Chapter Nineteen
Azazel
“One of our servants died today. Turns out, he’d been secretly taking haya. He had black ooze coming from his lips. Priya’s mother was visiting when it happened, and she thought it was so funny that she suggested we start forcing all of the eadi to take it just to watch them suffer. ”
We’d been away from the cottage for two minutes and I was already pissed off.
“This is way more than you insinuated,” I said, pointing at the stacks of haya. What Maitoza had made seem like only a few batches turned out to be hundreds of vials.
“I didn’t specify an amount,” Commander Crazy countered, her face as serene as ever.
Nova sighed, stepping in front of me. “How do you all usually transport it?”
Maitoza’s eyes lit up like a blazing fire as she caught Nova’s gaze. “Usually we send one individual to each location. These batches are a bit larger than normal though, and you’re both the only ones transporting today, of course.”
Are you fucking kidding me?
I stepped forward, my teeth grinding, but Nova got hold of my arm.
“Fine,” she said, tugging me towards the batches. I reluctantly followed her lead, glaring at Maitoza as she smiled. Her eyes were trained on Nova’s grip around my arm as we stepped up.
“We can take it all in my bag,” Nova said, pinching her eyes as a burst of shadows coagulated around her back. I nodded, grabbing vials as she unzipped her bag.
“Do be careful, we wouldn’t want any of them breaking.” I scoffed at Maitoza’s condescending tone, not bothering to turn around and grace her with the eye roll I wanted to. “Good luck, you two.”
I heard the door shut seconds later, but I didn’t speak freely. Not yet. Neither did Nova, the two of us working as quickly as we could to load the vials into her bag. When we were done, I offered her my hand, unable to resist smiling when she took it without hesitation.
We shadow walked to the first destination, a small village in the Eastern section of the Alzalam District, aiming for a patch of trees near one of the mountains that bordered the Royal District. We appeared just where I wanted, concealed beneath branches and stormy, grey skies.
“Okay, we get in and out. We have the exact location of the meetup. No detours.” I knew she’d argue before her lips even parted.
“We agreed it would be beneficial to scout the area.” Her hand left mine, reaching up to hold the thick, black straps of her bag. At this point, I was genuinely terrified of what could happen to her. And she wouldn’t listen.
“I’m serious, I have a bad feeling about this. Maitoza is up to something.”
“I agree.” She swung her bag off her back, setting it on the ground so she could rifle through it. I watched, tapping my foot, my eyes darting around the area. No people—that we could see at least. Maybe they were waiting for us. Perhaps Maitoza had set up an ambush.
Would the stars protect Nova? Would they at least help her?
“Got them! Here’s your vial. Did you already think of someone to look like?
Someone you can genuinely picture in your head?
” She handed me the vial of blood-red liquid, my fingers grazing hers as I grabbed it.
She snatched her hand away the second my grip was tight enough on the vial, clearing her throat.
Was it delusion that convinced me she was starting to want me too? Could it be that I wasn’t insane to pursue her?
Not important, Az.
“Can’t I just imagine myself looking slightly different?” I asked, uncorking the vial. She zipped her bag, tossing it back on her shoulder as she stood. Her lip was bleeding, proof that she wasn’t unfazed and calm like she hoped I’d think.
“The reason I want you to pick someone you know is so that you don’t forget to change parts of yourself that are identifiable.”
“Nothing other than my hair is all that noticeable.”
“That’s not true, your eyes too.” Immediately after saying it, her gaze widened, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red.
Stars, I think I have a chance. A real chance.
“Sounds like you’re looking at me a lot more than I realized,” I said, chuckling softly. Taking two steps forward, I lifted the vial to my lips, keeping eye contact with her as I poured it into my mouth.
“Focus, Altair,” she ordered, reaching up and closing my eyes.
Just for that, I pictured Pri. Her slightly slanted, deep brown eyes that folded at the lids.
Her high cheekbones. Her almost round lips.
I thought of her hair, how it was always a shining shade of pure black, as were her eyebrows.
She had short eyelashes and a pointed chin, with no blemishes on her skin save the small freckle that sat above the left corner of her mouth.
Lastly, I pictured her nose, the way it sat flat against her face.
And when I opened my eyes, it was the beautiful, annoyed face of Nova that I saw first. Her upper lip was lifted in a sneer, her eyes squinted.
