Fantasy of Fire (The Tainted Accords #3)(5)
“Your tent is still standing if you wish to rest,” Isha says with a sympathetic look. I met Crystal’s parents on my first night in the Ire. Crystal, though born in the Ire, preferred life in the Outer Rings. I imagine her girlfriend, Alzona, had a fair amount to do with this choice. It took me a long time to realize the Ire girl and the barrack owner were together. I hoped they’d worked through their problems by now. The last exchange I witnessed between them had been tense.
I stoop to enter the tent, eyeing the packed mattress in the corner with longing. The only thing standing between me and sleep is the dusty black suit I’m wearing. Removing the skin-tight garment is a task in itself, but soon it’s draped over one of the wooden supports of the tent. I take a single step toward the bed.
“Where is she?”
I freeze, recognizing the voice.
“Hamish,” Isha says in greeting. “Willow has just laid down to rest.”
Please don’t come in here. I look over my shoulder at the closed tent flaps.
“Do you think she’s still awake?” he asks, his voice moving closer. “Willow,” he calls. I hold my breath, not answering. Instead, I tiptoe to the mattress and sink slowly down onto it so it doesn’t make a sound. Footsteps sound outside the tent.
“Leave her be, Hamish. She looked dead on her feet.” The steps halt, but do not recede.
“I’ll tell her you stopped by,” Isha hints.
“Okay,” he says reluctantly. “Tell her I need to talk to her as soon as possible. Everyone’s saying she’s betrayed our location to the Bruma king.”
I tense, almost storming out to defend myself. I wait for Isha’s answer. I hope she doesn’t kick me off her island. I don’t think I could face anything else without sleeping first.
“If that’s so, I see no reason why she’d return to warn Adox,” she replies. I smile to myself, listening as Hamish leaves and Isha resumes her pottering. I close my eyes, snuggling into the blankets. Nothing in two worlds—not the war, or the firelight squeezing through the walls of the tent—could keep me awake.
*
After several failed attempts to rouse myself, I manage to pull my suit back on and stagger out of my tent. The Ire is dark; I’ve slept all day. The much-needed rest has cleared my head and given me strength. The smell of Isha’s cooking drifts over to me and I shiver, eager for the fire’s warmth. I’ve forgotten how bitterly cold it gets up here. It took a long time to accustom myself to the climate close to Glacium and I wonder how the Solati army, hundreds of meters below me, is faring with the cold.
“Hamish has come looking for you a few times,” Isha says. I nod as I chew the tender meat and bread. I withhold my moan of delight, but only just. Isha’s beef stew could nearly rival Avalanche’s.
“I’ll go and visit him tomorrow,” I say. Seeking out Hamish is not something I should be doing. He has feelings for me and I don’t return the sentiment. I know what I feel for Hamish: friendship. But conveying this to him is a different matter. Sometimes I miss the lack of emotion in Solati culture.
I swallow back the last delicious mouthful and look up, surprised, as Adox touches down onto Isha’s rock. I watch the old leader from the fire as he approaches and try to assess his anger. It takes me a few seconds to analyze his giveaways: the tension, the twitching, the tapping. They all mean something. What once came to me naturally has become harder without regular practice. There’s no need to search for the truth on Glacium. The Bruma there are blissfully, and often crudely, clear about what they mean.
Adox appears a great deal calmer now, but the hard line of his jaw and the uncharacteristic coldness of his eyes tells me much. He speaks quietly to Isha and she nods, strapping herself into a Soar.
He maintains eye contact as he limps to the fire, hands clasped behind his back. He doesn’t sit this time. A bad sign. I wait.
Adox clears his throat. “I apologize for my anger earlier today. The tidings you brought were shocking, to say the least. I have come to give you my final answer,” he says.
It’s not favorable, I can already tell.
He holds up a hand as I open my mouth.
“I will not risk the lives of the families here, or the secrecy of our sanctuary. If continuing our hidden way of life is still a remote possibility, then we will operate as we always have and hope for the best,” he starts. “If we help you, the risk to us is great and the consequences sizeable. I told you I was reluctant to help the two worlds who have treated us so appallingly because of our parents’ choices, but this point is small in comparison to my other reasons.”
He turns away from me and continues. “My decision is supported by those currently in power. In particular, the Tatum of Osolis, who is renowned for her cruelty toward her people. But … I do have hesitations regarding your own king. He is young. I don’t know much of him. To all reports, he stays secluded in the castle most of the time. How can I be assured he won’t one day decide he wants to eliminate the Ire?” he asks. His reasoning is sound. It doesn’t mean he’s right, but I can understand his position.
“Why introduce such a risk when we could just carry on?” He turns back to me.
I choose my next words with care. “You will never have anything to fear from me. But your argument depends on the Ire remaining a secret. Adox, Jimmy flew into the king’s castle. Your people are already discovered. How long will it take for Bruma to realize there’s only one place flying could have gone unnoticed? Only one place where you would need a contraption such as the Soar? Without secrecy, the Ire is doomed. It cannot stand against two worlds. It cannot even stand against one.” I stand next to him and stare into the fire. Really, I want to grab his stooped shoulders and shake sense into him.