42. Rahzlyn
Rahzlyn
“Isn’t the city that way?” I yelled over the roaring wind.
“This is to avoid detection from those who spy on the palace from afar,” Felaf explained in my ear as we flew on her Pegasus, Echo.
“We have to assume that the apostai, and anyone else with nefarious intentions, keep a close eye on the comings and goings of the palace. We’ll circle around so that we enter a discreet part of the city. Raithe said that’s what he does.”
Flying was just as exhilarating as I remembered. I gripped the reins with Felaf at my back as her beautiful beast soared us through open skies. I was in control again. Like anything was possible.
“I can see why Raithe finds this addicting!” I shouted. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
Due to the speed of our flight, the wind’s music rang loud and clear in my ears.
I’d missed the comforting sounds, for in the palace’s stagnant confines, scarcely a breeze made its way through.
I was grateful Felaf agreed to enter the city by Pegasus rather than by arch so I could experience the music like this again—even though I’d pressured her into it.
Felaf’s face had been filled with hesitation as she'd saddled Echo, likely unsure how to say no to my bold request. I felt guilty for using my position to coerce her.
I was still figuring out what authority I possessed, and getting used to the discomfort of such authority.
But I was at a breaking point, needing to escape the palace in search of something tangible to understand why me of all people had been selected to lead this cursed queendom.
As if sensing my joy, Echo dipped and flew faster. I squealed, clutching her mane tightly. “She’s feisty. How long have you had her?”
“Since becoming guardian,” Felaf replied. “A year or so now. Most guards are assigned a skybeast upon completion of training, but they don’t belong to them.”
“Why not Hippogriffs?”
“They’re bred in the north, where the weather is typically cooler on average, because of their thick fur. Pegasi are bred in the southern territories since their thinner coats are more conducive to warmer climates.”
I appraised the beast that carried us with majestic ease. “I wouldn’t mind having one of my own.”
“They are not fit for a royal—too dangerous. There’s simply no need for such a risky method of transportation when arches, skyships and guardians exist.”
I pondered having such freedom at my disposal. It would be nice, I decided, to have control over where and how I traveled. Queenly duties aside, flying by Pegasus was a true luxury. Maybe this feeling was also what drew Raithe to the skies.
When we came upon the city from a different vantage point, my breath temporarily caught. Unlike Gemini’s royal city Dioscuri that was built upon a single skyland, Antares consisted of dozens of floating isles connected by hundreds of suspended bridges, chains, and winding pathways.
The bright sun gleamed upon the tethered city.
Towering spires and ornate structures rose from colossal platforms. Weathered stone buildings were erected from cliff-like outcroppings of rock.
The tiered city was a patchwork of domes, turrets, and grand towers, each crowned with gleaming gold that caught the sun’s rays.
The skyline appeared incomplete compared to the grandiosity it must have been years ago.
Buildings had gaping ceilings and walls that appeared blasted apart.
“It’s beautiful,” I marveled in spite of the apparent destruction. The architecture was different from Gemini’s sprawling landscape in that it was a towering and powerful sandstone composition.
“You should have seen it before the curse. Waterfalls and lush greenery everywhere. Now it’s filled with dead foliage and dusty, broken roads,” Felaf said. “And criminals of all kinds, not just the apostai.”
We descended upon a dock in the Baron's District where skyships and other skybeasts came in and out of port.
“Hood and scarf stay up the entire time,” Felaf ordered once we secured Echo in a stable trusted by guards. A dusty haze settled upon the road we walked. Apart from Maryn, no one else knew about our little trip. Not even Gregorios.
The Baron's District was the only secure part of the city still intact, heavily guarded and where most trade and merchant exchanges occurred. According to Felaf, it was the same throughout the rest of the queendom. Each baron governed one of Scorpio’s twelve large cities, and the districts where the barons resided were well funded by royal coin.
As we meandered through the community filled with small markets and some shops fitted between beautiful homes, I couldn’t help but notice how well-groomed the people and roads were here.
“I know the baron and his family reside here, but who are all these other people?” I asked Felaf through my black scarf.
“Those who can afford the taxes,” she answered.
“So only the wealthy and elite are looked after? How is that fair for the rest of the Scorpion people?”
Admittedly, it was generous of Maryn to house the families of the palace staff here. But to forsake everyone else—the very people I wanted to meet, who made up the rest of this queendom—was wrong.
Felaf never responded, instead focusing on the people we passed with wariness. She pointed up ahead to a looming building. “There is the Temple of Scorpio, where your ceremonial trial will take place. It’s one of the oldest temples still intact, not just in Scorpio but in all of Gaianos.”
