Chapter 23

V ala woke to soft blankets and warm daylight. Was this the afterlife? She pinched her arm and felt pain. Perhaps she had been reborn…again. She caught sight of herself in the shimmery wall, red hair flowing down her back, dark circles under her eyes. She looked more or less just like herself and somewhat worse for wear.

So, she was still alive. What had happened then? The palace, the dragon, Luiximor who decreed her death…the Masked Man who turned out to be Prince Rafeal. Lies upon lies…they never stopped, she supposed. Her whole life had been one, big lie so for other people to deceive her was no surprise.

She flung off the covers and breathed deeply, taking in her strange surroundings. The walls were of curved, white metal sectioned by three doors, and blinds were drawn low upon a huge window. Her bed was built into the wall, and a shag carpet rolled under where a chair and desk were bolted to the floor. A heavy thrumming filled the air and she could have sworn the room itself was in movement as though ensconced within a great machine.

She realized that she wore a satin nightgown and that her feet were bare.

She knelt upon the bed, her legs shaking at the effort, and flung up the blinds.

The window revealed a frothy ocean stretching to the far horizon. Waves shot upwards from the purple depths far below, each one as large as a craggy hill, their foaming tips hungrily reaching for the solar machine flying overhead. The sky hinted at an early afternoon and the sun was bright before her. It had been years since she had seen the sun like this—free and high upon the wispy clouds, the sky burning white around its fiery perimeter. But of course , she realized, this was a Thevian sunship. Prince Rafeal intended to bring her to his country. He had promised as much on the motorcycle. She angrily leapt off the bed. She had to find him at once and return to Ovgarod.

A door she thought was the exit proved to be filled with clothes. She discovered a cotton skirt and blouse, light clothing and not at all suited for the freezing temperatures of the Empire's great capital. The loose fabric felt soft and fresh upon her skin. The moccasins she spotted under the bed fitted admirably. She tried a couple more doors, finding a bathroom in one and the exit in the other.

The hall beyond was sleek and white, steel edges curving slightly as though she were in a tunnel. Walking proved difficult, not only because of her exhaustion but due to the shifting movement of the sunship. She staggered to the end of the hall and found herself standing in a large, sunlit atrium. Several corridors fell away on all sides and in the middle of the sunny space, a flight of metal stairs curved upwards to a walkway and a solid door above her head. She took the stairs, reached the landing somewhat breathless, and shoved open the door.

Brilliant sunshine and a sharp wind smote her face. A wide deck stretched along the length of the sunship's main body, various equipment strapped to the metal surface. Open hatches and glass skylights let breeze and daylight into the interior. At one end stood a group of bolted chairs and several red umbrellas for occupants to ostensibly relax at sea. A lookout station with flashing lights reared from the deck's center beside where the blue and gold Thevian flag snapped in the wind. All around rushed the vast sea under a cloud-scattered sky.

"Good morning. I trust you slept well."

She spun round. Leaning against the railing, flanked by two Sanuri, Prince Rafeal eyed her with unnerving calm. Like someone watches a caged animal, she thought. He had changed from the imperial court suit and matched his fellow Sanuri in a white leather outfit. The supple fabric showed off his honed muscles admirably, sculpting his chest, arms and thighs with remarkable precision. His chestnut hair lay slicked back and his jaw had been freshly shaved.

She stepped towards him, feeling the wind flick her long hair around her. "Where is Corina?"

"She is safe," he said. "I will take you to her shortly."

"Thank you." She studied him further. The commanding arrogance in his relaxed posture she found to be reminiscent of the Masked Man and the foreign prince she had known up until this point. And underneath it all, like a frozen river, she sensed the deep loneliness that had shadowed his actions since the moment she first met him. "Are you really a Sanuri?"

"Yes, we are Sanuri of the Temple." He bowed to her. His fellow Sanuri bowed as well, following their leader's movement. "Thanks to my companions and their bravery on this mission, we were able to rescue you from that evil country. Now the sun and waves carry us home."

She wondered how she was going to ask him to turn around and head back to Ovgarod. The request would likely fall upon deaf ears. She must figure out how to persuade him and yet…there was a strange formality in his presence that she did not remember from when he wore a mask. She realized that she spoke to a powerful prince, and one formidably gifted in Dynn talents. This knowledge made her uneasy and even shy. If she had not seen his stiff arrogance relax just once before on that snow-swept night in her palace bedroom, it would be hard imagining his militant pose to ever be capable of human emotions. That night in her bedroom when he had kissed her senseless and held her tight within his trembling arms?—

"I thought you were a Dynn Knight," she said finally.

