Chapter 15
Amaya stood at the bow of the ship on top of the benches as the sky city came into view, clinging to a rope dangling from the foremast. The wind combed through her hair and ruffled her skirts, the chilly air brisk against her skin.
At first, she could only see glimpses of the city through the cloud cover. But when the Maelstrom pushed through the last of the fog and the clouds gave way to a sparkling city, Amaya was wonderstruck.
Vaelstead was massive, eating up a significant portion of the midnight-blue sky and backlit by glittering stars.
It was constructed on naturally floating islands scattered among the clouds, connected by long steel bridges.
The main island hosted a conglomeration of smokestacks and skyscrapers stretching into the sky.
Many of the towers appeared ancient at the base and brand new at the top, as if the city had never finished climbing.
If outward expansion wasn’t possible on a finite floating island, the only option was up.
The towers were impressive, but the buildings close to the ground were equally intriguing as they drew nearer.
Many slanted and twisted at odd angles, hundreds of tiny dwellings crammed together.
A vast web of rope bridges draped across the city between the steel ones, connecting individual buildings high and low.
Amaya imagined that if one knew the city well enough, it was traversable without touching the ground.
Then came the airships. Windskiffs buzzed between the islands like little bees, and the port on the west side of the city stretched on as far as she could see.
Dozens of airships docked there, coming and going.
The Maelstrom was the largest one by far, but the others were still impressive.
They probably belonged to smugglers, privateers, and merchants bringing goods into the city.
The complete effect was more wondrous than Amaya had ever imagined.
Camden would have given anything to see it.
Since he couldn’t, Amaya tried to see it through his eyes.
She could almost feel him beside her, imagine him grabbing her shoulder and pointing out all the different buildings and airships with awestruck wonder.
It felt wrong to be standing here, living his dream, without him.
“Enjoying the view?”
Amaya turned to see Lord Lexington approaching. His hands were shoved deep inside the pockets of a long charcoal gray coat, a notable departure from the red brocade.
Amaya beamed and nodded, pushing thoughts of Cam to the back of her mind for now. He’d want her to enjoy this. So she’d enjoy it for him.
“Isn’t that what you told me to do?” At that, she was almost certain the captain’s lips twitched in a smile. “I’ve never seen a sky city before. It’s amazing.”
Amaya looked back at the approaching city, the thousands of twinkling lights meshing together to form a shining beacon.
“The novelty will wear off,” Lexington said.
Casting him a skeptical glance, Amaya let go of the rope and hopped down from the bench.
“I seriously doubt that.”
He held her gaze a moment, and Amaya found herself distracted by the gold flecks in his eyes. Neither of them noticed Lockwood and Sebastian until the latter clapped his hand on Lexington’s shoulder and shattered the silence.
“Drunk Captain tonight,” he said. “What do you say?”
“Dammit, Bas,” Lexington groaned, rolling his shoulder. Amaya and Sebastian winced in unison, realizing it was his injured one.
“Shit, sorry. Anyway, Drunk Captain?”
“I can’t tonight. And neither can you.” Lexington shot his first mate a pointed glance that Amaya didn’t understand, and Sebastian sighed.
“Yeah, okay. Tomorrow, then.”
“Errands, Captain?” Lockwood asked.
“Aye.” Lexington looked over at Amaya, a curious glint in his eye. “But I’m sure Miss Sinclair would love to join you.”
Amaya’s jaw dropped. “You’re letting me disembark?”
She’d been fully prepared to be confined to the ship, but Lexington nodded.
“As long as you don’t wander off, yes, you may disembark with the crew. But don’t let her out of your sight, Lockwood.”
Amaya flushed with excitement while Lockwood nodded, flashing a kind smile at her.
“Will this be your first time in a sky city, miss?”
“Yes.” Amaya bounced on her toes, unable to contain her delight. “Who all is coming?”
“Most everyone, as far as I’m aware.”
“No. Serena and Malcolm are coming with us. And Mouse is under ship arrest,” Lexington said.
“What? No!” Amaya protested, rounding on the captain. “Come on. You can’t leave him here by himself.”
Will cocked a brow. “I can’t?”
Amaya was quite aware of the fact that the last time she’d said he couldn’t do something, she’d landed in the brig. But that was before she’d saved his life, so she lifted her chin a little higher instead of backing down.
“No, you can’t. I want him to come.”
“Oh, well, that changes everything.”
“As it should. Shall I let him know, or would you like to?”
