Page 27 of Under Restless Skies

Flavio straightens. “She’s supposed to start today.”

The woman gazes at me as if I was a moldy piece of bread. “Today, you say? Tell me, girl, do I look like I need a clueless newbie?”

Every recruit is a novice, but I’m not sure what’s happening here, and my voice falters. “I… suppose⁠—”

“Commander Mallor’s orders,” Flavio says.

The woman rolls her eyes and huffs. “Yeah, yeah, as if I was running some kind of nursery.” She then glares at him. “Until when?”

“She’s permanent.”

Permanent doing what? I bite back the question, not wanting to sound like an even bigger idiot than I already feel.

“Oh, look at that.” She scoffs. “I don’t even have a say in who I hire now.”

“Mallor’s orders,” Flavio repeats.

“Of course.” She gives him a teeth-only smile, then turns to me, still with that dismissive tone. “Come. What’s your name?”

She pulls me inside and starts to push the door.

“Mistress Rosalia!” Flavio protests. “I have to⁠—”

The door shuts, leaving me with this woman who manages to be even more frightening than Laristella.

The room has a large wooden desk, a cork wall with many keys, and cabinets lining two walls, with small, round windows behind the desk. A subtle scent of eucalyptus permeates the place. Rosalia’s dress is well-fitted but simple, in beige linen. I don’t think she is an instructor or commander.

“Name,” she repeats.

I blink, then say, “Mayara of the Earth, daughter of⁠—”

“Right. Do you have any experience?”

I wonder if it’s a trick question, and what exactly she means, but in truth, as a new recruit, I wouldn’t know much. “No.”

“None? At all?” Her face wrinkles in a grimace, and I fear I might be misunderstanding her.

At risk of igniting even more of her fury, I ask, “What do you mean by experience?”

She leans her face on her hand and lets out the loudest sigh I’ve ever heard. “What kind of experience do you think I’m asking about, Mayara of the Earth? What exactly do you imagine I need you to do?”

I give her a blank stare, unsure if she wants a reply, and she throws her hands up in the air. “By all gods. Why do they only send idiots to my cleaning crew?”

Cleaning?

My stomach drops to the deepest depths, an infinite chasm I’m falling into.

My legs feel light and heavy at the same time, as I follow Rosalia down a corridor. My body’s moving of its own accord, as my head tries to understand what’s going on. Surely this is a mistake—I think. Or hope.

Stupid hope.

The reality is that Alayel didn’t show up. Flavio apologized. And then he told Rosalia that I was “permanent”.

I think back to the contract.

I, Alayel Stormchaser, promise Mayara of the Earth a place at the Sky Academy.

A place. He never specified doing what.