened. “I wonder what you’ve got hiding beneath that gown. Perhaps you might give your husband-to-be a little taste?” He traced his bony fingers across her chest, drawing them down between her breasts, pulling at the silk neckline of her maroon dress.
“Perhaps this is not the best setting. People are going to be executed soon,” Seraphina said, her tone emotionless.
Her body was rigid with fear and disgust. All I wanted to do was tear his hands away from her. All around them, nobody seemed bothered by his lewd behavior. In fact, several people seemed to be actively ignoring the fact that he was publicly humiliating her. Was this a normal occurrence on Vysanthe? Given their questionable politics, I wasn’t about to put it past them.