Feargus

  Once I learned what their plan was, our plan was to follow Rhian, Michael, and Strauss to Leberecht for the case files. We know they never quite made it there, but that was the idea, right? With a prisoner transport wagon secured from the Drop, they intended to leave before dawn, and for that reason, Rhian and Michael had a sleepover with Strauss that night. It was around four-thirty in the morning, and Derek and I were perched in a tree, watching the church from a safe distance.

  “Okay, give me the lowdown.”

  “Well,” I said, “Michael’s the least complicated to explain. He’s steady, and an interesting lad when you get to know him. Frankly, he should be shattered after some of the things he’s seen and done, but he’s generally content. He has his moments—we’ve had our talks—but overall he’s a rock, and one of Palisade’s best warriors.”

  Of course, we know now that Michael was experimented on by the Trio as a boy, so in hindsight it’s tricky to say how much of his resilience was a result of their tampering, and how much was pre-baked into his pie. Either way, good egg, Michael.

  “How long have you been friends?”

  “Nearly ten years.”

  “That’s a long time.”

  Not for him, but for us. “Aye. We’ve been lucky.”

  Derek gave my shoulder a squeeze, and I answered with a smile.

  “Then there’s Andrei Strauss,” I said. “Part Amali, part Celestian, and somehow still alive. If you call whatever he’s doing being alive. Poor chap. He’s smart, and deliberate, but he’s cursed with a perfect memory, so he carries everything with him, all the time. I don’t know how he does it, but he keeps trying his best. And he’s madly in love with my sister.”

  That brought a brighter smile to Derek’s face. “Is it reciprocated?”

  “Aye, but—” I stopped short, alerted by voices coming from behind the church doors.

  We stilled and focused our hearing.

  Rhian busted out first with Michael’s vambraces in tow. “—and as I keep telling everybody, I don’t snore.”

  Michael stepped outside next, carrying the rest of his armour, minus the gauntlets. “And yet everybody keeps telling you that you do. Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”

  Rhian hadn’t braided her hair yet that morning, and both boots were untied. “It’s a conspiracy, Michael.”

  Strauss emerged last, and even while fumbling with Michael’s gauntlets, he managed to lock the church door behind him. “Sinclair, name a scenario in which our lying about your snoring is a valid conspiracy.”

  The three set down the path toward the stable.

  “I don’t know,” Rhian said. “But if you lot haven’t noticed already: everything’s a bloody conspiracy. Look at where we are. Look at what the fuck’s happening.”

  She had them there, as she did do.

  They walked the rest of the way to the stable in silence, packed up Michael’s armour and their belongings into the wagon, harnessed the horses, and Rhian decided she wanted to drive first shift. When they were dust in the distance, I looked to Derek.

  “Aye, so that was Rhian.”

  “She's feisty. And they really have no idea how right she is, do they?”

  “No one ever does. That’s her special power. Knowing without knowing. She’s rebellious, and aggressive, so most people treat her like she’s a menace. But she’s smart—really smart—and she’s angry for the right reasons. If people just watched what she’s actually doing, and just listened to what she’s actually saying, they’d know what I know.”

  “What do you know?”

  “That she’s the best person in the world.”

  ???

  Seeing you,

  Not seeing me,

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  but I had somewhere else

  I needed to be.

  ???

  Before hitting the road, Derek and I stopped in to say hello to V. When she joined us in the office, she gave me a kiss and Derek a hug. “Where are you going looking like that?” she asked him.

  He had his braids pulled back that day, and he was wearing more practical travel attire, much like he’d worn the night he took me to his tower. I reckoned it suited him, but it was different than the usual sleek suits and whatnot. What’s important is: I didn’t necessarily want V knowing Derek was coming with me to spy on the others, not because I didn’t trust V, but she was entangled with Alexander and Faust, and I didn’t want to put her in a bad position. So, I supposed I’d have to—

  “I’m taking this one on a date,” Derek said. “We’re going on a hike.”

  “A hike?” V asked.

  I looked to Derek.

  “Yeah, good old fashioned bonding in the middle of nowhere.”

