Page 23

“She’s awful, Lenny. Truly dreadful. I don’t know how you stand her.”

Lynette cut a sideways glance at me, pausing at the crosswalk as we waited for the light to change. How many more times would we be able to wander around the Magi City like this now that she was set to assume Mother’s position in the morning? The Ascension ceremony had lasted far longer than I had hoped and proved to be quite boring as far as parties go. Lots of handshaking and arse-kissing and whatever it is that Mother does to prove her superiority over the other houses.

At least the Floating Gardens had served as a picturesque backdrop. I should remember to add it to the list of places I take my “dates” should my role continue under Lynette’s instruction.

“You complain too much, Tobi. Don’t worry, I won’t make you spend any alone time with Amelia.”

“Or her dolls,” I added, shivering at the memory of a night filled with porcelain faces and lifeless eyes.

“Or her dolls,” Lynette agreed, moving into the crosswalk after the light changed. The streets were nearly empty this time of night, and it only struck at that moment, the oddity of Amelia hosting an event so late in the evening. But my head still buzzed with the alcohol from the party, and the promise of more libations awaiting at the VanDoughtens was enough to keep me moving forward.

“So, what is your first plan of action, oh mighty Ascendant? Tell me how you’re going to start fucking with Mother’s reputation.”

“There are lots of things that I want to change,” Lynette replied, her heels echoing along the pavement like the ticking of a clock. Steady and consistent. “But I’ll have to be careful not to come in blazing. Mother says that influence is a practice in subtlety. I have to make the others think that they’re coming up with solutions of their own volition.”

I snorted a laugh. “Says the woman who can bend anyone to her will. Priceless.”

“What would you do, Tobi? If our roles were reversed?”

“Well, that would never happen as I’ve got this thing between my legs ? —”

Lynette stopped, and I had to retreat several steps back to her. “I’m serious. What would you do if it were you stepping into Mother’s role tomorrow?”

“I’d do whatever she told me to do,” I answered honestly. “Because there’s no way that she’s giving up that control, even if she has to give up the title.”

Lynette stayed quiet, her head tilting back to gaze up at the stars peeking through the space between the buildings.

“Did I say something to upset you?”

She shook her head, adjusting to look at me again. “No, you have the right of it. She will not rescind control of the council, even if I sit at the head. Try all I might, I simply lack the resources to defy her. She has the wealth of knowledge that far exceeds my own and the trust and loyalty of those in power. I am the youngest on the council by nearly a century—even if I could defy Mother, they’d never heed my word over hers.”

I took her hand in mine, holding it to my chest. The night air had chilled her skin. “Then they are fools, the whole lot.”

Lynette smiled, but there was a melancholia that clung to her still. Was it just the lingering shadow of our mother, hanging over the two of us as it had done since we were old enough to be aware of it?

“We spoke once,” Lynette said, her hand firmly planted against my sternum. “When we were young, and the world was much more vast than it turned out to be, of the life we would lead if we no longer belonged to Mother. Do you remember it?”

“I do.”

“An equal share, that’s what I wanted. A chance to right the scales of balance across our world. I’ve dreamed about it ever since I was little.”

I nodded along, a sobering clarity starting to sink in. “I told you it sounded like a fairy tale.”

“You also said that you would help me make it come true, should the opportunity come.”

“Did I?” I said with a chuckle.

“Would you still say it today, Tobias? If I asked you to risk it all for a chance at the dream I shared with you all those years ago, would you consider it?”

“Of course,” I agreed, though my voice jumped an octave. “But what are we actually talking about here? We were children then.”

Lynette pulled her hand back, shaking her head. “Right, of course. We can talk about it later. I just… I wanted to make sure that my brother was still on my side.”

“I’m always on your side, Lenny.”

We crossed the street, leaving the hypotheticals behind as we approached the VanDoughten residence. It wasn’t their full estate—that was in the countryside among rolling green hills—but rather the place where they stayed while conducting business within the city. A rowhouse, three stories tall, clad with bleached brick and adorned with golden gilded windows. It certainly gave the impression of pomp.

Lynette navigated the stairs leading up to the front door, pausing before she reached for the knob. She turned back to me.

“Promise me something before we go in, Tobi.”