I swallowed dryly, intimidated by the ancient building and massive scorpion statue situated at the top of the steep, sweeping staircase. I ducked my head to avoid the statue’s eyes, as though Scorpio watched me through them.
We stopped inside various bakeries, boutiques, and restaurants, all clearly catering to those with excessive Tin to spare.
And while the potters and studios were teeming with artwork of water and depictions of hudro, they all cost a fortune.
The Tin was significantly less valuable than Gemini’s Irons, but no commoner could afford this art.
Everyone deserved access to such beauty and creativity.
Darker than the light and playful fashion found in Gemini, the Scorpion people wore sleek and fitted clothing.
Women had their hair down, long and smooth—a contrast to Gemini’s uptight fashion.
Everyone we’d passed in the streets was draped in gorgeous black materials.
They all moved with slow ease, wrapped in their safe bubble.
Here, there was no fear the way Maryn—and everyone else—described.
Not as patrols of guards marched prominently throughout the streets, prompting Felaf and me to duck into more shops to avoid detection.
These people were protected.
I didn’t understand how they could happily go about their days, dining finely as though there weren’t so many others without the same luxuries. In a way, I supposed I could—I had been one such person, living ignorantly in my own selfish bubble.
I didn’t want to be that person anymore.
When we rounded a corner, a clear view of the nearest skyland appeared.
A sturdy, massive gate stood between the district we walked and the bridge to the despondent, seemingly abandoned area.
Two guard towers stood erected on either side, connected to a wall that spanned the perimeter of the district.
Notably, though, no guards patrolled the wall. Considering this was where the Baron’s District separated from the rest of Antares, I expected there to be more activity.
As that thought flittered by, a figure appeared on the other side of the gate. Hesitant. Alert. And then, as surprised as I was to see the coast was clear, they slipped through the bars of the gate and froze, waiting to see what would happen next.
I squinted my eyes. “Felaf.”
“I see him.” Felaf tugged me back. I fought against her grip but was no match for her strength. As the figure moved closer, now running in our direction, I realized that the bars of the gate weren’t at all wide enough for a person to squeeze through. At least, not someone fully grown.
Nor a fully nourished person.
“Oh, stars,” I muttered, horrified as the gangly, frail boy neared us. He couldn’t have appeared more than eight or nine years of age, though I suspected he was older than that. “Felaf, stop, please.”
“We need to leave,” Felaf insisted, pulling me away. “He’s trespassing, and the guards will see him—”
“He’s a child. Clearly he’s hungry!”
“We can’t know for sure. And where there’s one, there’s sure to be more. We are here in disguise. This far from the palace, it wouldn’t be wise to reveal—”
“Let me go,” I ordered.
Reluctantly, she released her hold on me. I tracked the child. He’d looked in our direction, perhaps noticing our covert garments and thinking we, too, had snuck our way into the district.
“Hey!” I called him with a wave. I had some Tin tucked away, as well as a leftover pastry from a bakery that I could—
A swooshing sound whizzed ahead, followed by a planting thunk. The boy froze, his gaunt face going slack, before he collapsed to the ground. An arrow stuck straight up from his back, blood pooling from where the fabric had been pierced.
I was too stunned to scream, to cry, to move.
“We need to leave!” Felaf hissed. This time she wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Before there’s a bigger misunderstanding here.”
She pinned me to her side as she ran. Her speed left me breathless. I stared behind at the boy’s lifeless body in horror. The last thing I saw was a swarm of guards swooping in before we dipped out of their sight. “He was a boy,” I croaked. “Just a boy.”
“He violated the law by breaking in,” Felaf countered.
“So he deserved to be killed?”
“This is the most protected district in the queendom. The queen regent’s orders are to kill whoever disobeys the law and enters without permission.”
“Why not arrest him and sort out the misunderstanding?”
“Because there are no simple misunderstandings in our world right now. One wrong person inside could lead to another attack that could kill more people. The people here are not simply rich. They’re devout, faithful, and loyal.
Critical to maintaining the Astrals’ strength.
Besides, there are other more lawful ways that child could have found his way in here. ”
“How?” I demanded. “What ways are we giving them to succeed? To live? To survive?”
“There aren’t enough resources to go around for everyone. Not yet.” Felaf looked at me with her earnest topaz eyes. I didn’t believe her to be indifferent or unaffected. To her, following the rules was keeping everyone safe.
For once, I found myself having a strong opinion on the political state of things: I didn’t agree with any of it.