"You are right enough." He turned to the other Sanuri. "Mera and Torm, retire below deck and address the sun panels on the left stern. We veer too sharply east."

Together the Sanuri left, vanishing below deck through a port door she had not noticed. Upon their departure, his eyes sharpened upon her with grave assessment. "To answer your question, our Sanuri are much the same as the former Imperial Dynn Knights, with the major differences in training style and general rune philosophy."

She absorbed this information. "Is it common for Thevian royalty to become Sanuri?"

He shrugged but she noted frustration and sadness in his eyes. "I'm the first of my family line to be trained in the ways of the Sanuri."

She realized his family must heavily disapprove. Royalty didn't become Sanuri. They hired them. "Why did you so badly want to be a Sanuri when you're already a prince?"

"You ask a lot of questions, Bright Eyes."

"Maybe I prefer muddy little creature, " she retorted with a small grin.

For a moment, a smile flashed across his face, lighting up the contours of his stern brow and set jaw. But then his face grew solemn. "I first entered the Temple training for a different reason, one I will not tell you today. But the Dynn holds too great a power to remain ignorant of, despite what some of my family may think. Within the Dynn, this world's future is determined. Any king who leaves this knowledge to a staff on payroll is doomed to suffer the consequences."

As Luiximor had done. She pushed hair from her face. "I always thought you were so drunk you could barely stand."

He appeared to be highly amused and his fingers thumped a staccato beat on the railing. That was familiar for sure. "You've never seen me drunk. I can assure you; the feat takes a lot more than several bottles of wine."

"And acting like an idiot? Was that also a pretense?" She smiled sweetly. It was amusing how easily they could joke with each other when they were practically strangers. Under the sunny skies and warm breeze, it felt so easy—too easy—to just relax and speak normally. But he was a prince. She decided that reality could wait a few more minutes.

His lips twitched in humor. "Still insulting me and after I saved your life…thrice."

She frowned. "Three times? When?—"

He leaned over the ship's sides and beckoned her to join.

She ventured a look. The sheer, metal sides plummeted straight to the water far below. It was a frightening distance. A monster leapt through the waves.

She blinked, processing the humanoid head, emerald scales, and powerful arms slicing through the purple water, the shark tail churning a wake of froth. "Is that the Antediluvian?"

Rafael watched him with affection. "I had him keep an eye on you while I underwent preparations in Theves prior to coming here. He's one of my pets."

"A pet? I saw him eat four people!" Besides, this prince had been watching her for years? The thought horrified and yet fascinated her.

"Hmm. He also eats fish and he's loyal to me. I saved his life some years ago. I can tell he's happy to return to the ocean. The canal made him upset."

She withdrew from the railing. The sunship's movement made her feel close to vomiting and the less upset man-fish monster bursting through the peaked waves didn't help matters. She had to ask the question that had bothered her since the night of the gala.

"Your whole act of being drunk and an idiot…I don't understand it. Why? Why didn't you just find me and tell me everything and rescue me?"

He leaned against the railing and clasped his hands together, studying her with unnerving focus. "When I saw your runes in my trance, I knew you were reborn and that Luiximor had already found you. I so desperately wanted to rescue you right then but how could the Prince of Theves walk into the Imperial stronghold without attracting suspicion? So, I spent years developing a reputation. Gambling, drinking, wild parties, lots of women?—"

"Must have been a difficult time." She struggled to keep her voice from sounding too sarcastic, but sudden anger throbbed within her. Just moments ago, she had let a small glimmer of trust and happiness into her heart. But he intended to use her as a political tool. So much for her feelings. He merely deceived her, just like everyone else.

If he noticed her barb, he paid no attention. "I ensured our spies distributed the news of my actions to the emperor. So, when my father sprung the trap and asked Luiximor to marry his sister to me, the stories did the rest of the work. Luiximor saw in me an easy claim on Theves through his sister's hand, knowing full well that my father will not live forever and my mother…" His voice trailed into silence.

She recalled the gossip she had heard at the palace. His mother was insane; locked away. She wondered if the queen was kept in the Dynn or meant to spend her mortal years at a faster rate in Theves where she could die sooner and rid the crown of any perceived scandal. It seemed too intimate a question to ask anyone, least of all this proud royal.

He continued with a deep breath. "Under the pretense of imperial marriage, I could travel to Ovgarod without suspicion and search for you, using the vision of your runes to guide me to your location in this world. My plan was simple. To rescue you that night from Luiximor. Your former selves were always locked up in the palace and I was shocked not to find you there in finery from head to toe, always and forever serving HIM." He looked unspeakably furious. "Then I realized how deeply your runes had been tampered with and for a reason I did not then understand. I stuck around, shadowing you in the city when I could get away from the palace duties, not daring to interfere until I learned more about Luiximor's true plans for you."