“Why do I suddenly feel like a doe trapped in the maw of a steel trap?”

“Relax,” Lynette teased with a laugh. “I may not have been completely honest with you about the reason we’re here tonight.”

“If you are about to tell me this is a birthday party for one of the dolls, I will walk home, Lenny. I’m not joking ? —”

“It’s a bit more serious than that,” she said, catching me by the wrist before I could turn away. “Just… keep an open mind, okay?”

I nodded, the intensity of Lynette’s gaze extinguishing any further pith. She looked nervous. More nervous than she had been in front of a hundred of the most important members of our society earlier that night.

What was I walking into?

With a gentle knock from Lynette, the door opened. A mousy, blonde-headed girl answered, wispy curls hanging around her face where they’d pulled free from her bun. She wore a simple knit sweater and a skirt that fell past her knees, both riddled with wrinkles.

“Oh, Lynn. I’m so glad to see you.” Her pale eyes fell on me, and her smile faltered. “And Tobias.”

I gave her a polite nod. “Lovely to see you as well, Amelia. May we come in? The evening has grown a bit cold for my taste.”

“Come in,” Amelia replied, stepping aside. “They’re all in the parlor, Lynn. Everyone’s here.”

Everyone? Just what did that mean?

Amelia led us to the parlor and into a sea of familiar faces.

My face burned hot. Dear gods.

Heirs of the Adored houses waited for us, gathered in clumps around the parlor and murmuring with one another. All eyes drifted to Lynette and me when we entered and I immediately wished that I shared the Unseen’s magic because I truly wanted to disappear.

“Take a seat, Tobias,” Lynette tells me, motioning to an empty spot on the sofa by the window.

I moved through the crowd as quickly as I could, wondering just how many of these heirs I had seduced on the orders of my mother. Sinking into my seat, I directed my attention to Lynette as she addressed the room.

“I’m glad to see so many of you,” she said, moving to stand on the rug in the center of the room. Her voice was strong, those nerves I’d caught wind of before all but vanished. “I come to you tonight to speak of a chance at change. Real change.”

“What choice did we have?” A brunette close to me asked. “You’re the Ascended.”

“Exactly, you’ve identified the issue right there. Too few times we are given an option. The agency to choose for ourselves. I may be the Ascended in title, but rest assured, my mother will cling to her control no matter what the cost. You’ve all felt the influence of Adoranda Greene, whether it be firsthand or inflicted upon your loved ones. You know what she is capable of. Even as we speak, she plots for the demise of the Unseen Rebellion. Total annihilation. And it will only be the beginning. Once she’s squashed the rebels, she’ll be ready to expand her influence beyond the Magi Cities and into the lands of mortals.”

A wave of murmurs ripples through the room.

“What are you proposing we do to stop her?” asked another heir, a girl with short black hair and eyes like smoldering coals.

Lynette straightened her stance, giving her plea to all. “It will take all of us united against her and the council she’s held captive for decades. You represent the future for the Adored, and it will be through our efforts that we will force the hand of change.

“I’m committed to do whatever it takes.”

“Then how are you any different from Adoranda?” A young man asked from the opposite side of the room.

Lynette looked around the room, matching the gaze of all who looked upon her. “Because once my mother is removed and her power turned over to me, I will resign it.”

* * *

The rendezvous point was a clearing in the woods about a mile or so away from the chateau. The smoke from the fire still clung to my nose as we moved into the open space, and I exhaled a sigh of relief at the sight of Bastien. He was propped up against the trunk of a tree, his shirt peeled back around the spot on his chest where Mother had stabbed him.

“Azrael,” Kaine greeted us, moving to take the body from Azrael’s shoulder.

“It’s my father,” Azrael explained, handing over Balthus’s body to the other Unseen. “I’d like for him to come with us, if you think we can spare the room?”

“Of course,” Kaine replied, motioning for two more Unseen to come and join him. He handed the body over, muttering instructions to them.

My eyes were fixed on Bastien. He prodded the thin line where the wound had been with a finger, examining the works of the Cardinal.

“Go to him,” a voice came from behind me, and I turned to find Azrael alone now, the others heading back to the groups of Unseen refugees. “He’ll want to know you’re safe.”