“You chose your fiance of all people?”
I smiled wider at her disgusted tone, daring to believe in something wonderful.
Please be jealous.
“She isn’t my fiance, but I know her face nearly as well as my own.”
“Oh, I’m sure you know lots of her really well,” she fired back, rolling her eyes and swallowing her vial’s contents. Eager to see who she’d choose, I watched her every feature, feeling oddly sad when the face I knew began to disappear.
First, her nose seemed to deflate, turning sharper and smaller.
Her lips evened out, her face lengthening to an oval shape.
Her black eyes with bright dots lightened to fully silver, bordering on grey.
I watched in surprise as her brows became more controlled, fading until they were almost colorless.
Lastly, her hair began to straighten, the silver strands falling lower down her back.
“Is this supposed to be me?” I asked.
“Yes, actually. My normal look too closely mirrors Zura.”
“Your friend from Elite Academy?” What did she even look like? I couldn’t seem to picture her anymore.
“Yes. She’s very pretty. It was an accident I looked so closely to her when I…” Nova cut herself off, clearing her throat and tucking her new hair behind her ears.
“When you what?”
“Well, remember that book I was reading on the beach?” I nodded. “You weren’t wrong when you guessed that I stole it. I used to…borrow from wealthy eadi in my district.”
“Wow, that’s—“
“Obviously it was wrong, but I needed the coin from what I pawned off to buy haya and food for my family. Plus, I fucked them first, so it wasn’t like they didn’t win too.” Her arms crossed, her face—my face—pinched.
Raising my hands, I said, “I’m not judging. You have to do what you have to do in life.”
I was, unfortunately, the jealous one though.
“Exactly. Now let’s get going. This conversation is wasting our time.” She began walking out of the shaded area, moving towards the distant buildings. I followed, wishing we could go home. Then, because the way she’d said it stuck with me, I pushed forward and looked at her.
“You’re pretty.”
Stopping midstep, she turned to me. “Excuse me?”
“I said you’re pretty. When you mentioned your friend, you said she’s very pretty.”
“Well she is.”
“Maybe, but you’re prettier. You didn’t need to change your face to convince wealthy eadi to take you home with them, Tershetta.
In fact, you looked better before all of this too.
” I grabbed her hair, hating how the thin strands fell so easily from my loose grasp.
I hated her pointed chin. I hated her tiny nose.
I hated her silver eyes. I entirely loathed it all.
“Well,” she said, pursing her lips. I missed her real lips. “Thanks, I guess. We need to get moving.” With that, she promptly ended the conversation, walking far too briskly with her head downturned. I kept pace, trying to force myself into silence.
“Something bad is going to happen,” I hissed as we neared the village. She tugged her hood over her head, casting dark shadows across her face.
The village was small, with what appeared to be sturdy wooden homes connected by cobblestone paths.
It was a stark difference from the sagging homes in the coastal Farigh village we’d gone to.
Though there was nothing special about it other than it looked well made.
If anything, it was oddly sparse. The grass that grew around the homes was a pale brown, the trees scattered around the area bare of leaves.
“According to the address, we’re looking for East 3rd Village.” She was holding the parchment with all four locations, times, and names, still not making eye contact with me.
“Yes, the place where we’ll die.”
“Stop being such a pessimist,” she whispered, leaning forward to better read the wooden sign at the upcoming fork in the stone path. “Okay if that’s twenty, then we’re going to have to walk through pretty much the entire village.”
“Convenient.”
“What’s it going to take to get you to stop whining?”
Considering that, I went silent, my eyes darting from side to side. A few people were milling about, but none of them seemed too interested in us. I’d definitely stop whining if we could go home. Not that she’d agree to that.
As we passed by 14th Village, I got an idea. “How about you promise that if we get back home—“
“When we get back home,” she corrected.
She called it home.
“Yeah, sure. When we get back home, promise me you won’t agree to go anywhere else for Maitoza.”
“You’re kidding,” she grumbled. I watched as her shoulders sagged forward, her fingers fidgeting with the loose fabric on her bag. “Fine. Now shut up for a while.”
“Will do,” I said, pulling up my hood with a smile. After that, we remained silent, keeping our heads down as we got closer to 3rd Village. We did catch quite a few looks as we passed, but we had yet to see any officials.
