“No,” she says. “I will not risk anyone but myself retrieving it. One wrong move could send it careening to the ground, resulting in our doom.”
My eyes go wide. “How do you expect to get up there? You’ll at least need someone to fly you up.”
“No, I won’t.” Her palm flicks out, another Chariot appearing.
I check the pocket of my trousers, finding the one I used to bring us here still there.
“I brought a second,” she says, eyes fixed on the sky. “It is my last. I will use it to transport myself directly to one of the gondolas.”
I look from her to the airship, brow furrowed. “You’re going to try and travel from here to a soaring object? One you’ve never been on? Can you even do such a thing?”
She nods, expression somber. “It’s dangerous, and no one but a star fae should ever attempt such a risk with a Chariot. But if I can fixate on what those gondolas look like, and a specific space in the sky, I can transport myself there.”
I want to argue, but time is running out. The airship is already at the center of Eisleigh. If we return to Port Denyson to gather an aerial team, we might not intercept the ship before it crosses into Faerwyvae. And even if we do, the crew could decide to drop the Parvanovae earlier if they sense our attack.
“Fine,” I say, “but you’re taking me up with you.”
“No,” she says with stern calm. “I already told you that using the Chariot without a clear mental picture of where you’re going is dangerous, if not impossible. There’s a chance I could miss my target.”
“Then you better take me, because if I try it myself, you can be damn sure I’ll miss my target, then you’ll have my death on your hands.”
She burns me with a scowl, an expression I’ve never seen her wear. “I could have your death on my hands if Idotake you.”
I ignore her. “If you’re transporting yourself to one of the gondolas, you still have to make your way into the ship’s hull. There are a dozen men on board. You’ll need me to cover you.”
“Aspen will have my head.”
“He’ll probably have mine too. Now, let’s go. Oh, and aim for the center gondola. It’s vacant.”
Her expression disappears behind a buzz of particles, demonstrating her irritation, before they settle back down to reveal pursed lips. “Very well. But when I say it’s time to leave, open that Chariot I gave you without question. Understand?”
I nod.
She takes a long look at the airship, now passing overhead, then flips open the lid of the Chariot. “Are you ready?”
I swallow hard, my pulse pounding in my ears. “No. But we should probably go.”
47
The light of the Chariot encircles us, buzzing around our bodies with its bright golden illumination.
In the next moment, the breath is stripped from my lungs as a rush of air has me reeling backward. Orienting myself to our new location, I find that we are not in the center gondola at all, but on the narrow gangplank that connects all three. My feet slip on the metal grate, sending me sprawling toward the side. I bite back a scream as I clasp my hands around the slim guardrail, scrambling to regain purchase on the gangplank.
Estel seems far more composed, arms outstretched to maintain balance. “Are you all right?”
Vertigo seizes me, my stomach churning. “If I don’t look down,” I shout over the rushing wind.
She looks over her shoulder toward the rear of the ship. “I can feel it. It’s over there.”
“That’s where I saw it too.” With my hands closed around the guardrail in an iron grip, I force myself to study the rear gondola. It’s barely more than a boat-like metal box, partially enclosed at the far end where most of the crew are preoccupied with their tasks. Just above the middle of the gondola is a hatch that opens to the hull, a shaft of metal rungs leading to it from the gondola. “We need to get to the ladder—”
Just then, a figure rushes to the end of the gondola, shouting something I can’t hear. I have only a second to react before he levels his gun and aims.
The sound of bullets striking metal rings out around me as I fight my terrified reluctance to move. With a deep breath, I let go of the guardrail and dart toward the center gondola, away from gunfire. Just before I dive behind the safety of the gondola’s wall, something sharp slices into the back of my thigh. I’ve been shot. Collapsing to the metal floor, I press myself as close as I can into the side walls, safe from the blasts. I look for Estel and find her crouched on the opposite side.
Pain sears my leg, and I call forth my flames to combat it. The pain lessens, but I know it won’t fully heal until I remove the bullet. And now might not be the best moment to try and do that.
“What now?” I call to Estel, but the wind and gunshots eat my words. There’s a sudden break in gunfire. I pull myself onto all fours, prepared to dart across the gondola to Estel’s side, but the appearance of a sudden figure has me retreating against the wall. The figure, however, joins me there. That’s when I see it’s Aspen, rippling with the violet aura of the Bond. His eyes are wide as he presses himself against the wall, arms splayed against it. “Where the bloody oak and ivy are you?”