I nodded, pausing for a moment before wrapping Azrael up in a hug.

He returned the embrace, strong arms pressing me to him and bringing a sense of comfort I had not yet felt in my second life.

“Thank you,” he muttered in my ear.

“For what?” I asked, pulling back to marvel at the way his eyes changed to lavender in the sunlight.

“For choosing me.”

He repeated the words from all those years ago, summoning a heat at the nape of my neck that spread like wildfire. He smiled, leaning forward to press his lips to my forehead in a quick motion before releasing his hold on me.

“Our transportation will be here shortly,” he said. “I need to go speak with the others.”

I nodded, my mouth suddenly too dry to speak. As Azrael left, I wondered just when the boy I’d grown up with became such a beautiful man.

Bastien was still at the base of the tree when I approached, his fingers nimbly fastening the buttons on his shirt. He looked up, his eyes lightening as he spotted me.

“Is there room for one more?” I asked, motioning to the space beside him on the grass.

He nodded, scooting over a bit to allow me to nestle myself against the smooth trunk.

“I’m so relieved you’re safe, Bastien.”

“I’m so sorry,” he says, a sniffling sound causing me to turn and look at him. Tears welled in his eyes as he stared ahead, his hands trembling until he curled them into fists atop his knees. “I tried to get to you at the camp. I shouldn’t have left you by yourself. I should have kept you safe, but I couldn’t get through?—”

His words cut off with a broken sob, and I couldn’t help but wrap an arm around him, pulling him into my side.

“You don’t have to apologize,” I told him, secretly relishing in the way his body fit against mine. “If anything, I should be the one. It was my mother’s militia who captured and tortured you, Bastien. They almost got me, too.”

Bastien rested his head on my shoulder, his breathing beginning to regulate. “They were awful to the Unseen that was with me. My treatment was child’s play compared to what they did to him.”

Crassus’ swollen face flashed in my mind, and I shivered.

“You’re safe now,” I said, my hand reaching up to brush the moisture from his cheek. He caught me by the wrist, pulling the hand away from him to investigate the blue gem embedded in my palm.

“What is that?”

Damn. I’d forgotten all about the Anima stone till now.

“Oh, uh, Cirian gave it to me. He wanted to make sure I could defend myself. You know, since I don’t have any magic of my own right now.”

Bastien’s body stiffened, his head lifting off my shoulder to get a better look at the gem. “Cirian made this?”

“He’s the one that saved me back at the camp. I tried to escape on my own, but I got caught up in the scuffle and ended up bleeding out in a field. He found me there. Healed me and brought me back to the Cradle till we could devise a plan to come after you.”

“Why did you come after me?” he asked, his grasp on me falling away. “Wait, let me guess, Cirian explained that I would be the only one who could perform the resurrection rite?”

“That was a part of it, sure. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t. But there’s more.”

Bastien turned to me, the warm honey of his eyes pooling in the shade of the leaves above.

“What more?” he asked, his voice almost pleading.

A gentle tug in the pit of my stomach stalled the words on my tongue. That string that I felt when I first awoke into this second life, the attachment I had to Bastien, went taut. Could he feel it, too? This invisible connection that drew me to him like a lifeline?

“There’s still something here,” I said, finding it harder and harder to catch my breath this close to him. “I know things ended between us, and I still can’t remember how or why. But something remains. You can’t deny it. It’s why you kissed me before, isn’t it?”

Bastien nodded, his throat bobbing.

“Did you want to know? How things ended, I mean. I could tell you.”

“I’m scared to find out,” I admitted. “The more I discover about the life I led before you brought me back, the more I wish I could forget it all. I wasn’t a good person, Bast. And if things ended the way I assume they did, then I don’t need you to tell me. I know I fucked it up along the way.”

Bastien didn’t deny the claim. But when he did speak, he said, “You’re not a bad person, Tobias. I think sometimes you just need a little reminder.”

He reached for me, cupping the side of my face in his warm hand as he leaned in, pressing the lightest of kisses to my lips.

When he pulled away, he took with him all of the fear I’d been hoarding, allowing me to exhale for the first time in what felt like forever.

* * *

Bastien nodded off on my shoulder at some point, the tree overhead shielding us from the late morning sun. Azrael came back eventually, explaining the game plan.

