Chapter 13
Chapter thirteen
Facing Fear
The commissary door is open when we arrive, the savory smell of congee and barbecued chicken wafts through the air.
I immediately notice Rui has a table filled with pots, the lids still on, waiting for us to arrive.
I quickly take the seat across from him.
The pastry was delicious, but I’m lured in by the promise of real meat.
Caius has spoiled me. I used to happily start my day with a cricket bar…
maybe not happily, but I was used to it.
My gut twists at the thought of Caius taking care of me.
When I look back to the entrance, I find Caius is a dark cloud taking up the wide door frame with his feet planted and his arms folded across his chest, his eyes narrowed and dangerous.
Dom sits beside me, Cressida taking the spot to his right, and still Caius is unmoving at the entrance.
“Are you coming?” I mouth the words, not wanting to yell over the crowd. Caius’ nostrils flare, and then he turns and disappears.
“Is your friend not joining us for breakfast?” Rui cocks an eyebrow, the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
I shrug. “I guess not.”
“Don’t mind my brother. He’s not a morning person.” Cressida doesn’t even look up from her bowl, where she is ladling congee until it reaches the brim.
I snort. “Well, it would sure be nice if he had let me sleep in back when we were working on the aqueduct.”
Dom drops his voice low. “I think he is not a Rui person.”
I press my lips together to smother my laugh, my gaze darting to Rui, hoping he didn’t hear.
“You are tinkerers?” Rui asks.
Shit, I forgot I was supposed to watch my mouth around him. Although everyone has to have a past, and as far as sharing enough with Rui to gain his trust, our occupations seem harmless enough. “I’m a tinkerer.” I bump my shoulder into Dom’s “He is a gardner, and Cressida is a student—”
“Graduate,” Cressida corrects through a mouthful of congee.
“And what will you do now?” Rui asks with genuine interest.
Cressida shrugs. “Still to be decided.”
“And your broody friend?” Rui asks with a half-smile, just as alluring as Caius’.
Could I convince him that Caius was a tinkerer or a gardner, too?
Rui had seen Caius wield his sword in the crag.
No one outside the guard wielded weapons in Bǎodela.
Was it the same in the Tǎnkaski? I glance around the room, looking for an answer.
The only patrons I see with weapons wear the same navy robes with silver embroidery around the collar as Rui.
I push out a breath and decide the safest option will be the truth. Caius is going to be pissed.
“He’s our guard.” A half-truth, and one I think I can sell. It would make sense that a defenseless lot like us would have an escort.
“And what does a tinkerer need a guard for?” Rui’s onyx eyes bore into mine, mining for a truth he will not find.
I point up at the ceiling. “To protect us from the dragons, of course.”
Rui lets out a rumbling laugh that eases the tension. “Well, he doesn’t appear to be very good at his job if he lost half of your party and fell down a crag.”
“He didn’t fall—”
Rui pins me with a stare. Why am I defending Caius?
“Fine, he slipped once we were already in the crag,” I concede. “Speaking of, are there any updates? We don’t want to overstay our welcome.” I add the last part hastily.
Rui smiles. “No need to worry about that. The Sky City is open to all. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” The way his eyes lock onto mine sends heat racing underneath my skin. I drop my gaze to the congee and focus on attempting to pluck chunks of chicken from the top.
“But morning patrols spotted her just north of the crag, which gives us all at least another day together. I’d be happy to show you the city if you would like a guide.” Though the statement sounded like it was meant for all of us, when I look up from my bowl, I find Rui staring intently at me.
“You can just point us in the right direction,” Cressida says. “Dom and I wanted to stop by the gardens and see if there is any kind of exchange program.”
“Of course, our head gardener always loves to exchange techniques with visitors. I can take you over when you finish.”
Cressida brings her bowl to her lips, tipping the last of her congee into her mouth.
She wipes a sleeve across her face, then stands, pulling roughly on Dom’s arm to join her—a comical sight when she only comes to his sternum.
Dom flashes a worried look at me. I smile and nod for him to go.
“No need, just point us in the right direction, and I’m sure we can find our way. ”
Once Rui has described in great detail which bridges to take, Cressida slips out of the commissary, tugging Dom along behind her. He glances over his shoulder and mouths: Sorry. I doubt very much that she will remember a single word of those directions.
