17

ALLIANCES

“GREETINGS, LORD KING,” the man says. He bows, and everyone behind him follows suit. “I am Aenoh, and this is my daughter, Inka. We bid you welcome to the jewel of Avaria.”

“Thank you, Aenoh,” Caden says, striding forward to touch the back of the man’s hand with his, and then presses the same hand to his chest in what must be their traditional greeting. I wonder if Cristobal instructed Caden on Avarian customs. And then I remember that Caden has been studying these people for months because of the liaison. Of course he’ d know protocol. “We accept your gracious welcome and thank you for your generosity.” He pauses before turning to Inka. She, like her father, bows gracefully. I notice that Caden doesn’t touch fingers with her, but offers her a short bow. “My lady.”

“Please, call me Inka.”

“And you may call me Caden.” He turns and introduces each of us. “These are my companions: Commander Sauer, whom you’ve met via visual comms; First Lieutenant Arven; Second Lieutenant Sylar; Bass; and lastly, General Riven.”

Aenoh’s eyes snap to me. A strange expression flashes across his face as he studies me, but he quickly masks it. His daughter’s gaze flicks to me as well, full of curiosity. I return her look, keeping my expression blank. Aenoh claps his hands and several people dressed in tan step forward—one attendant for each of us. “You will be escorted to your private quarters before the welcome feast. Then we will head to the capitol for discussions of a more political nature.”

Sauer pulls Caden aside, his voice low: “My Lord King, we really don’t have time. Do you think this wise? Every second is essential.”

“We risk causing offense if we don’t go to their welcome feast, Sauer.” Caden glances at me. “And I want to find out more about this place. About these people. What drives them.” He pauses. “And what else we can learn about them.”

“As you say, my Lord King.”

A young, shy female is my escort, and I follow her to the tree house entrance where a narrow wooden staircase spirals upward. We climb two more sets of steps, and cross a couple of roped bridges before arriving at a small hut, nearly obscured by leaves and branches. She bows and points mutely to a washbasin and folded clothing on the cot. While I explore the small but meticulously constructed cabin, she waits outside, pulling a grass-screened door shut behind her. I stare out of a small window and see Bass one tree over doing the same. He waves and points down. After following his gaze, I almost wish I hadn’t—we’re suspended high in the air above a deeply carved precipice.

Stepping back, I approach the bowl on the other side of the room. To my surprise, it’s full of scented, oiled water—water for bathing. I still have to get used to the fact that we are not in the Otherworld. After a lengthy sponge bath, I consider wearing my suit beneath the clothing waiting on the cot.

Regardless of how agreeable Aenoh seems, this is a strange place and we don’t know a lot about what he or his daughter wants. I recall his odd look when Caden introduced me, and opt to wear the suit. Better safe than sorry. In the privacy of the hut, I bring the suit online, checking its functionality. It doesn’t seem to be impacted by our surroundings. Even though we are deep in this new forest, I can sense power sources all around, as well as from the primary ring in the distance.

As my suit syncs to me, data rushes into my brain, and vice versa. I process all the information I’ve received since we first arrived in Avaria—fauna, flora, geography, topography, all of it. I pull up the map on a hologram from my wrist cuff. Cristobal hadn’t lied. The forest is enormous, spanning thousands of miles. But what he didn’t divulge is that the same steel wall surrounds it nearly all the way around. It must have taken decades and immense manpower to build.

I frown, circumventing the laser tech I’ d seen on top of the wall. I’m careful not to dig too deep—I don’t want my snooping to be caught by their security—but it’s as I suspected. The lasers are programmed to eliminate any, and all, threats that bypass their hologram safety imagery. I hook into a satellite feed of the planet’s terrain at my coordinates and, sure enough, everything I see is dust and burned earth for miles.

So, why would Avaria risk coming out of anonymity? The only thing I can think of is Vector tech, but that doesn’t make sense. Their defense systems are virtually impenetrable. They wouldn’t need Vectors.

