CHAPTER 5
DAVINA
One month ago
ARMAND AND I WERE LED TO A PAIR OF CONNECTED ROOMS ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE KObrANT ARMY’S COMPOUND IN KANTRIA. The guards escorting us were as intimidating as they were stern, the masks stretching over the lower half of their faces rendering them almost inhuman.
The building itself did nothing to hide the wealth coursing through the veins of this part of the continent.
The hallway we followed hummed faintly with energy, the glow of gas lamps dancing over sand-polished floors.
Brass conduits lined the walls at regular intervals, channeling whichever substances kept this place up and running.
Steam valves let out the occasional whistle, and the scent of oil and sun-warmed stone hung faintly in the air.
In a way, it was both different and the same as back home.
The rooms themselves were unnecessarily fancy, at least for what I’d have expected of military headquarters.
High, arched ceilings curved above us like inverted chalices, their edges detailed with delicate etchings of coiled serpents and sunrises.
One wall was all windows, tall and narrow, fitted with panes of alchemical glass that shimmered faintly when the light hit.
Beyond, the sprawling castle that served as residence for the King of Kobra rose amidst the dense jungle and lower buildings surrounding it.
Rich, polished wooden furniture was etched with subtle metallic filigree.
Two massive beds presided over each space, their carved posts flaring slightly at the ends, stylized to resemble the branches of the Evergreen Mahogany tree, and there were wide embedded wardrobes adorning either side of the shared wall.
A desk stood at the far end of the room, paired with a high-backed chair cushioned in pale leather.
Kobra’s surging economy was evident in every detail. I knew from my studies such hadn’t always been the case of the eastern continent, with half of its land being taken over by the unforgiving heat and sand of the desert.
Everything changed after the discovery of the sap, though.
Widesight and Kobra had been among the lucky few to find significant clusters of the trees across their territories, and they promptly became powerhouses.
Redryver, too, had shown signs of abundance, though they’d sealed their borders within a couple decades of the discovery, and not much was known of their current situation.
New Haven was a whole different case. Most of the sap-rich trees were located on the Southern Island, which had sparked a cold war between East, West, and South that simmered even now. A conflict they were still trying to deal with, if the reports I’d seen in The Paragon were to be believed.
I had always looked forward to the day when the use of the sap was normalized. It seemed far, far away, but it had once happened with precious metals and gems, so who was to say it wouldn’t happen once again?
If only the trees could produce it faster than we needed it. If only we weren’t running them dry.
I dreamed of a time when there would be no rebels to keep at bay, when the borders of the continents would no longer be closed, and civilians were allowed to travel the entire world if they wished so.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. The discovery of sap had created the fastest travel methods in history, and yet the world had never felt more unreachable.
With the right sap-based skills, humans could guide pods made of aerolith and brass, navigating them through metallic indicators along routes and into stations.
Routes that once took weeks by rail or steamboat now took mere hours.
That was how Armand Bleuombre and I arrived at Kantria in half a day.
How I had the pleasure of travelling to places like The Powder in mere hours.
The smooth voice of the Kobrant lieutenant who had escorted us brought me crashing back to the present.
“You should have everything you need here.” The copper mesh on his metallic cuffs glinted in the afternoon light when he waved his hand.
“But don’t hesitate to let us know if that’s not the case.
Guards will be posted at the end of the corridor at all times.
They will assist you, or call someone who can. ”
I almost rolled my eyes at that.
“We’ll behave,” Armand replied smoothly, his usual charm slipping into place even as he not-so subtly called out the charade of guards being posted for our benefit.
Without further comment, the lieutenants left us to settle.
Both of our bags had been brought into this first room, leaving us to decide which one each would be taking.
I had to admit the interconnected rooms had been a surprisingly thoughtful thing to offer on their side.
It was obvious that Armand and I would need to interact with each other away from Kobrant ears at times, but I hadn’t expected them to make it so easy.
In truth, I suspected we wouldn’t be spending much time in Kantria. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, would still need to be seen.
“It seems it’s your lucky day,” my companion said.
Knowing I’d regret it, I asked, “And why is that?”
We hadn’t spoken much on the trip here, and I was in no particular rush to start doing so now. I could appreciate and respect Armand Bleuombre as a centurion, but that was where my concessions for his persona ended.
“Because you get to sleep close to me, obviously.”
I huffed, rolling my eyes. So predictable.
Armand walked through life pretending to be this sweet, joyous, carefree man. Like everyone else, I fell for it once, thinking I’d be different—that I would be the one to finally tie the charming, coveted centurion down.
I wasn’t, and I knew better than falling for it ever again.
“Been there. Done that. Not interested,” I drawled. “Do you have a preference?” Glaring in response to the mischief shimmering in his eyes, I clarified, “Room.”
I trailed him as he walked into the adjacent space, boots thudding softly on the smooth, rune-inlaid floor tiles.
The second room was a mirror image of the one we’d been led to.
A faint hum buzzed from the copper piping running along the walls.
My gaze flicked to the door, noticing a lock on both sides that eased some of the tension in my stomach.
“I prefer this one.” His clean-shaven chin pointed to the first room.
My eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“In case I need to escape you.” I blinked and Armand—damn him—just laughed.
I waited, and when he realized I was not in on the joke, he sighed.
“I don’t trust them, Lachlan. Our governments might have come to an agreement, but depending on what and how we find it, I don’t think this will be as easy an exchange as Ludwig made it look like it’d be.
We might be talking about millions of pounds in sap here.
That’s more than all of Widesight’s reservoirs can produce in a decade these days.
Do you see any of the sides giving up the other half easily? ”
Kobra and Widesight had been nearing a war before the sap was found.
I wasn’t a huge fan of history, or the intricacies of inter-continental politics, but I remembered it being based on some industrial development agreement which ended with a Kobrant party getting killed in Widesightian soil.
Once the sap was found, such matters were stripped of relevance, but a century of closed-off borders hadn’t aided in the matter of relations, I suspected.
“Of course not.” It didn’t take a genius to realize that either government would want to keep all of the stash for themselves. “That’s why there is a contract in place binding both parts to do exactly that.”
He snorted, walking back to grab his bag from where it had been set beside the entrance. “Right.” The straps gave a faint metallic click when he picked it up, the polished clasps catching the light from the chandelier above. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
His tone was infused with that underlying amusement I despised, as if speaking of inter-continental conflicts was but a game to him. Then again, everything was a game for Armand Bleuombre. Why young Davina had ever found it attractive was beyond the comprehension of the present one.
He let the bag fall on top of the leather divan at the feet of his bed.
In turn, I let the topic drop, reaching for my own bag and walking towards the shared door.
I didn’t want to spend a single moment more than necessary with him.
Again, I understood why he’d been chosen for this.
Armand was a stellar centurion, with more successful missions under his belt than even me, much to my chagrin.
Not only could he charm even rocks, he also had an uncanny control over the two abilities the sap inked on his skin granted him: metallokinesis and shielding.
A combination that many of the Sapless and other criminals now behind bars in Widesight couldn’t deny made him nearly unstoppable.
Understanding didn’t mean I was happy about it.
Armand and I . . . we had a story I could only blame on young, easily impressionable Davina.
I was barely eighteen when I was first assigned under his supervision for a mission, and that golden hair, blue eyes and carved body, added to his six-year seniority over me, proved to be more than my na?ve self could handle back then.
I had a crush on him for a couple years.
A crush I only realized was utterly absurd after I fell straight into his bed, playing into his charming smiles like the child I was.
I had grown a lot since, and thankfully hadn’t had more than a few interactions with him in the previous years. Until now.