Chapter 5
Lucent doesn’t speak as the transport follows Citadel Hill back toward the main palace.
His smile is still imprinted on his face as if this is some kind of a game.
My stomach turns at the tournament signs fluttering in the wind.
We are disposable to them. The only reason Lucent is dealing with me with any kind of decency is because I have something he wants. Skyborns are all the same.
“You’re not into conversation?” He clears his throat, moving his hair off his now slick forehead.
“I’m not in the business of entertaining.”
His mouth parts before his playful smile deepens.
I consider smacking it off his face but turn to look out of the window instead.
I rest back in my seat with a hand beneath my head, touching the tip of the blade hiding in my bun.
I am too close to be outsmarted. Stale wind whips inside the transport, and I inhale, imagining it is briny sea air.
“Are we close?” he asks.
“Pass Evergild Gardens.”
He guides us down the length of the park. “Now where?”
“Keep going that way. Toward the gates.”
“Axira, where exactly are we going?”
My heart stops. None of my clients know my name. Not even my regulars. They only know that to make an order, they deposit a note beneath the loose stone at the foot of the Benevolent statue in my district square. “How do you know my name?” I ask.
“I’m not in the business of answering questions from lowborns.” The ride stops. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll know when we get there.”
The mirth in his expression hardens. “If you’re tricking me—” He spits before raking a hand through his hair.
I start to slip the blade out of my bun but freeze when he glares at me with pinpoint eyes and a thousand-yard stare.
Closer now, the dried crust at the corners of his mouth is unmistakable.
The blotchy redness of his skin, his unnatural sweating on a fairly cool day, his unfocused stare and erratic shifts in mood.
He’s on a Heartfiller. A euphoria Heartfiller.
A strong one.
Skyborn don’t need Heartfillers, so when they get a dose, it hits them harder. Guess that’s what happens when you’re not used to being numb. His mouth quivers.
Maybe he’s on more than one.
A Skyborn using a Heartfiller is as much a crime as me selling them.
But he’s a royal. He’s the prince’s cousin and the Benevolent’s nephew.
If we’re caught, this will be pinned on me.
I shove the door open and get out. When my boots hit the street, I march toward the Citadel gate.
He already has a supplier. This could actually be a trap, even if he is good at pretending to be kind.
“Axira.”
I walk faster. New customers must know old customers. That’s my rule; I should never have broken it.
“Axira!”
Mercyenforcers look in my direction, and I ease my pace.
My hands are sweaty in my gloves. My heart won’t stop racing.
Swim with the current or drown. Maybe this was a mistake.
Maybe courage is a death wish. Maybe eighteen is as many years as I get.
A hand grabs me and spins me around roughly.
The heel of my gloved hand connects with Lucent’s face before he can blink.
He groans. I whip my blade from my hair, prepared for him to try to order I be arrested.
“Was it something I said?” His voice is muffled between cupped hands over his nose.
I cross my arms, unsure what to make of him. Blood drips down his face. “I don’t make deals with people…in your condition.”
He eyes the blade but steps closer to me as a Mercyenforcer approaches. “Is there a problem here?” they ask.
I tuck the weapon up my sleeve.
“There’s no problem,” Lucent says.
“You’re bleeding.” The Mercyenforcer looks between us. “Should I get help?”
“I can manage a little nosebleed. Leave us.”
The Mercyenforcer marches off, and Lucent closes the distance between us. His nearness is suffocating. Serafina doesn’t even sleep this close to me. “Get back in the ride and take me to where the supply is. All that gold is yours. You can do whatever you want with it. No one will know.”
The hair on my neck stands. He’s too desperate. “Why do you need so many Heartfillers? You can’t use them all yourself.”
His mouth tightens.
He’s definitely used more than one. And recently.
“Answer or no deal,” I push.
He sighs sharply. “I promised them to someone. It’s important I keep my word.” He wipes the blood on his nose with his sleeve, which only smears it across his face. There is honesty in his eyes. And something else. Something wounded.
“I can’t understand why you would want to use Heartfillers,” I say.
“No, I guess you wouldn’t, would you? Do we still have a deal?”
“If you answer one last question,” I say. “How did you know my name?”
His jaw juts out, and his gaze moves past me. He appears more lucid than he has since I met him. When his stare returns to mine, he narrows his eyes as if answering this question could cost him. “The best fish in Ethyria bite off the east shore, miles out from the harbor, in—”
“Dockers Row.” He knows where I live.
“My cousin likes deep-sea fishing. While we were there last, he heard of you. You are legendary to the Saltblood.”
I try to swallow but can’t. “The prince? The prince knows I smuggle Heartfillers?”
“I’ve answered your question,” he says. “Now if you will take me to my things.”
“I don’t understand,” I say. “The Benevolent’s son knows I’m a criminal? And yet—”
“He hasn’t given you up to his father. What use is power if you can’t pull any strings?
” He rubs his chest near his heart. My gut says there’s nothing lighthearted about whatever Lucent and the prince are up to.
I want no part in treason. Endless questions race through my mind as I glare at the crest on his tunic.
A symbol that gives him a life no amount of gold could buy.
But my curiosity won’t put medicine in Serafina’s hands. It won’t put us on a ship.
“Let’s get this over with,” I say.
We pass the alley where my supply is hidden before stopping and stepping out.
“Unload the gold there,” I tell him.
“You’ll never make it through the sewers with this much gold.
” He pulls a map with directions out of his coat pocket.
“These are the checkpoints that are short-staffed today. Take my transport. Go to each of them, and tell them you’re disposing of contaminated fish oil at the dump. No one will stop you.”
I blink.
“If you’re caught, I’m caught. I’ve made every preparation to ensure you can get out of here safely. But you have to get to your district by dusk. Mercyenforcers will be back at all their posts by then.”
I take the paper, at a loss for words as I race down the alley to retrieve my sack of fillers from the storm drain.
When I return, I join Lucent inside the car for privacy and open the sack, revealing the gleaming glassy rods.
He rummages through the bag I brought him, holding a euphoria Heartfiller.
Clearly his favorite. Sunlight catches on its faceted surface, reflecting pale yellow light all over the inside of the ride. “These were made recently?” he asks.
“Issued this month. They’re potent. You have my word.”
He shows me the controls for the ride. Forward is back. Back is forward. Turning knobs moves the ride in the opposite direction you’d think. But I get the gist quickly enough.
“Any other questions?” he asks.
“No.”
“Well, that’s it, then. Thanks.”
“Right. Thanks.” I’m overcome with a strange sensation.
A lightness I’ve never felt, an urge to run, fast and far.
He studies the yellow Heartfiller that is still in his hand before tying up the bag and opening the transport’s door.
He is halfway out when his mischievous smirk returns.
He pulls the collar of his shirt down to expose his chest.
“What are you doing?” I say quickly.
He shrugs. “You said it’s good. I just want to be sure.”
“Lucent, how many have you already—”
But his hands are too quick. A gleam of madness glints in his eyes as he presses the yellow glass into his chest. It melts against his flesh, and his torso flickers with a strong glow. He moans groggily with pleasure, and I feel sick. This is bad. This is very bad.
His smile swells as large as his eyes. I watch him, desperately hoping he’s steady on his feet. Standing outside the transport, he grabs the bag of fillers to heave over his shoulder. But suddenly his mouth sags. He sputters words as his throat purples. Frothing foam pours from his lips.
Then, he drops dead.
The next thing I hear are guards shouting for my arrest.