The furrow in Lexington’s brow, coupled with the twist in his lips, made him appear caught between laughter and the desire to fling her overboard. He glared at her, but Amaya stared right back, keeping her lips firmly pressed together so he wouldn’t see the smile trying to crack through.
“He’ll get in more trouble if you leave him alone,” she added when he didn’t answer. “Not very smart, if you ask me.”
At that, Lexington rolled his eyes. “Fine. Lockwood, Mouse has permission to disembark—tonight only. Keep an eye on him, too.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“We’ll be on our best behavior.” Amaya clasped her arms behind her back and rolled forward onto the balls of her feet, quite pleased with herself. Her blouse slipped off her shoulder when she moved, exposing her skin to the cold air.
Maybe it would push her luck, but a second thought entered her mind.
“Um, I don’t suppose I could go shopping, could I?”
All three men stared at her blankly.
“. . . What?” Lexington asked.
Amaya tilted her head.
“Shopping. If I’m going to be staying on board, I’d . . . well, Serena’s clothes don’t fit great. And my dress is missing.”
Amaya didn’t think she’d see the starry blue dress again—wasn’t sure she wanted to, with or without the bloodstains that speckled the backs of her eyelids every time she closed them.
To prove her point about Serena’s clothes, she made a show of pulling the fallen sleeve back over her shoulder, rather enjoying the perplexed expressions on their faces.
“I . . .” Lexington scanned her skirt, bodice, and too-big blouse. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes. “Not tonight. Serena can take you tomorrow—after she’s taken care of the parts we need, not before. And bring Crowe with you. Sebastian will give you some gold.”
The first mate crossed his arms. “I will, will I?”
“You will.”
Amaya beamed, victorious on all fronts.
“Thank you, Captain,” she chirped.
“Mm. Enjoy the city, Sinclair.” Lexington stalked away, his coat billowing out behind him like a melodramatic bat. Sebastian trailed behind him, hands shoved in his pockets.
Amaya chewed her bottom lip to repress a growing smile as Lockwood turned to her and, ever the gentleman, bent in a slight bow.
“Whenever you’re ready, Miss Sinclair, we’ll gather by the gangway.”
Amaya was standing between Serena and Mouse when the ship finally docked. The mechanical gangway extended chink by chink, far too slowly for Amaya’s taste; she could hardly keep still as the details of the city became clearer.
It wasn’t all metal and industry. Some of it was—the streets weren’t made of cobblestone like she was used to, but a textured metal.
At least, that was what the reflective paths looked like.
But there were trees nestled between the buildings, growing amidst the steel, just as tall and strong as the ones in Sorrento.
They added an organic, whimsical layer to the city that Amaya hadn’t expected.
“What happens if it storms?” Amaya whispered to her companions. “Is it dangerous?”
Serena shot her an amused look. “Sky cities are well-engineered to protect against bad weather. It can get a little dicey if it’s really bad, sure, but it’s no more hazardous than living by the sea.”
“What if someone falls off?”
“Then they’re an imbecile and probably deserved it.”
“Where do they get water? Do they collect rainwater?”
Now it was Mouse’s turn to laugh.
“Vaelstead is a natural island. It has water.” He paused before adding, “But on Erebar, they harvest water from the clouds. It’s a man-made island, so there’s no natural resources. Erebar was mostly relic factories before the Aether Storm sucked the atmosphere dry and destroyed the industry.”
“It’s not destroyed,” Serena said, casting a pointed look at Mouse. “It’s just . . . not operating at its fullest potential.”
Once the dockworkers had secured the ship, Lord Lexington and Sebastian stepped in front of the gathered crew to lead the way off.
“That’s my cue,” Serena said, stepping away and turning around to wave. “Have a good night, you two. Malcolm, come on.”
She nodded to her automaton companion, whose joints squeaked as he fell into step with her. Together, they quickly caught up with Will and Sebastian and descended into the city.
“Do you know where they’re going?” Amaya asked.
“Nope. They never say.” Mouse grinned up at Amaya. “Thanks for sticking up for me. Again.”
Amaya bumped his hip. “Anytime.”
Their group departed moments later, with Lockwood in the lead.
All Amaya’s life, she’d been told sky cities were dangerous and less civilized because of the pirates and relics that flowed in and out—and because they were self-governed, which Veridians equated to lawlessness.
Camden had always rejected that notion, insisting that the people living in the sky were exactly the same as them, just with relaxed societal rules, smaller infrastructure, and less military prowess.
In a sky city, he’d said, no one would have blinked twice after finding the two of them tangled together at Starcrest Peak.