“I’ll take the refugees with me, and Kaine will escort you and Bastien to the train station. You two can’t turn invisible, so there’s a different route you’ll need to take to the new ops site.”

“We’re splitting up?” I questioned, suddenly anxious at the thought of being separated from Azrael.

“Just for a little while,” he said, a small smile playing across his lips. “Bastien needs to rest. You do, too. It looks like you’re about to fall over.”

He was right. I was exhausted. My shoulder—not the one Bastien was snoring softly against—was still caked in dried blood, and it ached with each beat of my pulse. Bastien’s wound may have been healed over, but he was still worse for wear. Dark circles swelled under his eyes, and his wrists were covered in ligature burns from the restraints.

“Will Lynette be there?” I asked, a bit of shame burning in my cheeks that I hadn’t asked about her sooner.

“That’s the plan,” Azrael replied. “We’ve had sporadic communication with her since the raid, but she’s safe for now.”

For now. The words hung over me like a thunderhead.

“We need to get moving,” Azrael continued. “Word will have spread about what happened at the Chateau. There will be Adored forces crawling all over this place soon enough.”

I nodded, giving Bastien a gentle shake. He bolted upright, then swore under his breath, pressing the heel of his hand against his temple.

“Your transportation is already waiting,” Azrael told us. “You two stay safe, and I’ll see you both at the site.”

“Wha’s going on?” Bastien asked sleepily, blinking in rapid succession.

“Come on,” I told him, rising to my feet and offering a hand to help him up. “Our chariot awaits.”

Azrael gave a small wave before heading over to where the other Unseen waited. As they grouped together, listening to Azrael speak in a hushed voice, the group shimmered like a mirage, then disappeared completely from my sight.

“Where are we going?” Bastien asked, taking my hand and hoisting himself up.

“Azrael says that we’re going to a new site for the Rebellion.”

“You two seem chummy,” Bastien said, his brow furrowed. “I take it you know each other?”

I nodded. “Since we were kids. He and his father worked at Chateau Greene.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. I’m still not used to hearing folks call him by his first name. Everyone at the Rebellion base was just calling him Rudderkin.”

I stopped, turning to look at Bastien. “What did you say?”

Bastien gave me a confused look. “Rudderkin. That’s who we were just talking to. You know, the leader of the Rebellion.”

Azrael? The leader of the Rebellion? That couldn’t be possible. It started when we were merely children. His surname was Fritz, not Rudderkin. Bastien must be mistaken.

Kaine met us by the line of trees at the edge of the clearing, no longer wearing the militia garb he had before. He now wore a plain pale brown sweater and a pair of jeans, the edges frayed at the bottom. “It’s a short walk to the road,” he said, his gruff voice less harsh outside of life-or-death peril. “Then we’re off to the train station.”

I nodded, Bastien and I following him as he led us through the wooded area.

“Kaine, may I ask you something?”

“You just did,” he said, tossing a sly grin over his shoulder at me. “Speak your mind, Greene.”

I flinched at the use of my surname but continued, “Azzy—I mean, Azrael. Is it true that the others call him Rudderkin?”

“Aye,” Kaine replied, seemingly not surprised by my line of questioning. “They do. Those close to him still know him as Azrael, though. We trained together as younglings, we did.”

“And he’s the leader of the Rebellion?” I prodded, still having trouble wrapping my mind around the idea.

“Aye, he is.”

“Since when?”

“Since the first Rudderkin up and died.”

Oh. Maybe Rudderkin was more of a title, then?

“How long ago was that?”

Kaine eyed me, his stride slowing. “A while ago. You’ll have to get the rest of the story from him. It’s not something that gets talked about.”

His answer didn’t do much to alleviate the anxiety buzzing in my stomach, but I nodded, falling back in line with Bastien. About a half hour later, we broke through the trees and found ourselves on a dirt road. An automobile sat in the embankment, hidden by the brush lining the woods. It looked dated, with faded paint and long scratches across the sides. Kaine produced a set of keys from underneath the chassis, using them to unlock the trunk and handing us both a set of clean clothes to change into. Bastien helped me dress the wound on my shoulder, promising to heal it once he was able to get some rest. After changing, Kaine climbed into the driver’s seat. Bastien and I took the back seat, and soon enough, we were on our way.