  I looked to V.

  “Really?” Ivana seemed surprised. “I hadn’t targeted you as the wilderness type.”

  I looked to Derek.

  “No?” Equally surprised, he gestured to his rugged travel gear. “I fucking love the wilderness, V. Do you want to come with us?”

  “Fat chance you’ll catch me on a hike,” V replied.

  Derek laughed exactly when I did, and with no further questions about our date, Ivana left for the kitchen to pack some food for the road. True story: that moment where Derek knew exactly what I needed and handled the cover like a champion was the exact moment I fell in love for the first time. The second time was four and a half seconds later when he leaned in, tucked my hair behind my ear, and asked quietly, “How am I doing so far, You?”

  How was he doing?

  I don’t know, mates. You tell me.

  The trip to Leberecht was a time investment because we were limited by the speed of the wagon. Best case scenario, we anticipated three days each way with a quick stop in Leberecht. I wished I could warn RAM about The Trio, but again: not allowed plus the food-related problem. RAM, by the by, was the acronym I’d given Rhian, Andrei, and Michael in my head, and may very well be used again in this very book. In fact, I may use it again right now.

  It was the first night at camp, and RAM was sitting around the fire. Derek and I were perched in a tall tree out of earshot. We spoke about Della, who was excited to have the house to herself for a week, and was planning to invite Everleigh Gloom over at some point.

  “How long exactly have you been married?”

  “Three hundred and twenty three years next month.”

  “I can barely wrap my head around that, mate.”

  “Time starts to feel different after the first century or so. Faster, and faster, and there are days it feels like it doesn’t exist at all. Many Anima don’t sleep, but I like to get a solid six hours a night. Keeps things feeling—I don’t know.”

  “Measured?”

  “Yeah, yeah exactly.”

  Down by the fire, Rhian and Strauss sat together on a fallen log, using one of their grey Palisade cloaks as a blanket between them. She had her head against his shoulder, so they’d made up, and I guess they’d finally come clean to Michael, too. Good for them. We couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but the way Strauss tapped the book in his lap when it was his turn to speak suggested he may have been successful in translating something and was sharing the information.

  As far as what Derek knew about the mission: just that I was here to profile my friends as they worked their way through the horror show that was Amalia. Nothing about the Vonsinfonies (not that I could), or the rebellion was shared.

  “Do you know Lidia Roska?” I asked.

  “Sure, we all know Lidia. She’s one of Della’s projects.”

  “Projects?”

  “She thinks she can help her, like she did me.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think over four hundred years is a long time to be stuck in the violent cycle. She’s too far gone. But you know Della, the eternal optimist. There was a time I might have killed her myself, but now—yeah, I can’t. Killing one of us is still killing.”

  “Right,” I said. My stomach flipped, and I dug around in my bag for a snack. “I get that.”

  Below, Michael looked ready for bed, and was packing himself up into the wagon.

  “So, how does that work?” he asked, gesturing to the camp. “Your friend Andrei’s twice blessed, and your sister’s Strachan, right?”

  “Aye, I mean, technically they’re not allowed to be together. They’ll just have to be careful not to get knocked up. Besides, when this is all over, Rhian will probably have to go back to Palisade.”

  “So they’ll be separated?”

  “Well, aye. But that’s just how it is.”

  There was a moment of silence, and the silence said, “And then I guess we’ll be separated, too.”

  Derek put his arm around me, and I snuggled in, closing my eyes. “I’m glad they made up, then,” he said. “Why were they arguing?”

  “Not so much arguing as desperately avoiding one another.”

  “At least it hasn’t impacted their sex life,” Derek replied.

  “Huh?” I opened my eyes and glanced down to the camp. WHY?

  “Wow.” Derek nodded along with his casual commentary, “She’s really going to town.”

  And that, mates, is when I triple flipped from the giant oak tree, and curled up against the base of the trunk in the fetal position.

  WHY WAS I CURSED WITH THESE EXCELLENT EYES?!

  WAS NOTHING SACRED ANYMORE?!

  ?

  Seriously.

  ?