I enjoy a spoonful of my congee, ignoring the fact that we are the only ones left at our table. This is the best congee I have ever had, and I refuse to be rushed.
When I finally finish and dare to look up from my bowl, I find Rui smiling at me. It’s warm and genuine and my gut clenches at the thought of using him to get information.
“What?” I ask quietly.
“I don’t think I have ever seen someone so intently interested in congee before.”
“Hey,” I point my spoon at him, “This happens to be one of the best meals I have ever had.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Do you want to stop by the kitchens? I’m sure the chef would give you the recipe.”
I shift uncomfortably. “I don’t know how to cook,” I say quietly.
“Well, if you stay long enough, I’d be happy to teach you.”
I nod. “Perhaps.”
“You’re not interested in the gardens then?” Rui shifts our conversation to safer ground.
I shrug. “Not my area of expertise.”
“Right, tinkerer. Is there something you would like to see?”
I ponder this. “Your aqua system?” I ask hesitantly.
Rui scrunches his brow. “You could see anything in the city, and you want to see the aqua system?”
“My Da…” What do I tell him? The truth? I quickly try to think through the ramifications.
What information can he glean from this little kernel?
And now it has been quiet for too long, and it will look more suspicious if I don’t say something—“he built the aqua system back home. I thought it would be interesting to see how it was built here.”
“Very well. I’ll take you to see the aqua system, and then we are doing something fun.”
I chuckle. “Moving water to fuel a massive city isn’t fun enough for you?”
Rui pretends to consider this, then shakes his head. “Not even close.” He comes to his feet, extending a hand to help me. I clench my hand, pulling it closer, but when I tilt my head back to meet his gaze, my resolve melts and I slide my hand into his, allowing him to pull me to my feet.
“Where shall we start?” Rui presses a finger to his lips in thought. “The gardens have terraces and waterfalls. You certainly won’t want to miss those. We could still catch up with your friends.”
I think of the effort Cressida put into leaving us alone; I don’t want that predatory glare of hers turned on me.
Her small stature does nothing to dull the glint in her eye or dismiss the eerie way she handles her daggers.
I shake my head, letting a shy smile spread across my lips and hoping Rui gets the hint that I want to keep the tour to just the two of us.
“Very well.” A matching smile plays across his lips, and I feel guilty at how often my gaze lingers there. “Perhaps it is only appropriate that we start at the source.”
An image of wild glow moss explodes across my mind. The tart taste of wild glow berries pricks at my tongue as I think of the source in Bǎodela.
“I would like that.” I nod, working to keep my emotions from my voice. A bitter sadness settles in my stomach as I realize I may never set foot in the source of Bǎodela again.
Rui takes his time guiding us to the north side of Tǎnkaski proper.
My hesitancy at each bridge hasn’t gone unnoticed, but he doesn’t comment on it.
Instead, he pauses and tells me a fact about the city as I slowly follow him.
I’m grateful for the distraction and the subtle kindness, even if I’m unused to it.
At home, I’m the daughter of a traitor, a magic thief, a heretic.
Most avoid me, and those who deal with me keep the exchange to a tense minimum.
But here, Rui is kind and patient, looking at me with admiration every time I comment on the ingenuity of one of the structures along our route.
The people we pass are unhurried, their faces warm with easy smiles, even for a newcomer, and the strangeness of it all makes me ache.
Is this what it feels like to belong? Could Caius be wrong?
Had the blight really come to Tǎnkaski? Or are the dull edges of the panels a normal part of the tech here?
Is it possible that this place could become our home?
Guilt strikes alongside the thought, and yet I hold it close like an ember against the wind.
What would it feel like to really belong?
My spiraling thoughts stop as we step into a vast cavern at the far northern side of Tǎnkaski.
We stand on an overlook above the cavern, switch-back trails lead down into a pool of water that takes up half of the chamber.
Rising from the pool is a stone wall, so vast it turns the entire back of the chamber into a reservoir that sits twice as high as the water line.
The wall nearest us is carved with numerous channels, guiding water from the reservoir into Tǎnkaski.
“What is this place?”
“This is the reservoir that brings water to the northern half of the city. That tunnel there.” Rui points to a dark passage leading away from the reservoir. “It leads to a vast freshwater sea. At high tide, the reservoir fills, and the aqueduct channels water to the city.”
“This is amazing.”