A polite cough from the doorway has me yanking the Avarian dress over my suit. I retract the visor and engage camouflage mode, watching the suit turn the color of my skin. The long, bell-shaped sleeves of the pale green flowing dress flutter lightly against my skin. I remove my boots and slide my feet into a pair of leather slippers. I feel ridiculous—almost as ridiculous as I did in the dancing girl’s outfit during the Solstice Games.

“May I assist with your hair?” the girl asks.

“My hair?”

“Please, allow me.” She motions to a small stool and I sit. She strokes a brush through my choppy—and dirty—hair. I wouldn’t be surprised if she finds some moss monster guts crusted in there. Her fingers move nimbly, weaving and pulling something between the strands. After a few minutes, she turns me to face her and smiles, holding up a small mirror. Tiny jade-colored flowers are entwined with beads in small clusters over the crown of my head, and my hair has been cleaned and plaited. Fluttery strands frame my face, the vibrant flowers making my eyes look like bright gems. “Does it please you?” she asks shyly.

“Yes, I like it very much. Thank you.”

The girl’s face flushes as she walks to the door. “Come, I’ll take you to the feast.”

We meet Bass along the way, and he, too, looks clean and well-dressed in a flowing top and loose pants. His red hair has been trimmed, and his stubbly beard, shaved. “Wow, Bass, you clean up good,” I tell him, grinning.

“So do you. You could almost pass for a girl.”

As I’m about to respond, I catch sight of Caden standing in the entrance of the main house. His clothing is similar to what he wore at his coronation—royal ceremonial dress—and the swift memory of that day has my knees weakening. How silly I’ d been then to think he could be mine, and that I’ d be the one to stand next to him on the castle parapet in Neospes overseeing the Summer Games.

Now he belongs to Inka.

She’ d looked beautiful before, but now, standing beside him dressed in full ceremonial garb, the effect is stunning—and agonizing.

I swallow hard, my vision burning, and feel Bass take hold of my elbow. The sensation of his fingers brings me back to reality, and I send him a grateful look. He just nods. We walk toward Caden and Inka together, and both bow.

“General Riven. Bass,” Caden says.

“My Lord King. Lady Inka,” we both murmur in response.

Inka stops me as we walk past and leans in, her voice quiet. “I look forward to getting to know you better.” Startled, I can only nod as we’re ushered into the gorgeously tented hall where bits of colored fabric fan in the breeze.

Bass and I leave our weapons in an adjoining space. I’m not happy to be separated from my ninjatas, especially in unfamiliar territory, but at least I have my suit. Bass looks as troubled as I do to be leaving his staff behind.

The area is large, dominated by a huge, round wooden table, covered in all kinds of fresh fruit and foods, including standard Neospes fare. Aenoh sits at the head, and I greet him while Bass reports to Sauer.

“General,” he says, his voice booming. “I’ve waited a long time to meet you. May I call you Riven? Please call me Aenoh. It means hawk in your language.”

“Of course,” I say. “Mine means to rip apart.”

I can feel his gaze assessing me, his eyes narrowing before his lips part in a wide smile. “The daughter of Danton Quinn and the lovely Aurela. How are your parents?”

“My father is a prisoner of the Crown,” I say, “and my mother is doing what she does best, defending Neospes from our enemies.”

“It was such a pity to hear of your father’s madness.” Aenoh drains the contents of his mug. His eyes are bright, and I question whether it’s the first drink he’s consumed. I feel no guilt in pressing my advantage.

“Madness?”

“In his bid to take over your city by aligning with the crazed, fallen prince.”

I make my voice as inflectionless as possible. “I wouldn’t call it madness, my lord. I would call it avarice. My father wanted something that wasn’t his to covet. He thought he would gain it by manipulating the then-prince.”

Aenoh laughs a belly laugh. “Luckily for your little city, the real prince was crowned, and Danton’s plot foiled.”

I ignore his dig and incline my head. “Lucky for us, indeed.”

He sips from his refilled mug. “And now you need my help.”

“It appears so, my lord.”

“Please, call me Aenoh. I insist.”

I nod graciously and soften my next question with a bland smile. “Why are you interested in my father?”

“He has something I want.”

