Knight of Wands (A Steampunk Fantasy Adventure Novel) (Devices of War Book 2) by SM Blooding Page B
Authors: SM Blooding
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Someone who isn’t me.”
“We will figure something out.” I pressed a kiss on top of Zara’s head.
She stepped out of my arms. Her lips were firm, her brown eyes narrowed, her hands fisted. “I will not marry someone simply because Mother says I should.”
“And if I say it?” It felt so weird to look at my older sister and even dream of issuing an order like that. She told stories of dressing me up like a doll and wiping my butt as a baby. How was I ever going to fill my father’s roll as leader?
Her hands fidgeted with the dark purple fringe of the handkerchief tied around her slim waist, the gold hilt of her throwing dagger protruding from her belt. Fadi groomed her hair. “You are my sayyd and my brother. If you wish it so, I will choose a man.”
“Preparations for the choosing of her mate have already begun,” Ryo said.
I shook my head. “Mother could learn a little patience.”
Ryo’s eyes widened. “I say we eat, take a tour of this fantastic city, and you tell us how you were able to escape from Sky City a second time.”
Laughing, we all turned to the food slab.
CHAPTER 11
SENDING OUT THE INVITATIONS
Ino City radioed in saying they were located in the western bay the next day. That didn’t give my siblings, friends, and I nearly enough time to catch up. Mother’s arrival heralded many things I didn’t know if I was ready to face, but I wasn’t the type of person who liked to hide.
The easiest way to meet her was via Asim City. The undulating underbelly of my lethara came closer and closer as the city shifted inside his tentacles. Technicians scrambled, removing the planks that connected each square of floor so they could rise individually, or sink and fold under. The people watching the consoles moved their equipment with practiced efficiency.
Asim City worked like a well-oiled machine. I had no doubts that was thanks to my sister.
Oki, Ryo and Keeley seemed unaffected. They didn’t even twitch. Zara, Yvette and I, though . . . My skin was clammy. My breath was shallow. The world around me constricted. The air grew heavier.
What remained of command central was four platforms square, just wide enough for most of our equipment, though there were still a few pieces on platforms below us.
A transparent veil of skin cascaded from the lethara’s medusa. The cavern disappeared. His medusa was thick and hard to see through, even though it was largely translucent. My stomach rose into my throat and my ears popped.
We were moving.
The scene outside the skin changed from the blurred view of the cavern to water, to rock. I gripped my hands tight behind my back as I watched metre after metre of rock wall pass by. How long was it going to take to get into open water, or better yet, open air?
I had thought we’d have been dumped on our heads, but the only indication that we’d changed direction of any sort was a slight tug of the gut. Riding in a lethara was almost as smooth as traveling in Sky City, though a lot quieter.
I had no idea where we were until the platforms lowered and the rest of command central was unfolded and brought back, the technicians replacing the planks to make it all one level again. Everyone else resumed their places at their assigned consoles.
Zara was plastered to the communications module, her dark eyes wide, her knuckles white.
I walked to the edge of the floor, and stared through the thin film wall. Sunlight stabbed through the water. We swam over a coral reef filled with many bright colors and different types of fish.
Where was Keeley? Why wasn’t she watching this?
I turned.
She had her hand on one of the trunks, talking to one of the technicians. She’d really taken to the roll of healer, which was how she used her Mark. Had that happened during the few weeks I’d been gone? Or had this happened in the time we’d spent running together? If it were the latter, how had I never realized it before?
I didn’t have much more time for contemplation.
“We will figure something out.” I pressed a kiss on top of Zara’s head.
She stepped out of my arms. Her lips were firm, her brown eyes narrowed, her hands fisted. “I will not marry someone simply because Mother says I should.”
“And if I say it?” It felt so weird to look at my older sister and even dream of issuing an order like that. She told stories of dressing me up like a doll and wiping my butt as a baby. How was I ever going to fill my father’s roll as leader?
Her hands fidgeted with the dark purple fringe of the handkerchief tied around her slim waist, the gold hilt of her throwing dagger protruding from her belt. Fadi groomed her hair. “You are my sayyd and my brother. If you wish it so, I will choose a man.”
“Preparations for the choosing of her mate have already begun,” Ryo said.
I shook my head. “Mother could learn a little patience.”
Ryo’s eyes widened. “I say we eat, take a tour of this fantastic city, and you tell us how you were able to escape from Sky City a second time.”
Laughing, we all turned to the food slab.
CHAPTER 11
SENDING OUT THE INVITATIONS
Ino City radioed in saying they were located in the western bay the next day. That didn’t give my siblings, friends, and I nearly enough time to catch up. Mother’s arrival heralded many things I didn’t know if I was ready to face, but I wasn’t the type of person who liked to hide.
The easiest way to meet her was via Asim City. The undulating underbelly of my lethara came closer and closer as the city shifted inside his tentacles. Technicians scrambled, removing the planks that connected each square of floor so they could rise individually, or sink and fold under. The people watching the consoles moved their equipment with practiced efficiency.
Asim City worked like a well-oiled machine. I had no doubts that was thanks to my sister.
Oki, Ryo and Keeley seemed unaffected. They didn’t even twitch. Zara, Yvette and I, though . . . My skin was clammy. My breath was shallow. The world around me constricted. The air grew heavier.
What remained of command central was four platforms square, just wide enough for most of our equipment, though there were still a few pieces on platforms below us.
A transparent veil of skin cascaded from the lethara’s medusa. The cavern disappeared. His medusa was thick and hard to see through, even though it was largely translucent. My stomach rose into my throat and my ears popped.
We were moving.
The scene outside the skin changed from the blurred view of the cavern to water, to rock. I gripped my hands tight behind my back as I watched metre after metre of rock wall pass by. How long was it going to take to get into open water, or better yet, open air?
I had thought we’d have been dumped on our heads, but the only indication that we’d changed direction of any sort was a slight tug of the gut. Riding in a lethara was almost as smooth as traveling in Sky City, though a lot quieter.
I had no idea where we were until the platforms lowered and the rest of command central was unfolded and brought back, the technicians replacing the planks to make it all one level again. Everyone else resumed their places at their assigned consoles.
Zara was plastered to the communications module, her dark eyes wide, her knuckles white.
I walked to the edge of the floor, and stared through the thin film wall. Sunlight stabbed through the water. We swam over a coral reef filled with many bright colors and different types of fish.
Where was Keeley? Why wasn’t she watching this?
I turned.
She had her hand on one of the trunks, talking to one of the technicians. She’d really taken to the roll of healer, which was how she used her Mark. Had that happened during the few weeks I’d been gone? Or had this happened in the time we’d spent running together? If it were the latter, how had I never realized it before?
I didn’t have much more time for contemplation.
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