Elex and Hel both jumped apart, as if only just remembering I was there. I chuckled at my brother’s discomfiture as he quickly straightened his clothing.
The boat was brought into the Nymphaeum dock at Betts’ able direction. It was a bit strange seeing a woman as young as Betts, who I’d come to know as a sassy spitfire, capably giving orders on the ship, but she obviously had the respect of her crew.
The boat itself had been a surprise, too. Unlike our experience, the Illyrian vehicles were powered by a combination of wind, electricity, and combustion engines. In between bouts of sickness I had hounded Betts for details about its construction. The strict control of information in Alexandria meant that Illyrian people had begun developing a technological edge that was helping equalize the war.
Illyria sat on top of some of the biggest reserves of oil and gas on the continent, which was another reason Alexandria wanted it. The Illyrian trade agreements with other countries was one of the reasons they had been able to resist being conquered for so long. Once Greece had fallen to Alexandrian ambition, though, the King had set his sites on Illyria and intensified the war against them.
The voyage from Heraklion to Illyria had been mostly uneventful. With the number of Water Mageians we had on board we had plenty of notice of any approaching craft and had managed to evade the few Alexandrian ships we had come across.
Admittedly, I had spent a large portion of the trip huddled over a bucket. I’d be happy to reach dry ground again; separation from my element was never fun, but at least the nausea was fading as we got closer to land. Hel told me it was common for unbonded Mageia to have this kind of response, and I just had to take his word for it.
The city of Nymphaeum, capital of Illyria, was unexpectedly beautiful. Located on the banks of the Alfelos river, the city was one of the primary harbors that served the Illyrian people. The coast of Illyria was dotted with harbors as many of the Illyrians were seafarers. Their fleet had protected them from Alexandrian sea attack, but the fleet was useless for protection from an enemymoving overland, and Alexandria had been making slow but steady progress across the continent.
Interspersed between buildings with modern splendor and color were ancient marble buildings, their stark white sheen making me think of the bleached bones of some long dead animal.
The boat slowly came to a halt and ropes were thrown to waiting dock hands to secure the mooring. A metal gangplank was connected to the boat to allow us to exit.
“See that?” Hel asked, pointing as we walked down the gangplank.
Rising up over the middle of the city was a great tower, taller than any of the surrounding buildings.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s the Tower of Pyrgos,” he said.
“Pyrgos? I thought this was Nymphaeum?” I asked.
“Pyrgos and Nymphaeum used to reside on opposite sides of the Alfelos. They both grew rapidly and eventually combined into one city under the name of Nymphaeum,” Hel answered. “The Tower is where the government operates. That’s where we will head, once we disembark.”
I stared at the tall building and shook my head at how indefensible it looked. Might as well paint a big red target on it. I was beginning to doubt the wisdom of trusting these Illyrians in matters of strategy. A few teams of Fire or Earth Mageia could take that building down in a matter of minutes.
The docks were raucous. Fishing boats and private vessels abounded. The voices of the longshoremen loading and unloading cargo melded with the sounds of their equipment. Unlike in Alexandria, almost all of the heavy lifting was being performed by hand or machine, not magic.
“Are all these people Somas?” Elex asked.
Hel shook his head.
“Most of them are human,” he answered, glancing around. “You might see a few Somas and Mageians here and there, but Bonded pairs are too valuable in battle to waste doing a lot of manual labor. Unless…”
“Unless what?” Elex asked.
“Somas who have given up on finding their Bonded are consideredapelpismenos. Hopeless.” His eyes took on a haunted look. “Theapelpismenostend to join suicide squads, or they—they leave Illyria altogether and go into exile. Sometimes they spend time working on the docks beforehand.”
“Leave…” Elex began, understanding dawning on him. Helios had been in a form of self-imposed exile in Heraklion. He could have returned to Illyria years ago but had chosen to stay and help the other Mageia escape the Machi Thanatos arena.
“You areneverfucking allowed to give up, do you hear me?” Elex growled fiercely, turning to Hel. He grabbed his lover’s face with both hands. “If something ever happens to me, you live, asshole. Youlive. Do you understand?”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a few minutes, before Hel finally nodded slightly. Elex nodded sharply in response, then released him and turned back to the view of the city. I knew my brother, though. He might be feigning nonchalance, but his knuckles were white where they gripped the rail.
“So where are your Mageia held?” he asked.
“They aren’t ‘held’ anywhere,” Hel said patiently. He was at least a foot taller than my brother and was even a few inches taller than me. Elex was sensitive about his height, but I don’t think I would have ever considered him delicate, except in comparison to his Bonded.
“Thediasothikeare full members of our society. They go where they want. Once we dock, we will head to the Tower Pavilion. It’s where we have been quartering the Mageia we have rescued from the Machi until they are ready to find their own places.”
“Diasothike?” I asked.
“The Rescued,” Betts said smiling. “That’s what we call the Mageia we’ve helped escape from the Machi. My people seem to like to name everything. Thank the goddess the trend to make acronyms of everything passed about a decade ago.”
