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October 16th
“Hey Eldren—”
“I’m not mad at you,” he said, not looking up from what he was working on. “So, save it. You saved my life, and I’ll always be grateful.” Eldren looked up to see Phaedra roll her shoulders as if they were too tight.
“I couldn’t lose you, too. Not after everything else.”
Eldren reached out and grasped her shoulder. “Hey, you saved me. That will always make it worth it. And it’s not like I don’t trust you to not turn into what we’re fighting.”
Phaedra touched his hand. “Thanks for not being mad.” She looked up and returned his smile.
“What are friends for?” Eldren stood up and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry about Demeter.”
“Thanks.” She stopped and turned. “Do me a favor?” She asked as she turned back to face him.
“Anything.”
“Don’t die.”
He looked at her, startled, as she seemed to age before his eyes. “I’ll fight for both of us, Phae.”
“Thanks, Eldren.” She wandered away. Eldren shook his head and finished the fine tuning on the gadget he was working on. It was busywork of a sort, though he was running low on the things he carried with him into battle, anyway. It kept him from worrying about Phae.
The weight of what she had gone through settled on his shoulders, making him twitchy. Phaedra was busy with her own stuff. Ever since they had gotten back to Harbor to finish the preparations, she’d been acting like she had been cut adrift. It was unusual even for her. Even between assignments, she was driven. Directionless wasn’t part of who she was. Something wasn’t adding up.
He put the machine away and walked out, looking for Torin. Torin had been spending a lot of time with Phaedra lately, and Eldren was hoping the other man would know how she was doing. For all they were best friends he was having trouble reading her and wanted to make sure everything was okay.
He found Torin alone in the magic lab. “Do you need something?” Torin asked as Eldren came in.
“How’s Phae been?”
Torin looked at him, squinting. “Withdrawn. It’s to be expected, all things considered. Why?”
“She just came by and I’m worried.”
Torin closed the book in front of him. “I know.”
“What are we going to do?” Eldren asked as he sat down at the table across from Torin.
“For now? Let her be. A lot’s happened, and she’s had to face some ugly truths. Give her time to sort herself out.” Torin eyed Eldren. “Why are you even asking me, though? I’ve known her for far less time than you have.”
Eldren paused. “That’s true. But so much has happened in the time that you’ve known her—”
“She’s still the same Phaedra,” Torin said, tone kind. “A lot might have changed, but she’s the same person she was before.”
Eldren felt his face heat up. “I mean, yeah. But you’ve also been spending more time with her as of late, so I thought she’d let you know at least something.”
“Whatever her worries are, she’s keeping them close to her heart. I know she’s dealing with a lot, but whatever’s on her mind, she’s not saying.” Something tender crossed Torin’s face, surprising Eldren.
Torin was right. Phaedra was often outgoing, but kept her own worries and fears close to her, sharing them with remarkably few people. “That’s Phae for you.” He looked away. Leaving her to her own devices seemed a terrible idea, but he could also see the wisdom in it. Phae wasn’t the kind of person to open up easily, especially if she was worried about burdening someone else. She had to do it on her own.
“The best thing I can advise right now is to give her space. There’s been no time to grieve. It’s not something that can be pushed down forever; it’s going to come out at some point. There’s been a lot she hasn’t faced because there just hasn’t been the space for it, and I think that’s what’s weighing on her. So give her space to work through her feelings.” His mouth twisted. “As much as she can.” Torin glanced up at Eldren.
It wasn’t just Phaedra who lacked time to grieve. “I just want a break.”
“I suspect it’s more than just you who feels that.”
“It’s why I figured I’d find you here versus doing whatever council stuff you need to do.” Eldren watched as Torin’s mouth twitched with a suppressed smile. “This is it, though. Do or die. Never did I expect to see this day. Even if Phae did tell me we’d wind up here.”
“I was afraid I would,” Torin said. “Hoping I got to change sides was an impossible dream until Phaedra came along.” He closed his journal and checked his pocket watch. “I should get back,” he said, slipping the watch away. “It’s our last chance. We have to make sure everything’s as ready as it can be.”
Eldren wandered out of the magic lab and down underneath Harbor City, to where the last-minute preparations were being made for the Angels. All they knew was that they would go after Aurelius until either they were destroyed, or Aurelius was. The last Empress Goddess herself had made them for that reason. The Angels were also mostly restored, but there were a lot of last-minute fine tuning for everyone to do to make sure they worked because they only had one shot.
Eldren found the foreman and talked himself into helping to get lost in the work. The Angels were almost done and were polished to a bright shine, all glinting brass and bright crystals that the dead did not power.
A murmur ran up through the gathered workers, causing Eldren to stop what he was doing and listen. Talks of the fortress moving filled the cavern, and people started scrambling around. He spied Merethyl coming up toward him and stepped away from the Angel he had been helping with.
“You’re to stay here and wait for Elena,” Merethyl said. “They sent me to go with you.”
“I don’t have any of my equipment,” Eldren said, surprised as Merethyl thrust the pack he hadn’t noticed her carrying at him.
“I put everything in it I thought might help us.”
Eldren dug through the bag, seeing various tools of the trade. Clockwork helpers, alchemical bombs, his cutlass strapped to the outside, along with his bandolier and spell cannon. “I take it they’re the new cartridges?”
“Yes.” Merethyl tugged on her own bandolier.
“What about Phae?”
“We’re meeting up with her and Torin, if the Angels clear a path and we can get off the ’ship safely.” Merethyl was pale, more so than usual, and her tight features gave away how nervous she was. How nervous they all were.
Eldren looked around and swallowed. One last chance. “We’ll be taking some canvas wings to glide onto the fortress,” he said. “The schematics Torin provided showed quite a few places we can land.”
“I’ve never flown one.”
“They’re powered by magic, so just hold on. We don’t need to take them far, so you don’t need to know the magic required to pilot one for longer distances.”
She nodded as Eldren put on his cutlass, bandolier, and pack. He took his time securing them as well as he could. The alchemical bombs weren’t supposed to be all that easy to set off, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
An alarm went off and all the workers dashed for hiding spots as the Angels came to life. Crystals once dormant started glowing green, and someone else worked the mechanism to reveal enough of the sky to let them fly. As one, they all took off in a roar, and a ’ship landed. Eldren and Merethyl jogged over to see Elena waving them on.
They boarded, along with a handful of others, and the ’ship rose into the sky. All Eldren could taste was the metallic tang of fear.