"If I had gone with you then, none of this would have happened," she said, hoping that would mollify him. She would not tell him about her trade. He indirectly poked around and she couldn't risk his knowing and messing things up.

"Don't mourn a future that never happened. If I had stolen you away when you resisted me, the runes would have taken offense and turned on us both, ruining whatever future we both hoped for. The Dynn is a cruel and merciless world and the runes are its apt offspring. Tweak the runes subtly through trades and pruning and you can change the future in this world. Apply too obvious of an influence, and the runes will react against your attempts and the very outcome you dread will happen. Look at what happened yesterday in the Exchange?—"

She decided to steer the conversation away from rune trade topics in case he became too curious about her work during the eclipse. "Oh. The dragon in the arena. You pushed me away, breaking the connection."

He gave her a long glance. "Yes, dragons are strange creatures. They hold powers we do not fully understand. I told him to summon you so he could see you for himself. I had to be sure you were the Vala I thought you were. He confirmed you to be the match for the runes I had found."

"But I thought Heep had sent for me?" Her head spun. Who was this prince?

"Heep was no match for a dragon's persuasion. Dragons have certain influences over runes that humans may never fully understand. You learn these things when you spend a few centuries manipulating people's futures in the Dynn."

Centuries? Good gods, just how old was this prince? She supposed that, like all royals, he preferred to live out the majority of his existence in the Dynn. At least it made for stabler reigns since rulers lived longer and succession was something that happened every century or so. She sighed, feeling hopelessly out of her element. "You should have told me who you truly were."

He spoke hastily as though he felt guilty about that very thing. "I wanted to trust you but with the emperor's ability to read minds, I had to be a complete stranger until I could rescue you."

So, that was the reason for the deception. He thought Luiximor would have discovered the plan by looking into her defenseless mind. But the emperor had only ever seen a masked face and unknown identity, one unable to be discovered by telepathic magic…a clever way to deceive a god, she thought with a spark of admiration for the man before her.

"If I had known it was you," she said, looking at her hands, "I would never have trusted the Emperor like I did. I went to the palace thinking he was you."

He winced. "I did not foresee that happening. I could not. I was glad to see you flee the palace, despite the snowstorm, and I wanted… needed you to make that choice. I swear that I will kill the emperor in a thousand slow ways for how he imprisoned you."

She decided it was a bad idea to tell him about the fiery whipping. He looked like he wanted to kill someone…she thought of something else. "You assassinated Heep. Why?"

He blinked as if surprised by the question. "He tortured you. It took all of my self-control to not slice open his flesh in that control room. The moment Heep left the safety of the Exchange, he was mine. You can be assured he died slowly."

She remembered the blood that ran down the statue, the open wounds that lacerated the body, the flesh peeling back from the bones. Somehow, the memory did not make her feel bad. Perhaps she would one day turn cruel as this prince had predicted. "I'm glad you practiced self-control."

He grinned and she saw the assassin in that smile. Sakes alive. She sighed. "I must ask a favor of you."

He broke away from her earnest gaze. "No. We will not turn around."

She planted her hands on her hips. "But I must go back. Drop me off somewhere on the coast…close to the capital. That way, you and your men can escape unharmed. Corina can stay with you until she decides upon her own way?—"

"—You really think I would abandon you like that?"

She looked askance. "You told me that my journey is my own. My choice. I choose to return to Ovgarod."

"Well, I changed my mind."

"You can't do that!" She cried.

He strode towards the far side of the deck. "I can do whatever I want."

She ground her teeth as she hurried after. "Listen to me?—"

He walked so fast, she struggled to keep up. "I will not turn my sunship around for any reason. You are safe and I intend to keep it this way. You will never face his evil again."

"But my runes?—"

"—Will be a matter of concern for the Temple."

"Luiximor will never stop looking for me. He will level Theves to the ground for me?—"

He spun upon her so swiftly, she thumped into his solid chest. His blue eyes were shards of ice. "You serve my country better in Theves where you will be safe. My decision is final." His lips formed into a dry smile. "Note, your friend is here. She proved remarkably difficult to keep from your bedside while you slept."

The prince's quick eyes flickered beyond her shoulder. She followed his gaze?—

Corina sprang up from a chair and ran to her. "This is all such fun. I'm becoming a sailor. Janie would be proud that I'll finally have a real job." She pursed her lips reflectively. "I suppose pickpocketing can still be a side gig."

