Chapter 5 #2
Aesira didn’t miss the way Kamari claimed Vargah as her own and for whatever reason it stung like a wasp, sharp and quick.
She knew her sister was the Queen of Vargah.
Knew she had been arranged to marry Desmond.
Knew their lives no longer coincided after she took the throne but if the last few months being stationed here had given her anything, it was hope.
Hope that she and her sister could still pretend they were young and careless and free.
“We’ll find him, Kamari,” Aesira said. Kam nodded, the furrow of her brows back in place.
“I have to go. I’ll try and send a hawk when we get to the Outpost. I’ve heard they still navigate through the winds.
” Her sister’s eyes snapped to hers and her mouth dropped open.
Like she had something right on the tip of her tongue but couldn’t bring herself to say it. “What? What did I say now?”
Kam shook her head. “Nothing,” she reassured. “But yes, hawks can navigate through the winds.” Shit. Another wrong thing to say. Hawks could fly through the storms, and Desmond hadn’t sent one. The door flew open and Nev popped her head in.
“I've been sent word, the ship is ready to fly.” Nev stood, arms positioned behind her uniformed back.
“Thank you.” Kamari pulled Aesira close and hugged her so hard she thought the metal of her chestplate might break a rib. “Take this,” Kamari said as she pulled away. She handed Aesira a small blade, insignificant enough to fit in the palm of her hand.
“What is this?”
“Desmond gave it to me,” she said. “It’s supposed to be lucky or something.” She shrugged, closing her fingers around Aesira’s. “Just take it. Be safe. Be smart.”
Aesira palmed the blade and shoved it into her pocket. She couldn’t imagine a use for such a small weapon but if it made Kamari feel some sort of ease, she’d do it. “See you in a few weeks.”
Kam looped her pinkie with hers. “Promise.”
“Promise.”
The Boneyard District was in absolute mayhem.
Turns out, Kamari’s plan for discretion hadn’t been a successful one.
Children and adults lined the district. Others stood toward the back, arms crossed and faces somber.
It was those people, the ones with blatant doubt plastered on their faces, Aesira related to.
This won’t end well, she thought. Between the piss-poor crew Stone had put together and the uncertainty of what lay beyond the Outpost, finding Desmond was sounding more and more like a nightmare.
“Nora,” Aesira said, “get to the ship and see where we can post up.” Nora nodded but before she left she turned to Nev. Their matched freckled faces and bright red hair mulled together as they hugged tightly.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” Nev pulled back. They may be twins but there was no confusing the two, not with Nev’s permanent scowl and Nora’s smile she gave too freely.
“Me?” Nora bat her long lashes. “I would never.” She punched Nev’s arm and reminded her she was the fun twin.
“I don’t know where she gets that wild streak,” Nev said.
Aesira huffed a laugh. “I don’t know how it survived the Order.” She turned to Nev, ignoring the rising sounds of the crowd. “You need to watch Kamari and keep tabs on Lord Raffe. Make sure–”
“I’ve got this, Commander.” Nev squeezed her shoulder, her grip firm and reassuring. “Safe flight.” Then she disappeared into the crowd and Aesira had nothing else to do but board the ship.
“Commander, you made it. I was starting to worry.” Stone wiped his oil-stained hands on a rag before throwing it over his shoulder. “I take it your evening went on just fine after I left you at the Phoenix?”
She gritted her teeth, leaning into the weight of her sword for comfort. “Let’s save the pleasantries,” she said. “We both know you’d rather me not be here so spare me the false politeness.”
He chuckled, a low and gravelly sound, before waving her forward. “Come on,” he said.
Aesira stepped forward, moving around Stone blocking the walkway. “My sister may have faith in you, but–”
“I’m offended, Commander,” he said. “I thought I’d earned your respect.” A few Boneyard workers shuffled past, carrying crates and heavy ropes.
“If you try anything,” Aesira said, “I won’t hesitate to enforce the power I’ve been given.” She glanced down at the sword at her hip and the restraints on the opposite side.
“Fair enough.” Stone shrugged. “But I’ll remind you, that while the idea of being tied up by you is tempting, I’m afraid I’ll need both of my hands to do my job well. Now, make yourself useful and grab that crate.” He nodded to a stack nearby.
“I don’t take orders from Odegas.”
Stone smiled, crossing his arms across his chest. “We’ll see about that.”
Heat bloomed over Aesira’s neck and cheeks and despite how hard she tried, the memories of the first night she met Stone at The Phoenix came rushing back. Hands and skin. Tongues and teeth.
“Listen,” Stone said, his tone softening.
Maybe he was also remembering that night, which only made Aesira’s fevered skin scorch hotter.
“You’re a commander and I respect that. But we don’t know what lies beyond the Outpost. All I know is we’ll see things.
” He stepped closer. “Hear things.” Another step until it was just the width of the crate between them.
“Feel things we can’t explain.” He’d dropped his voice and in a place that was so loud, she found it confusing that all she could hear was him.
“The things that dwell in the desert only have one goal and that is to kill you or drive you mad enough to do it yourself. So, unless you have a death wish, I’d suggest taking some of your sister's faith and instilling it in me and my crew. I’m not after anything other than what I was promised. ”
At some point when he was talking, he’d handed the crate to a passerby. Or maybe he set it down? Aesira wasn’t sure but what she was absolutely sure of, was how close he was standing to her now. Close enough that she could feel the heat from his body mixing with hers. She took a step back.
“What kind of things?” She’d grown up in Novaria alongside her siblings in a comfortable, albeit small, kingdom in the east. Aside from her training with the knights and her travels to Vargah, she hadn’t seen much else of the world.
“Things not even your nightmares could imagine.”
She picked up a lone crate and followed behind him.
Aesira wasn’t afraid of Stone’s promise of deadly and terrifying things.
He had no idea the types of nightmares she had or even worse, the things she’d witnessed when she was awake.
But she was curious and she made her sister a promise.
Find Desmond. Bring him home. So with every instinct not to trust Stone gnawing at her, she stamped them down.
“Fine,” she said. “We both agree to find the king and nothing more.”
“Nothing more.” He smiled again before turning and heading straight into the belly of the ship.