Barto struck and struck, advancing on Raithe. I cringed, each strike to his chest like a jab to my own.
The crowd was utterly silent as each punch echoed in the air. Then Barto dealt a blow strong enough to send Raithe pummeling into the sand on his stomach. Barto seized Raithe’s curls, yanking him upright with his neck bared.
I needed to stop this insanity. As my mouth opened, Felaf rested her hand on my arm. “Raithe could turn this around or surrender if he truly wanted.”
So why didn’t he?It was as if he wanted to be bloodied and beaten. The same way he wanted Felaf to inflict Maryn’s lashes on him.
I breathed in and out, settling my heart rate. I couldn’t watch this anymore. Seeing him willingly succumb to such brutalitypained me more than I could bear. I tore my eyes from the wretched scene. “I can’t stand this. Let’s go.”
Felaf rose after me. “To the tutors?”
“To Antares.”
Chapter 42
Rahzlyn
“Isn’t the citythatway?”I yelled over the roaring wind.
“This is to avoid detection from those who spy on the palace from afar,” Felaf explained in my ear as we flew on her Pegasus, Echo. “We have to assume that the apostai, and anyone else with nefarious intentions, keep a close eye on the comings and goings of the palace. We’ll circle around so that we enter a discreet part of the city. Raithe said that’s what he does.”
Flying was just as exhilarating as I remembered. I gripped the reins with Felaf at my back as her beautiful beast soared us through open skies. I was in control again. Like anything was possible.
“I can see why Raithe finds this addicting!” I shouted. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
Due to the speed of our flight, the wind’s music rang loud and clear in my ears. I’d missed the comforting sounds, for in the palace’s stagnant confines, scarcely a breeze made its way through. I was grateful Felaf agreed to enter the city by Pegasus rather than by arch so I could experience the music like this again—even though I’d pressured her into it. Felaf’s face had been filled with hesitation as she'd saddled Echo, likely unsurehow to say no to my bold request. I felt guilty for using my position to coerce her. I was still figuring out what authority I possessed, and getting used to the discomfort of such authority.
But I was at a breaking point, needing to escape the palace in search of something tangible to understand whymeof all people had been selected to lead this cursed queendom.
As if sensing my joy, Echo dipped and flew faster. I squealed, clutching her mane tightly. “She’s feisty. How long have you had her?”
“Since becoming guardian,” Felaf replied. “A year or so now. Most guards are assigned a skybeast upon completion of training, but they don’t belong to them.”
“Why not Hippogriffs?”
“They’re bred in the north, where the weather is typically cooler on average, because of their thick fur. Pegasi are bred in the southern territories since their thinner coats are more conducive to warmer climates.”
I appraised the beast that carried us with majestic ease. “I wouldn’t mind having one of my own.”
“They are not fit for a royal—too dangerous. There’s simply no need for such a risky method of transportation when arches, skyships and guardians exist.”
I pondered having such freedom at my disposal. It would be nice, I decided, to have control over where and how I traveled. Queenly duties aside, flying by Pegasus was a true luxury. Maybe this feeling was also what drew Raithe to the skies.
When we came upon the city from a different vantage point, my breath temporarily caught. Unlike Gemini’s royal city Dioscuri that was built upon a single skyland, Antares consisted of dozens of floating isles connected by hundreds of suspended bridges, chains, and winding pathways.
The bright sun gleamed upon the tethered city. Towering spires and ornate structures rose from colossal platforms.Weathered stone buildings were erected from cliff-like outcroppings of rock. The tiered city was a patchwork of domes, turrets, and grand towers, each crowned with gleaming gold that caught the sun’s rays. The skyline appeared incomplete compared to the grandiosity it must have been years ago. Buildings had gaping ceilings and walls that appeared blasted apart.
“It’s beautiful,” I marveled in spite of the apparent destruction. The architecture was different from Gemini’s sprawling landscape in that it was a towering and powerful sandstone composition.
“You should have seen it before the curse. Waterfalls and lush greenery everywhere. Now it’s filled with dead foliage and dusty, broken roads,” Felaf said. “And criminals of all kinds, not just the apostai.”
We descended upon a dock in the Baron's District where skyships and other skybeasts came in and out of port.
“Hood and scarf stay up the entire time,” Felaf ordered once we secured Echo in a stable trusted by guards. A dusty haze settled upon the road we walked. Apart from Maryn, no one else knew about our little trip. Not even Gregorios.
The Baron's District was the only secure part of the city still intact, heavily guarded and where most trade and merchant exchanges occurred. According to Felaf, it was the same throughout the rest of the queendom. Each baron governed one of Scorpio’s twelve large cities, and the districts where the barons resided were well funded by royal coin.
As we meandered through the community filled with small markets and some shops fitted between beautiful homes, I couldn’t help but notice how well-groomed the people and roads were here.