We made it to 4th before someone yelled at us.
“Hey, you two! Who are you? Where did you come from?” The man was tall, his body thin and his head nearly bald.
He had a long, straggly, red beard that was dusted with silver.
He wore a loose white top with a worn leather vest and straight, brown trousers.
While the outfit seemed nicer than what they wore in the Farigh District, it wasn’t necessarily well-made or in good shape by the looks of it.
Again, I was forced to face the fact that even the clothes I wore in hiding were nicer than anything most eadi would ever own. Chest tightening, I stepped in front of Nova; all the while, I wondered if I’d have ever realized how privileged I was before academy. If I’d have ever learned and changed.
“I said, who are you?” His voice was deep, his eyes scrutinizing. Nova gripped my elbow, her hooded head popping into my periphery.
“Hello, we’re actually friends of someone,” I said, trying to wrap my arm around Little Void to pull her back behind me.
“Who would that be?”
“I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”
Nova grunted behind me, jabbing her elbow into my side. “Sorry, he can be a bit protective of me sometimes.”
What? My lips parted, head turning back towards her. All she did was smile up at me, wrapping her arms around mine.
“We’re recently married and visiting an old family friend of my father’s.
Could you point us in the direction of East 3rd Village Number 7?
” Nova’s voice was calm, almost sweet. She spoke in a higher pitch than normal, her fingers gliding across my long-sleeved, blue top.
A chill slithered up my spine, my heart hammering in my chest.
The man, who had suddenly started smiling, nodded. “Congratulations. I should’ve guessed. You two remind me a lot of me and my late Penny.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I chimed in, trying to remember what it was like to be nice to strangers. Had I ever learned that? No, I hadn’t. But I had learned how to charm someone. With the barest upturn of my lips, I reached out and patted the man’s shoulder once.
“Thank you. It’s been a rough year. I’ve gotten a bit protective over the village because of it. We’re all good to each other here, as I’m sure Willy told you.”
Ah, so he didn’t quite believe us. “Actually, sir, I think there’s been some sort of mix up. We’re looking for Avery.”
Visibly relaxing, the man nodded. “Oh, my mistake. I thought you said Number 8. How do you know Avery again?”
Nova, still as cool as a winter breeze and as calm as a still lake, said, “Family friend.”
“And the two of you are newly weds?” he questioned further, eyes falling to where she still gently rubbed my arm.
Well, no time like the present to see just how far she’d let me take this.
Leaning down, I grabbed her chin, placing a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth.
She hummed in appreciation, her chest pressing into my side and her hair tickling my nose.
And stars, I could have stayed like that forever.
Preferably with her looking like herself.
Pulling away, I watched in sheer delight as her cheeks turned scarlet red.
“Very new. We married just a couple weeks ago. But I knew the second I met her that she was the one.” I tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, missing her thick curls that so perfectly wrapped around my fingers, the shadow marks that poked out forcing me to tug my sleeve over my hand.
“Congratulations. How about I take you to Avery then?” Most of the crisp suspicion had left his voice and face, though there was a hesitancy in his gate that slowed us down.
Nevertheless, we followed. Now having the perfect excuse, I took her hand, weaving our fingers together. Maybe any other day she would have pulled away—not that I’d ever know—but today she gripped my hand back, rubbing her thumb slowly across the space where my thumb met my pointer finger.
When we turned left down the correct path, our boots loud against the cobblestone as the man guided us past the homes on either side, he turned to face us. “I’m Odi by the way. It’s nice to meet friends of Avery.”
“The pleasure is ours,” Nova cooed. Odi studied us, looking at me longer than her. Eventually, he nodded and faced forward again. A handful of small homes later, we were there.
“Here it is. Do say hi to Avery for me.” With that, he left, his head turning back every so often. He and whoever helped him guard the village would likely be watching us. Sadly, we couldn’t leave. Or, well, she wouldn’t leave.
Proving me right, Nova released my hand, eagerly walking up the small stone steps and knocking on the wooden door. Reluctantly, I followed.
Not even a minute later, the door was creaking open, a small woman with wrinkled cheeks and hollow under eyes staring at us through the dark opening.
Without missing a beat, Nova said, “As above, so below. Right Avery?”
And then the door swung open.
Stars help us.