Aenoh stands and claps his hands. Clearly, our conversation is over. I make my way to the only remaining empty seat, which, of course, is on Caden’s right. His bride-to-be is on his left. I nod to Sauer, on my other side, and train my eyes on Aenoh.

He raises his cup. “Welcome to our guests on this auspicious occasion. Let us feast in honor of the upcoming nuptials and alliance between our two great cities.”

Aenoh takes a swig from his mug, and everyone else follows suit. Servants uncover steaming platters. One offers me a cut of dark meat, and Aenoh bellows, “Roast boar. Caught it myself.”

Having eaten in the Otherworld, I’m used to different kinds of food—so are Bass and Caden—but I have to bite back a smile when I see Sauer’s queasy expression. After subsisting on engineered food that tastes like nothing and contains perfectly balanced nutrition, eating an animal or plant by-product in its organic form for the first time is daunting.

I chuckle and lean over. “Chew and swallow, Sauer. Come on, thought you were Artok. Didn’t your family feed you Sector Seven’s freshly roasted rodent?”

“I’m a soldier. We ate rations. Ones that didn’t look like… this.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it.” I ladle a few different dishes onto the large fig leaf on the table and put it in front of him. “Here, these are mostly vegetarian. Small bites.”

“Thanks.”

I take a huge bite of pheasant and watch Sauer turn a sickly gray. Grinning, I eat until my stomach feels like it’s going to explode. I’m enjoying the meal, but eating also means I don’t have to talk to Caden. I feel his glances fluttering in my direction, along with every restless movement of his body.

“So, General,” a musical voice says, “what do you think of our forest?”

I turn to Inka, who is leaning forward to see past Caden. Up close she’s even more striking. Her eyes, which I’ d thought were brown are, in fact, an uncommon tawny color, flecked with gold. “It’s beautiful,” I say. “And please, my name is Riven.”

“Caden tells me that your journey here was quite dangerous.” My stomach jerks at the sound of his name on her tongue, but I force my face to remain blank. I must not be doing a good enough job, though, because something flashes in her eyes—understanding, maybe. “He said that if it had not been for you, your ship wouldn’t have made it.”

“I’m sure the Lord King is exaggerating. It was a team effort.”

“I am glad you arrived safely.” Inka pushes her chair back, and Caden rises. “Come, Riven. I would love to hear more of your city and your adventures in the Otherworld. Do me the pleasure of accompanying me to the veranda for some air.”

Surprise flicks over Caden’s face, but he nods courteously and bows. I can feel him watching as we cross the room. Aenoh frowns as we walk past him, his lips are pressed into a slash of obvious displeasure, but he says nothing to his daughter.

Only when we’re outside does Inka speak. “This must be hard for you.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I say, startled.

“Your king. This alliance.”

I stare at her, the suit tightening against me as it analyzes her eyes and voice inflection—there’s no artifice in her words. “If this alliance will save my city, then it is in the best interests of all of us.”

“But not you,” she says gently. I don’t reply, staring out into the dark green foliage. “Everyone knows of your… value to your king.”

“I am a soldier,” I reply, flinching at her choice of words. “That is all.”

Inka sighs and follows my gaze out into the deep, dark forest. “I give you my word that we will defend your city. I will protect your king with my life.” I frown at her odd choice of words. Her eyes slide back to the interior of the room and she bites her lip. She looks back at me. Her voice lowers. “Riven, I beg you, you must not—”

“Inka!” A loud bellow cuts her off as Aenoh strides toward us, his face wreathed in phony enthusiasm. “It is time for a dance with your husband-to-be.”

“Must not what, Inka?” I whisper urgently.

“Later,” she says as her father reaches us. “Of course, Father.”

I gnash my teeth in frustration as he leads Inka inside. What had she been about to tell me? It had to have been something important.

After a few minutes, I compose myself and return to the hall. The tables have been cleared, and several women are performing a mesmerizing dance in the middle of the room. They sway and weave to the beat of drums, and then pull Caden and Inka to the center of the floor. After a while, even Sylar and Bass join in. I’m too wound up from Inka’s comments to enjoy the festivities, declining several offers from Aenoh’s people to join the dancing. Instead, I stand in a corner against a wooden pillar.

