Page 2 of The Garnet Daughter (The Viridian Priestess #3)
Chapter
Two
“ H ello, August.” I glance down at the Viathan gun pointed at my stomach, both him and his weapon incredibly close . . . too close. “Do you mind putting that away?”
“May I ask what you’re doing sneaking around my ship first?”
I attempt to wiggle out of his proximity, but he does not budge. “I was not sneaking around.”
His smile turns up more on one side, a dimple I choose to ignore presenting itself. “Weren’t you? A friendly guest would announce themselves.”
“I was just about to.”
“How did you cross the field from the tree line so fast?” He withdraws the barrel of his weapon from where it lightly pressed into my skin.
“You saw me?” I ask, confused.
“Of course.” He leans in, eyes flicking down my body for a brief, seemingly involuntary moment.
I can’t help the roll of mine, hearing him try to put more meaning behind his words, and then I decide to show him exactly how I could sneak up on him.
I fold the distance so fast he has to catch himself from falling into the side of his own ship.
“That’s how. And if you knew it was me, why the need for a weapon?” I smile as he turns to where I’ve landed behind him, his face beaming with astonishment. I described my gifts to him on his first night in the village, he was sweet and so amused then. “I told you I was fast.”
“By the three worlds.” His laugh is playful. “And apologies, can never be too careful. I am alone, you know . . . vulnerable even.”
It is hard not to like August, not just because he is handsome in a way that frustrates me to admit, but his sense of humor has an ability to calm me.
I clear my throat and dig my heel into the grass beneath it, reminding myself why I am here: to secure my way off this world.
The fact that he has indicated he finds me attractive and somewhat interesting may not be enough to entice him to embark on a possibly complicated situation between factions.
I am not familiar with the hierarchy of Viathans, but it is clear the 99th Commander is higher ranking, even if this is August’s ship, so I will have to appeal to him some other way.
“Are you going to show me inside?” I ask, gesturing with my chin.
He looks a little flustered at my request, like he isn’t certain what I am truly asking.
“The ship? Sure.” He rubs the back of his head and stands farther down the center of the enormous wall of metal. “Stand back just a bit.”
He taps a square on the wall, lights flashing with each press of his finger. I take a few more steps away as the belly of the ship opens with a whoosh of cold air and a portion of it slowly lays itself onto the grass in front of me.
He smiles at my amazed expression as we climb the metal structure that was just a wall.
“This is the cargo hull, supplies and such.” He points and continues farther into the ship, a soft edge of pride in his posture.
My gaze is unfocused. The cold air is crisp as I breathe it in, similar to the moss layer but without the loamy smell. In fact, the entire space smells like nothing at all.
I follow him up a ladder to another level and listen as he happily points and explains in a way he assumes I will understand. I catch some of it, but most of the names are for objects I’ve never seen before.
“Would you like to see the cockpit?” he asks as though I should know what that means.
“Sure.”
“Right this way.” He gestures dramatically and a door whooshes open and reveals a cluster of stars twinkling not from the sky, but from the structure of the ship itself.
“Wow.” I stroll toward the display of lights and see multiple chairs lining the space, arranged in rows and all pointed the same direction. “Something important happens in here?”
August sighs like I’ve said something wonderful and holds my gaze for so long, I assume he hasn’t heard me properly.
“That’s my chair, at the front,” he explains proudly.
“What do the lights do?”
“Oh, the . . . buttons? I use those to fly the ship,” he answers and watches me.
“It’s amazing this thing can be held by the wind. It seems very heavy.” I touch the cold metal of the wall that looks like an outline similar to the one August opened before we entered.
“The engine helps with that part. I’m pretty sure one of these lights controls it,” he jokes.
I cross in front of him where he leans against the back of his pilot chair; it’s clear he is monitoring my every move. He’s trying to impress me. This is part of his world and he wants to know what I think.
I run my finger across the seam of his chair until it meets his forearm. “It’s a very nice chair.” I pause for his laughter. “Which one would be mine?”
He indulges in the idea and throws his head to the side where another chair toward the front looks like it’s part of the very structure. “Copilot, of course.”
“Copilot?” I feign insult. “I’m sure I am much faster than this skyship. Does that not earn me the pilot’s seat?”
“I’m afraid not.” His eyes shine with delight, small lines wisping the outer corners not from age, as he doesn’t seem older than thirty rotations, but from how often he smiles, making permanent etchings just below his temples.
We both laugh at the playful tease, but he can tell I am here for a reason. He is far smarter than he looks. I did not indulge his flirtations in the village, and even though his responses to mine seem genuine, the contrast is blaring.
“Why are you here, Calliape? I am enjoying your company as always, but why?” he asks.
I put a little space between us instinctively.
I can’t tell him the truth. There is no way in the three worlds that a Viathan who is clearly uncomfortable with most things First Mother related will grasp why I need to leave Frith.
I can’t tell him that there is a voice calling out to me, one that has conjured such restlessness in my heart that I will do anything to answer it.
I might sound petulant if I tell him I need to leave because there has to be something else for me in this life other than foraging and hiding up on the mountain.
“I want to go back to Cosima with you.” My phrasing comes out a little off, but his face remains neutral.
“I am not of Cosima.”
“But you are going there. And I meant with all of you, Ferren too.” I stare right into his pretty green eyes and try not to get lost in them.
You are not being honest with this man. You cannot lie effectively while being attracted to him. Look away.
“My mother was of Cosima. She was in the priestess order,” I begin.
He shakes his head like he doesn’t like the start of where I am going.
“I only have Selene, and, well, you have met her. She is very protective. I am hoping to find family I may have on Cosima.” It’s not a lie, but it’s not the truth either.
“Family on Cosima.” He says it like he is testing the falsehood back on me and I can’t tell if he believes it.
“And I just want to leave,” I admit, more honest than I‘ve been since coming into the cockpit.
My tone must strike understanding within him because he paces a little, nodding to himself. “Alright,” he finally says.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I’m so overcome with relief that in the next blink, I’ve wrapped my arms around his body, as if I folded into this position. “Thank you. Ferren and the 99th Commander should take about two days to walk down the mountain. Will you depart as soon as they arrive? I will make sure I am here.”
“Yes. But you’re leaving?”
I let go before he has the chance to hug me back.
“I must stay in the village. They will know I am missing if I stay here. Selene will assume I’ve been abducted or .
. .” I stop my ramble and recenter. “I will fold the distance again the day Ferren and the 99th Commander are due to arrive at the bottom.”
“Alright then.” He huffs but then looks somewhat apprehensive. “Do I need to prepare for trouble by agreeing to transport you to Cosima?”
“I will send Selene a message through the leaves before we depart.”
“Through the leaves,” he whispers as if trying to understand.
“Do you think the 99th Commander will object?” I ask, a little concerned.
He shakes his head. “No.”
The weight of the sacred mountain dissolves from my shoulders and I breathe in the strange air, acclimating myself to it and the new sense of relief. “Thank you, August. I should get back to the village for now.”
“I am glad you came to me, Calliape. If you want to leave this planet, I will take you anywhere else you would like to go.” His smile is different now. The playfulness is gone and a more serious expression changes it, making him look older somehow.
My reasoning may not be purely truthful, but I’m certain in this moment that I asked the right person to help me.
I don’t know how long I can keep up this ruse without letting the guilt of lying to him eat away at me, especially when an overwhelming sensation makes itself known that I’ve never felt closer to freedom than I do with him in this skyship.