“Just make sure you don’t work Karston and Noranna too hard,” I say carefully, not wanting to discourage the tenuous hope Valoria is placing in this metal army.
“Never,” she assures me, her eyes widening with sincerity. “I’ll just need Karston to work his magic for a little while this afternoon, when I call all the noble families to see their new protectors on display,” she adds, looking from me to Meredy with a tired smile. “Will you return in time for the demonstration, then?”
After agreeing, we wrap our faces with our scarves and set off for the palace stables, bound for the aviary outside Grenwyr where those afflicted who live farther from the city have been going to pick up food and other supplies.
Once we cross through a dense section of forest and guide ourhorses up a gradual slope, I spot our destination at the top of the next hill: a massive structure made entirely of glass, big enough to rival the ever-expanding palace, bursting with plants and flowers that press against its sides like they’re longing for escape. Lilting music wafts toward us, beckoning us closer to Grenwyr Aviary.
A few hundred yards from the glass building, there’s a large canvas tent set up, its cloth siding dyed a bright red to make it unmissable. There, two guards outfitted in Valoria’s latest anti-sickness masks wait to collect donations of food and other supplies that they’ll later redistribute to those in need.
“Elibeth showed me this place years ago,” Meredy says as we make our horses comfortable in the aviary stable and deposit our heavy parcels with the guards. “Since the horses need a break anyway, suppose we should take a peek inside?”
I nod. With the mysterious group of arsonists still loose in the city, no doubt already plotting their next move, who knows when I’ll have another moment like this with Meredy? She grins like she’s sucking on something sweet as we walk arm in arm toward the aviary doors. “Speaking of Elibeth... Kasmira heard my sister is slowly recovering, too, and she’s volunteered to bring her supper tonight.” Her grin widening, she adds, “For the third time this week.”
I shake my head, imagining Kasmira being mobbed by Elibeth’s overexcited greyhounds upon arriving at the Crowthers’ manor house with any kind of food in hand. But before I can say that I hope there’s something there, between two people I’ve known for so long, we step inside the aviary and the heady mix of hundreds of flowers steals my breath. The scent is a welcome relief from the sour smells of death permeating the city.
We’re so enchanted that we remove our scarves and gloves, wanting to let this place fully engage our senses.
Overhead, birds flit from tree to flower to the small ponds scattered throughout the building, flashing feathers of every color in their wings and tails. On the path, birds like peacocks and even a fancy rooster strut past our feet as if they know they’re something special to look at. Given the recent fever outbreak keeping everyone indoors, they must not have had many visitors lately. The only people I see moving between the plants are the aviary attendants themselves, green-eyed beast masters like Meredy.
“You probably want to put your hood up,” Meredy says, drawing the hood of her own cloak over her neatly braided hair. She wipes a smear of something white from her shoulder to demonstrate her meaning, and I follow suit at once, laughing under my breath.
“So now what?” I ask her.
She grabs both my hands. Her bare palms are cool and smooth against mine, with no hint of roughness or warmth that would let me know she’s been using the crystal again. I rub my callused thumbs across her perfectly healed skin and, for the first time in a while, let myself imagine what our future could hold.
“Now we listen,” she whispers. She arches a brow as I keep rubbing my thumbs over the soft skin of her hands, but I can’t seem to stop, I’m so relieved. Shaking her head at my behavior, all she says is “Maybe we’ll hear our mystery singer!”
“Maybe,” I agree, pulling her closer without hesitation.
But I forget what we’re supposed to be listening for as we stand there among the birds and flowers. When we’re bound like this, I don’t know where she ends and I begin. And while it’s usually impossible not to think of the fever, of the unrest in the city, of how I miss my old job, all those troubles feel as distant as someone else’s nightmare, trapped outside the aviary’s glass walls. Not even memories of Evander seem able to reach me in here, in this other world I’veentered with Meredy, and, strangely, I don’t mind. I don’t want to know anything but her touch, her laughter, the spark when her eyes meet mine. Whatever the future brings, however many days I have left, I know I want to spend them all with her.
I know this thing rising up inside me, almost impossible for my skin to contain. This is love. I know it because I’ve loved before, and I remember how it felt, though this isn’t quite the same. The soaring feeling I get when I’m around Meredy is familiar and different all at once. It’s sudden and swift and deep as the endless sea. And I want to be swept away.
XXII
Meredy and I are among the last to arrive for the demonstration.
I want to tell her how I feel, but the moment doesn’t seem right, not when we’re racing against time to be there for Valoria.
As we return our horses to the stable and hurry to the farthest garden, where Valoria asked us to meet her, I wonder if Devran and the guards caught any of the arsonists, and whether Karston will be pleased or embarrassed by the attention his unusual gift is sure to bring from all the nobles. I just hope it’s the right kind of attention, the praising kind, and not the same fear we’ve seen from unhappy Karthians so far.
A small crowd of finely dressed nobles are gathered in a semicircle around Valoria and five of the metal soldiers. It’s good to see that she’s not overwhelming them with the full set.
Karston stands before the crowd, his uniform crisp and pressed, his posture the relaxed stance of someone who has the world at their fingertips and knows just what to do with it. He must be waiting for Valoria’s signal to make the soldiers move.
Spotting Jax, Simeon, Azelie, and Noranna near the front of the crowd, as close to Karston as they could manage to get, I elbow my way through a cloud of perfume and silks, making space for myself and Meredy to join our friends. When Valoria spots us coming through, her eyes light up. She must have already given a speech about them, because there’s a whisper winding its way among the crowd that buzzes with anticipation.
Seeming to take new strength from our arrival, Valoria faces the soldiers and spreads her arms as though embracing them and the crowd together. “For more than two hundred years, Karthia has shut out the world. But not anymore,” she says in the ringing voice I remember her using in the throne room when we returned. “Rejoining the world will mean new discoveries. New friends. But it also means new dangers, and as such, we need to have an army ready to defend our beloved shores.Thisis what awaits anyone who dares to challenge us!”
She drops her arms, which is apparently Karston’s signal. The soldiers turn, forming a single-file line, and bang their spears against the ground before performing some impressive twirling and marching stunts with them.
Just like he has been every time I’ve seen him practice, Karston looks alert, not the least bit worn down from using his magic so often. He’s in total control of the soldiers, their every movement coinciding with every bend of his fingers and turn of his wrist.
His gift is so strong—his power so impressive. He must pay a terrible price, though I haven’t seen a sign of it yet.
The whispers of the crowd intensify. Someone stumbles over my toes as they take a hurried step back, a woman wearing boots instead of the usual silk slippers. I wince. Noranna, seeing my distress, offers me her arm for support. Unlike Valoria, she doesn’t smile when shesees her soldiers. Her brown eyes are thoughtful as she watches them clash spears in midair during a leap. Perhaps she’s regretting them not being used for their original purpose—really creepy butlers. I think I’d prefer them without their spears.
Finally, after each making a bow to Valoria, Karston has the metal creations resume their original positions, standing in a neat row facing the crowd.
