“Suppose not.” He set the crystal down carefully. “What are you asking?”
“Sixty sovereigns.”
He barked a laugh. “Sixty? Girl, you’ve been breathing too much of that void air. Thirty.”
“Fifty-five, and that’s me being generous.”
“Thirty-five.”
I reached for the crystals. “I’ll take them to Mika. She appreciates quality.”
“Mika’s inventory got seized last week,” Varek said quickly, his grin oily. “Assembly raid. She’s out of business.”
That made me pause. Mika had been one of Hollow Market’s most careful traders, always covering her tracks, never getting greedy. If the Assembly had gotten to her...
“Forty,” Varek said. “Final offer. And that’s only because I like you.”
I glanced at Kora. She gave a tiny shrug, her version of“could be worse.”
“Fine. Forty.”
Varek counted the coins from a locked box beneath his counter. Silver sovereigns, each stamped with the Assembly’s seal on one side and the elemental symbol for unity on the other. The irony wasn’t lost on me, using the Assembly’s own currency to fund our illegal activities.
I was tucking the coins into my satchel when Click suddenly went rigid, his brass tail frozen mid-swing. Every muscle in his small body tensed, his scales flattening and his bright green eyes fixed on something behind me.
The hair on the back of my neck rose. I turned slowly. The crowd had shifted, and through the gap I could see three Assembly guards moving through the market with purpose. They weren’t doing a casual patrol. They were searching.
“Juno.” Kora’s hand found my elbow. “We should go.”
“Agreed.”
We moved away from Varek’s stall, blending into the flow of foot traffic heading toward the tunnel exit. My heart thundered, but I kept my pace casual, unhurried. Running would only draw attention.
We slipped through the narrow passage that curved upward through the rock, emerging through a rusted grate disguised as a drainage opening. The sudden brightness made me squint as we stepped out onto cobbled streets. Click retreated deeper into my collar, shielding his eyes.
“That was close,” Kora muttered, glancing behind us.
The evening sun bathed Arkanis in amber light, turning the city soft and warm. We emerged near the docks, where the air carried the mingled scents of salt water, crystal dust andspices from the vendors down the street. Workers swarmed over vessels of all sizes, from massive wing ships with their elegant crystal-powered engines and wing-like sails, to sturdy trading barges laden with goods, and nimble skiffs darting between them.
I paused to catch my breath, the forty sovereigns weighing down my satchel. “We should put some distance between us and that raid.”
I followed Kora as she walked, my eyes drawn inevitably upward to the Assembly Hall that dominated the Arkanis skyline. The massive spire of interlocking glass and crystal caught the light like a prism, sending rainbows dancing across the surrounding stone buildings. Its impossibly tall towers housed the Assembly council chambers, the courts, and the grand libraries filled with knowledge only the privileged could access. Beautiful and terrible at once.
“Hungry?” Kora nudged me, nodding toward a vendor whose cart emitted clouds of sweet-scented steam.
My stomach growled in response. “Starving.”
We approached the cart where a woman was arranging pastries in neat rows. The display showcased star-shaped confections filled with spiced fruits from at least three different realms, their crusts dusted with sugar.
“Two sunberry twists,” Kora said, handing over a few coins.
The pastry was still warm when I bit into it, the sweet-tart filling exploding across my tongue. Click chirped hopefully, and I broke off a tiny piece for him, hearing him nibble it next to my ear.
We leaned against the dock railing as the bustle of the port continued around us. Above, the massive portal to the Gallery hung in the evening sky, its edges pulsing with pale blue magic. The double moons, one silver and one faintly amber, looked utterly diminished next to its vastness. That tear in the sky wasour connection to everything beyond the Prime Realm. It was our gateway to all the realms, dead or living, that made up our universe.
A commotion drew my attention to the main dock, where a magnificent wing ship was preparing to depart. Unlike the utilitarian vessels that dominated the harbor, this one was clearly built for both speed and luxury. Its hull gleamed with shiny brass, and the canvas wings that gave the ship its name were arranged in an intricate pattern that reminded me of dragonfly wings, translucent and shimmering with stored energy coming up from under the hull.
“The Celeste,” Kora said, following my gaze. “On its way to Cormere this month, I hear.”