Sauer comes over to me. “What’s bothering you?”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.” He clears his throat. “I know this can’t be easy for you.”

“Sauer, I don’t need a babysitter, and I don’t know why everyone—you, Bass, even Inka—seems to think this is so hard for me. I’m pretty familiar with what my duty entails. If it means letting him go, that’s what I must do. Just as you did with Shae.” I watch the pain flash across his face—he’ d been in love with my sister. They’ d risked their lives for each other, but Neospes—and duty—had always come first for both of them.

“Doesn’t mean it’s easy.” Sauer’s hand slides across to grasp mine in a comforting squeeze. Surprised, I squeeze back. Despite being Artok, Sauer is not a demonstrative person. We stand in companionable silence, staring at the revelry for a while. “What did you mean when you said Inka thinks it’s hard for you, too?”

In a low voice, I tell him about the conversation I’ d had with her on the terrace. His face tightens. “Something’s going on,” he murmurs. “I’ve had a strange feeling since we got here, as if they’re stalling or hiding something.”

“Why do you think they want my father?”

He frowns. “Vector tech?”

“But why? Advanced imaging tech and automatic sensory weapons conceal this whole facility. It seems weird that they’ d offer us help in return for his know-how in wiring cybernetic corpses.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“Before or after we agree to take their armies with us to Neospes?” The implication hangs heavy in the air—we could be trading one evil for another. Without understanding the objective of our allies, we’re running blind. “It could be a Trojan Horse.”

“A what?”

“It’s an old Otherworld story. An old race of people called the Greeks used deception to enter the city of Troy and defeat them by hiding soldiers in a great wooden horse that was presented as a gift for their city, when it fact, it was the opposite. We are inviting Aenoh’s army into Neospes for help. What if we’re being tricked like the Trojans were?” I shake my head. “You’re not the only one with a bad feeling, Sauer. We have to find out what Aenoh wants, and what Inka meant to tell me.”

“You think he’s planning something?”

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t feel right.” I stare at Caden dancing with Inka, his hand on her waist, and my stomach sours. I can’t help feeling that we’re all pawns, being moved around by Aenoh. He’s taking advantage of our vulnerability.

“I’ll look into it.” Sauer sighs. “But I hope you’re wrong. We need allies more than anything right now.”

“I know,” I murmur, watching the dancers toss bright yellow flowers over Caden and Inka. Aenoh steps forward to bind their hands with red string—some symbolic ceremony that announces their engagement. Caden’s eyes meet mine across the room, his feelings plain—fear, regret, sorrow, pain, love—and something inside of me snaps.

I retreat from the hall, lowering myself swiftly to the ground. The twilight sky above me is purplish-red and half-overcast as I disappear deep into the trees, the sounds of the celebration fading into the background.

“It’s over,” I say to myself. “Let it go. Let him go.”

I close my eyes and focus on the voices of the forest, feeling my breathing calm with each slow inhale and exhale. The noises around me amplify, separating into distinct sounds: a chirp of some nocturnal bird; a low-pitched whistle; the creaking of boughs above. Something rustles in the undergrowth behind me. I turn, unafraid, and come face-to-face with some kind of jungle feline with bright purple rosette markings coloring its golden pelt. It’s easily double my size.

The cat stares at me, yellow eyes glowing, its mouth gaping open to utter a soft growl. Lowering myself to a crouch, I study the creature. It’s likely a carnivorous hunter, so I keep my motions smooth and unthreatening. Suddenly, a snapping noise above us has its forelegs bunching, and a snarl breaks from its mouth. It’s poised to attack. Meeting it head-on, I lean forward, my mouth bared in my own snarl, and let blue lights flicker along my face in the same pattern as the creature’s hide. The cat stops mid-motion as we stare each other down, the harsh huff of its breath the only movement between us, one killer facing another. We stay like this for what seems like an eternity until it flicks its head dismissively and bounds off into the jungle.

Strangely awed, I rock back onto my haunches with a thoughtful sigh.

Lesson learned—choose your battles.