The Elder Blood Chronicles – Book Three(88)

“I’d like you to come to the meeting with me discreetly. After it is over, I want to know what you think of what is said there,” Symphony said with another glance toward him.

“Watch it or we will be going back out to sea again. You steer where you look,” Shade teased, but gave her a slight nod in answer to her request. “I’ll sit in the back as silent as a mouse and save all of my bitching until we are alone,” he promised.

Symphony laughed and gave him another smile. “Are you so certain you will be wishing to bitch afterwards,” she asked as the skyline of Sanctuary came into view ahead of them.

Shade stared at the city and let out a faint breath. “Beautiful isn’t she. She has some battle scars but she is still an absolute beauty.” Glancing over at Symphony he returned the smile. “And yes, I’m positive I will.”

“You really love this city, don’t you?” Symphony asked in a quiet voice.

“With most of my heart. It’s been my home for a long while. Morcath should be considered my true home, I suppose, but that’s not how it feels. I know every stone of this city and most of the people who live here. Well, at least in my district.” He frowned and cleared his throat. “My former district that is,” he corrected with a twinge of regret. It wasn’t that he missed his family at all, but he did miss his people. They had relied on him and he had walked away from them without a backward glance. Had he been there for them the night of the attack on the city he could have spared them the worst of the suffering. Instead he had been on the side causing the damage and making their already difficult lives more painful.

“You make me nervous when you get that look on your face, Shade.” Symphony spoke in a low voice and was watching him far more closely than she should have been, given that she had the controls and they were very near the sky port already.

“Do you prefer the look of utter terror that will appear very soon if you don’t start paying attention to where you are flying?” Shade asked with a raised eyebrow.

She chuckled faintly and turned back toward the view screen. “Every time you get that look I wonder if you regret your decision to join us,” Symphony pressed. Cautiously she began to lower their altitude as they approached the Sky Port. There was already a small crowd gathered at the edge, no doubt waiting for their absent Empress’s return.

“I don’t regret walking from my House. I regret abandoning my people. I have doubts that I have joined the right side at times, but those mostly just occur when I am obviously set up and about to die,” Shade said with a grin.

“You are truly convinced we have a traitor aren’t you?” Symphony sighed. Once again it was a topic they had been over more than once and was rather worn through.

“I am truly convinced that before long you will think so too,” Shade replied as the ship came to a stop. “You are a smart girl. Given enough rope, your traitor will hang himself. The set-up with the Justicars was only the first betrayal. There will be more.”

“So you say,” Symphony sighed and unbuckled the flight harness. “Of course it could be you,” she pointed out with a smirk. “And then I would be a fool to listen to anything you said. You might simply be sowing dissention in the ranks.”

“Quite, let me continue the sowing. Lutheron is an ass. Caspian is so quiet it’s creepy. Faramir is bossy, and Vaze just scares me. There, that pretty much covers all of your advisors,” Shade said with a grin as he rose from his chair.

“You didn’t mention Remedy,” Symphony pointed out flatly with a dry expression on her lovely face.

“Remedy? Not even I am a big enough idiot to insult the man you are in love with. That would practically be suicide. Besides I don’t see him enough to find fault with him. Amazing. The one person you adore to be with, and he is never around.” Shade paused and tapped his chin thoughtfully then looked at her with an amazed expression. “Why, Lutheron plans their missions doesn’t he? Hmm. And he keeps Remedy gone all of the time. Well, I think that’s clear evidence on my he-is-an-ass theory. I wonder what else I might be right about.”

Symphony chuckled lightly and shook her head at him in amazement. “Vaze is away too. Is that conspiracy as well?” she asked, pausing beside the door to look back at him.

“No, that is a blessing. As I said he is scary,” Shade replied with a grin and motioned once more toward the door.

“Vaze is not scary,” Symphony protested as she pushed the door open and stepped from the Spell Hawk.