Page 4 of Winds of Death (War of the Alliance #4)

Two men worked on the machine, goggles over their eyes and wearing nearly identical long vests with multiple pockets.

One had darker, sandy-blond hair while the other’s was a lighter blond.

The man with the lighter blond hair was slightly taller and appeared younger, but both of them had a slim build.

“Do you think we need to adjust the transducer?” The young man with the lighter hair spoke as Pip and Louise approached, but he seemed to be speaking to the other man instead of them. Neither man so much as glanced up.

“Hmm. Possibly.”

“Uncle Lance, Bennett. Our guest is here.” Louise raised her voice, as if the two men were hard of hearing.

The one with the darker hair flapped a hand at her. “Good. Good.”

Louise sighed and shook her head. She pointed at the man with the slightly darker hair. “Pip, that’s my Uncle Lance. And this is his and Aunt Illyna’s oldest, Bennett. Proper introductions will have to wait until they are less wrapped up in a project.”

“I can see that.” Pip switched her bag to her other hand. It wasn’t that heavy, but it would be nice to set it down.

“Sorry, I’ll hurry this up. But cutting through this building is the shortest way to the apartments.

” Louise led the way farther into the building, and she halted by the half-assembled biplane.

“Here’s one of the things I’m hoping you can help with.

We’ve been trying to figure out how to stop bullets from hitting the propeller.

” Louise’s expression turned grim, her voice going a bit rough.

“As you can imagine, we’re even more motivated now. ”

Pip nodded, flexing the fingers of her free hand. A broken propeller had sent Fieran plummeting from the sky. “I’ll help in any way I can. Especially with this.”

“We’ve reconstructed the interrupter gear the Mongavarians have been using.

” Louise pointed to a mechanism of gears and wires in the engine compartment.

“But it’s glitchy. It works, but not reliably.

Production has started on this model, but I think between all of us, we can come up with something better. ”

“Anything is better than nothing.” Pip tried to push the thoughts of Fieran falling from the sky out of her mind.

“Yes.” Louise blinked as she turned away, that cheery note returning to her voice as she pointed to the far wall, where several gigantic spools of braided cable wires rested.

“And we were hoping you would also find time to infuse those with your magic so that more shields like the one you created for Dar Goranth can be built around other places. Contrary to what that first impression might lead you to believe, Uncle Lance has been begging Uncle Julien to reassign you here for months. It wasn’t until now that Uncle Julien agreed. ”

So was it Fieran’s Uncle Julien who had seen to it that she’d been sent here?

On the long train ride during the few minutes he’d been awake, Fieran had shared with her some of his suspicions that his dacha had been behind her new assignment.

Perhaps all three of them—his dacha and uncles—had colluded to get her here.

At least it was beneficial for the war effort.

Still, it was daunting, realizing just how easily his family could move people about on a whim. Fieran’s family had power .

“Easy enough.” Shaking off her thoughts, Pip studied the spools, noting the big track in the ceiling for moving them. She’d have to rig up something to wind one spool to another one as she infused the wire with her magic. If Louise and the others didn’t mind her making herself at home.

Louise grinned, the expression so reminiscent of Fieran’s that it hurt deep inside Pip’s chest. “I think you’re going to fit in nicely here at the AMPC. Let’s wrap up your tour and show you where you’ll be staying.”

They exited the large warehouse into what must have been an alley between it and the next building. But now it had a glass roof while the space had lovely metal tables and chairs scattered within, separated by planters bursting with vibrant blooms and small bushes.

“This is where many of us who work in the inventing room take our lunches. You’re welcome to eat here as well.

” Louise gestured around them, then back at the warehouse they’d just left.

“We were just in what was the original building. This other one is mostly storage and contains Aunt Illyna’s workspace.

There’s a garden on the roof that you’re welcome to visit during breaks, especially if you’re the type who needs a lot of green and growing things around. ”

“No. Half-dwarf and all that.” Pip shrugged, resting a hand on one of the metal tables as she and Louise strode past. “Given my magic, the metal calls to me more than plants.”

“That makes sense.” Louise shot her a grin as she opened a door set in the end of the alley.

This door led into a small courtyard with the outer wall surrounding the AMPC on one side, the wall of another building to the other side, and a small apartment building ahead of them.

Louise led the way inside the door on the right, then climbed the stairs to the second floor.

“And here we are. Home away from home for both of us. I wish we could give you your own space, but all the units are claimed now that I’ve moved in for the duration of the war. But my unit has two bedrooms.”

“I’ve had to share ever since I joined the mechanics auxiliary, so just having my own bedroom is a luxury now.

” Pip strode inside the neat space. A few miscellaneous items rested on a bench near the door while a table with two chairs sat in a small kitchen area.

Several doors led off from the main area, presumably the two bedrooms and a washroom.

Louise shut the door behind them before she stepped past Pip into the main area of the space. She halted near the table, resting her hands on the back of one of the chairs as if she wasn’t sure what else to do with them. “I’m planning on visiting Fieran tomorrow morning. If you’d like to come.”

“Of course.” Pip bit her lip. Had her agreement sounded too eager?

Then again, did she have to wait for Louise and go tomorrow morning? Why not brave Aldon and visit tonight? Unless the hospital had visiting hours she didn’t know about.

“I’d rather go tonight, but Mama cautioned that we should give him some space to rest before everyone descends on him.” Louise shifted, her voice going rough.

That made far too much sense. Pip’s heart squeezed, but she let go of any thoughts of rushing to the hospital that night. Fieran would be busy resting, and no doubt the elf healers here would want to accomplish the next stage of healing, which would wipe him out further.

Besides, Pip wasn’t family. She wasn’t officially his girlfriend. They might not even let her see him, depending on how strict the hospital was about visitors.

As hard as waiting until tomorrow was on Pip, it had to be harder on Louise. She hadn’t seen Fieran in months. Not since he’d left to join the army. Pip, at least, had seen Fieran since his crash and reassured herself that he was all right. Louise hadn’t.

Pip set down her bag and walked to the other side of the table from Louise. If she and Fieran had actually been courting, she might have dared to give Louise a hug as she would a sister. Not that Pip had a whole lot of experience with sisters. All she had was a big brother.

“Fieran is going to be all right.” Pip held Louise’s gaze, trying to put as much reassurance into her voice as she could. “Yes, he was hurt pretty badly. But he’s going to be fine.”

“I know.” Louise dropped her gaze, shifting as if she wanted to turn away, her voice even more rough. “But hearing about Fieran’s injuries and then Merrik’s…it’s just hard when I can’t even hug him.”

Perhaps this was the moment when Pip should hug Louise. But she didn’t know her well enough for that yet.

“Then let’s get our mind off our worries tonight.” Pip managed a smile. “I’ve been stuck on army bases with mostly guys for the past several months. I’d enjoy a girls’ night.”

“I’d like that.” The smile returned to Louise’s face, though not all of the worry faded from her eyes.

“There’s a bakery just a short walk down the street.

With the sugar rationing, I’m not sure what they’ll have left at this time of night, but we can see what we can get.

Then we can come back here, make tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or whatever you prefer, and chat. ”

“Sounds good.” After the long train ride, Pip was up for a short stroll through the neighborhood. Hopefully it would relieve the last of her restless energy and worries for Fieran.

And there was just something about Louise that made Pip relax. Louise wasn’t family, and Pip didn’t know if she ever would be. But she would be a fast friend before the night was out.