With the queen’s promise to pay half upfront, and the ship filled withastra, his old ways of running through the desert came rearing up like a bolt of dry lightning. He could abandon the mission altogether and sail away from Vargah with his cadre in tow and never look back. They were already free from the prison, who cared about a pardon if they were a continent away? With the vast amount ofastrathe queen had provided, they could make it all the way to the Isles without looking back.
It could be a way for them to start fresh. Start over. Just like they’d always dreamt. But every time he thought of fleeing, of leaving the Commander and her knight in the Outpost and heading for freedom, his mind snagged on one detail.
Ravki.
Stone was a smart man, he could admit that. And the reality was that Ravki likely didn’t exist. The myths surrounding the city were as ancient as Celestria herself. The stories had morphed over time. More dramatized one year to the next. And so, with his logical brain, Stone knew the likelihood that Ravki existed was slim to none. But there was always a chance–
“The man on the dock said it’s time.” Aesira descended the stairs, the metallic clink of her armor foreign and distracting in the otherwise quiet of the barracks. Her gaze swept over them, her mismatched eyes calculating. Cold. They landed first on Stone,then Bee and Birdie still wrapped up in each other’s arms, then on Patch whose one eye grew wide then narrowed drastically.
Okay, Stone could admit to himself that he should have run the plan by the group first. They were, after all, risking their lives to seek a king they didn’t consider their own. And to make matters worse, there she was. Aesira Zeliath. Commander to the Order. Upholder of the law. Daughter of the Novaria King and Queen and now sister to the Vargahian Queen. While she wasn’t necessarily responsible for any of their personal arrests, what she stood for was blatant.
Order.
Conformity.
All the things they were against.
And even with all of that going against her, Stone couldn’t help but track her movements as she set a final crate down on the counter. Her eyes traced the room, dark hair bound in a braid down her back, several tight curls framing her face. His fingers twitched at his sides. The same fingers that had been tangled in her hair a month ago. Then, without his permission, his eyes drifted to her lips.Shit. He should not have looked at her lips because then all he could think about was everywhere they’d been. How they’d tasted–
“Am I interrupting something?” There was accusation in Aesira’s tone but Stone didn’t blame her. He’d only ever been known to be suspicious and skeptical and in a strange way he found it comforting that she was uncertain of them.
“Not at all,” he said, putting the last of the supplies away, ridding himself of any and all thoughts of Aesira Zeliath. “We’ve got about two hours of daylight left.” He pulled his compass from his pocketand tossed it to Birdie. She caught it effortlessly and gave him a semblance of a smile. He knew letting her navigate would win him some points, so he shot her a wink. “Let’s get in the air.”
Flying Aquila never ceased to amaze Stone. No matter how many times he’d done it, the weightless feeling of being lifted off the ground was a high he could never replace. Theastrathat was used to power the ships was often stored away during the stormy season, especially this close to Naming Day when the wells were already running low, but the queen had sent more than enough reserves to get them through to the Outpost and back. The ship roared to life, rocking gently side to side as they gained altitude.
Stone gripped the ship’s wheel, the hard grain of wood pressing against his calloused skin. The people below cheered as their silhouettes became nothing but dots in the sandy landscape. He steered the ship left, as Birdie dropped down the first sail.
“Everyone in position,” Stone yelled over the rising wind. “Once we cross the wall, the winds will be relentless.” A loose rope whipped through the main deck. “Secure every last piece of cargo! I want nothing left to chance.” The cadre got to work, Patch barking orders so Stone could focus on flying.
“Should we be worried about that?” Aesira asked from his side. He took a step backward and traced where her finger pointed ahead of them, to a massive sandstorm brewing in the distance. The monstrous clouds billowed in various shades of red and black, the winds pushing and pulling the sand in all directions. The swells rose high above the city, massive enough to engulf the ship entirely.
“No way to fly around it,” Stone said. “We’ll fly through.”
“Through?” There was fear lined in her voice now, he could tell by the way it hitched right at the end, like she was trying her best to remain poised instead of panicked. “Maybe it’s best to wait it out.” Another gust shot sand up and over the sides of the ship. Stone pulled his goggles on before securing a linen cloth over his nose and mouth.
“Wait for what?” he asked, his voice muffled through the fabric. “Nightfall?” He shook his head before tightening the cloth around his mouth. “I’ve done this before, you just have to trust me.” Their eyes met for a moment, then a gust brought buckets worth of sand over the hull. “You need to put on your goggles.” Stone pulled Aesira closer, her eyes still focused on the sandstorm. “Here.” He slid the brown leather goggles from where they hung on her neck and secured them around her eyes. Her mouth popped open but before he let her have a chance to speak, he tied a matching linen cloth over her nose and mouth. “For safety.” Her eyes narrowed as she pulled away but when she tightened the fabric further, he took it as a thank you.
“Hold steady, everyone!” Stone shouted over the storm, his fingers gripping the wheel, steering them right for the eye of the storm.
Seven
Aesira
Sand filtered through the bands of Aesira’s goggles. It tangled in her hair and under her fingernails. It crept into her armor and coated her boots. Rubbed between her fingers so badly it hurt. But as she dusted herself off, she couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that she was alive. That Stone had pulled off traveling through a sandstorm. If he didn’t annoy her so much, she may have even congratulated him.
“There you are,” Nora said. She pulled her goggles off and tossed them aside. “There’s a small cabin for us downstairs.” Nora sat next to her and stretched her legs out. “It’s not much. A bunk and some linens. Should get the job done.”
Aesira ran her fingers through her hair, working out the tangles the sand and wind had caused. Granules rubbed against her gums,burying themselves between her teeth. She slid off a boot, emptying the sand that filled it, onto the deck. She slid off her other boot and at Nora’s silence, glanced at her. Her eyes were trained on the horizon. “What is it?” She followed Nora's gaze and her breath hitched.
Aesira had been so focused on the damn sand she hadn’t realized just how far they’d made it from Vargah. An orange glowing silhouette of the city stood out against the inky vastness of the desert. The massive spires of the Citadel seemed so small from where she sat on the bow of the ship and while the beauty of the city at night was something to marvel at, a knot formed in her stomach. Kamari would be alone to fend off the council and Lord Raffe.
“She’ll be alright,” Nora said, reading her thoughts.
She and her sister were different in so many ways, but the similarities they shared, thatallZeliath children shared, was their ability to bend, not break. Their father would allow nothing less than perfection and so Kamari would stay strong in her determination to find Desmond, it was everyone else in Vargah Aesira worried about.
“She’s got Nev,” Nora said. “That alone should give you some comfort.”
Aesira smiled, the muscles in her shoulders relaxing. “Thank Celestria for that,” she said. “Still, the sooner we find Desmond, the better.”