The afternoon sun had stretched long by the time we arrived at the train station just outside of the Magi City. The station itself was quiet, with only a few figures lingering on the platform as we waited for the train to arrive. Kaine had already handed us our tickets while we drove, and I took the time to read over the stub.

One-way ticket to Brierwood. Travel time: three hours. Private cabin.

Bastien’s ticket read the same, and by the time the train had pulled into the station, my eyes were heavy, and my shoulder ached, and I yearned for sleep.

Kaine ended up in a separate cabin than we did, but he was just next door, so he warned us that he could hear everything that went on in our cabin.

I didn’t get the joke at first, but Bastien wouldn’t look me in the eye, which clued me in.

The train departed with a whistle, and we were on our way to Brierwood.

“This is cozy,” Bastien said, leaning back in his seat and propping his feet up. “It’s like that place we stayed when we went to the opera house in the city. You swore that you’d never let me book accommodations again and that the room looked like a fancy closet.”

The specific scenario didn’t rise through the din in my mind, but I nodded along, not wanting him to know how much I’d forgotten of our past. Even now, I could barely conjure up a memory at random without a flood of others tagging along, resulting in a deluge of flashing faces and conversations with zero context.

It was exhausting, to be frank. Most of the time, I just pressed them all down, withdrawing into the cramped corner of my mind where I was able to process the current happenings around me.

Bastien’s eyes fluttered closed a few minutes into the ride, his breathing evening out and his mouth slightly open. I lay across the seat opposite him, the distance between the two of us minute, but it felt like a chasm that only grew wider the longer I stared at him.

He obviously still cared about me. Why else would he have risked his life to come and find me during the raid? Why else would he have given so much just to bring me back to life?

So, what was this terrible dread that kept swelling in my gut? It was as if that lifeline I’d felt, the connection between Bastien and I, had become twisted and tangled, clinging to all the anxieties and doubts I couldn’t abate, until it sank into my stomach, a knotted, thrashing beast.

I wanted to sleep. To calm my mind and dull the edge of pain from my shoulder. But the longer I lay there, the faster my thoughts bombarded me till I was gasping for air, and my pulse thundered in my chest.

Bastien stirred, but I didn’t want to face his questions, so I hurried out of the cabin and down the long corridor to the vestibule at the end of the carriage. The door slid open silently, the whipping wind filling my senses all at once and quieting the noise inside my head.

I braced myself against the railing, focusing on taking deep breaths through my nose. The landscape moved by at a dizzying pace, streaks of greens and greys blurring together to create an endless feed of muted colors that lulled me into placidity.

With my mind quieted, I was able to reflect on the last few hours.

One question rose above the others: what fate befell Mother?

Surely, whatever feat of magic Crassus had performed, he’d saved our lives. But, was it enough to stop her for good?

Unlikely.

Azrael had returned to the Chateau. Not only that, but he came as the leader of the Rebellion his father longed to join all those years ago. Balthus was still there, waiting for him. And now he was dead. Just another life shoved through the grinder of my family’s influence.

Bastien was safe, which meant that he would be able to perform the resurrection ritual, and I wouldn’t have to rely on other’s magic. I stared down at the cerulean stone embedded in my palm, running my thumb over the smooth surface.

Would Cirian try and continue his support of the Rebellion from the shadows? Had his previous involvement been revealed to the Cardinal? And why did she let Bastien go so easily? The Reviled and Hallowed were supposedly the gravest threat to one another, and yet she healed his wounds and sent him on his way. Was it a political move so as to not upset the Rebellion? Or was there something more going on behind the curtain of the Church?

Something to do with a prophecy spoken by their very own Acolyte?

The pieces on the board were in motion, though not in patterns I could recognize at that time. For now, it seemed like chaos, simply a dozen different individual gambits, each vying for their place in the world. But there was too much coincidence for it to be naught but serendipity.

Perhaps once my addled mind had been made whole, I would be able to glean more answers. Or perhaps there were none. Only the beautiful chaos of the world on full display before me. If that were the case, I would want to bury my head in the sand, if only to keep from being driven mad by the machinations surrounding me.

At least then, I would be able to rest.