The smoky black sails unfurl from the towering masts, resembling the outstretched wings of a gargantuan bat, as if the vessel itself were a creature of the night.
Kairyn nearly runs forward, and I follow him, eyes fixed on the creation before me. “An airship. Kai, how did you manage it?”
“That’s just it. I fixed the monastery, and then it was time to turn my attention to Spring. We used to be inventors, great forgers and steelworkers. What creations have come from Spring in the last century? Nothing. But this … This will change everything. Travel to other realms, moving resources, transporting armies—”
“Well, hopefully we won’t need any of those soon.” I clap my brother on his back. “It’s magnificent.”
Maybe I’m imagining it, but Kairyn seems to grow an inch taller, pride shimmering off him like heat from the sun. “I’ll take you aboard.”
“Perfect—” My gaze shifts to the opening in the cave, to the orange sun dripping down over the horizon. “Actually, can we do it tomorrow? I have somewhere I need to be.”
Kairyn follows my gaze to the fading light. “Of course. Tomorrow then.”
He escorts me back up the stairs, and we part ways with a handshake.
I never knew Kairyn had the ability to design such an invention, let alone see it through to fruition. My mind reels with all the possibilities. Perhaps we could load it with supplies and take it to Autumn to assist any villages that were damaged during the frost, or even use it to visit Kel in the—
“Where have you been?” A voice cuts through my thoughts as I turn the corner toward my chambers.
Dayton leans on the wall outside my door, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
I walk past him, opening the door and going inside. He follows me. “I was attending to matters with my brother.”
“That’s who I came to talk to you about.” Anger laces Dayton’s voice. He runs to get ahead of me, blue eyes shining. “You absolved his banishment? Are you mad?”
“It is my right to decide when Kairyn has atoned for his crime. I would have him here at the keep with me.”
“It sounds more like you lethimdecide when he was done. You know as well as I do that Kairyn’s stability hangs by a thread on a good day.”
I shove Dayton out of my way and walk to the window, staring out at my keep. “He’s not the same person he was.”
Dayton doesn’t understand. His oldest brother, Damocles, cherished and mentored him. The two of them were inseparable. But I never gave Kairyn so much as a kind word. The Summer Prince rushes after me, grabbing my shoulder. “What about the missing Spring steel?”
“A shipment was raided. I will work with Kairyn to ensure it does not happen again.”
“So, that’s it? He would have willingly killed you during the Rite. You know that, don’t you? Now, you’re just going to let him go free?”
How do I explain to Dayton that if Damocles were still alive, he would do everything he could to give Dayton a second-chance? “Kairyn had his reasons for challenging me. I respect that.”
Dayton scoffs. “Your honor will be the death of you.”
“Enough!” I push Dayton back. “What is this? Keldarion is gone and now you have to step up and fill his role? Are you trying to be like him?”
“Areyou?” Dayton growls. “Willfully ignorant, trusting someone against everyone else’s judgment, turning away from the facts when they’re right in front of you—nowthat’slike Kel.”
“He’s my brother!” I roar.
Dayton steps back, a look of hurt on his face. He turns and walks to the door. “Just remember, ‘brother’ is what you once called Cas. Didn’t stop him from betraying all of us.”
38
Dayton
My world narrows to the points of my swords and the sound of metal hitting the wooden dummy. Step, slash, step, slash. I put myself through every routine and exercise my old trainer beat into my thick skull. Step, slash. My arms twirl, my feet falling into a practiced rhythm as my breath evens to a familiar cadence.
I push past the ache in my muscles and the frantic beating of my heart. Sweat coats my brow, my palms, and I tighten my grip. Roaring, I spin and bring my swords down.
Wood splinters and the dummy cracks in half. My chest heaves, and I blink sweat out of my eyes. The dummy is reduced to rubble, nothing but a carved-up husk. Around me, the training yard is completely still, and everyone that had been practicing is watching me.Didn’t realize I’d garnered an audience.