Vala hugged Corina hard. Dear Janie. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Rafeal bowed with perfect elegance. "I will leave you both to catch up. I must see to the engines."

With a sharp intake of breath, he stalked off and exited below deck. Vala glared after him.

Corina squealed and clapped her hands. "Your boyfriend is awesome. How did he change his eye color?"

"He's not my boyfriend. He used some spell or something," Vala said. She had thought the Masked Man was Luiximor only to find out he was Prince Rafael. Apparently, all of them were interested in her, something which angered her every time she thought about it. Each had deceived her in one way or another and they had all wanted something from her that did no good to her life or that of her friends.

"Well, don't royals get everything. Anyway, magic spell or not, he's a thousand times nicer to you than the goddamn emperor. He couldn't stop hovering around while you slept, checking on you and stuff. I finally chased him off but it was cute."

Vala blinked. Cute was not a word she would ever have associated with the Masked Man, the Prince of Theves, or a Sanuri warrior assassin, for that matter. "He lied to me. I wouldn't say we are anything."

"What relationship doesn't have a lie or two? You should hear what I tell Ericc so he doesn't get mad at me for being late. He stares at you like he wants to eat you alive in the best sense possible. Islaen peaches mean anything?"

Corina squealed as Vala smacked her. "Gods, you're blushing."

"I'm not!" She flung a hand up to her…well, her heated cheek.

"I swear you can be remarkably dumb sometimes." The other woman giggled and stretched. "Ericc used to be a Jumun sailor and he told me all sorts of things. Those fruit are aphrodisiacs. Sex magnets."

"I'm well aware." Vala lied as her face burned even redder.

Corina stifled a laugh. "Thank goodness for all this sunlight. Can you remember Ovgarod ever having a gorgeous day like this?"

Vala stared at the sun. "No," she mused, her humor quickly fading. "Corina, I have to return and kill the emperor."

Her friend reflectively chewed on her black hair. "You're safe now. Why go back there for some suicide mission?"

"You don't understand." Vala slumped upon the railing and buried her head into her hands. "Luiximor thinks he owns my future…owns ME…and that's only the beginning of why he wants to kill me."

"Leave you alone for a day and you get into more trouble than most people do in a lifetime," Corina blandly stated.

Vala met her eyes and saw a twinkle in them. Both women burst out laughing.

"It's all so stupid and crazy and tragic," Corina gasped, wiping away tears. "Janie would think I was telling her the biggest lie I've ever created."

At the mention of Janie, Vala felt all joy vanish. "Except it's the truth. You and Janie don't know what I did…what my future holds…why the emperor wants me dead."

Corina flung her arms around her with sudden ferocity. "I don't care. You're my friend. Nothing else matters."

Vala slowly returned the embrace until they both rocked in a tight hug upon the rooftop deck of the great sunship.

"I have to go back," she whispered.

Corina sniffed and scrubbed her nose on a sleeve. "You have to know when to let go. Janie died helping you escape, but she'd totally agree with me. The past is the past. You have a new future now."

A future which Luiximor controlled. Her worst enemy owned her rune plants and he would want vengeance for her treason, even as he suffered and lost his strength over the ensuing…well, however long it took for his runes to finally die in the Dynn without her direct interference. If it took weeks or even months or years, there was no telling what horrors he would unleash upon the world in the meantime. She would never be freed from his clutches…from her terrible, enslaved future that would end too soon in death. But how could she convey all of that to her friend? Most of all, how could she explain that Janie had died for nothing?

She gently pulled away. "You don't have to understand. I must do this."

Turning before further tears could fall, she stumbled away to find the prince.

Vala descended below deck by way of a spiral staircase. The large hall she walked through had vast windows overlooking the ocean. Chairs and tables indicated it was some mess hall. She saw no one, but then the sunship was huge and there must be only a dozen Sanuri running a skeleton crew to rescue her from Ovgarod. Leaving the main room, she walked down another flight of metal stairs. The subtle thrum of the engines guided her. The prince had said he would be in the engine room, a place that likely existed at the base of the vessel where the great machines worked to keep the sunship high above the waves.

She hurried through another set of narrow, curved halls, made of white metal and studded with small, circular windows along one side. She must persuade Rafeal to turn around. But how? After she had left the main living spaces, the sunship had grown more utilitarian. These levels were devoted to the mechanics of running the great machine across the violent ocean waves.

The engine thrum grew louder. She turned a corner and nearly collided with a Sanuri. Torm, she recalled. The prince's compatriots were all so fierce and downright terrifying. Well, no wonder. Not every person had the strength to bend the dark otherworld to their will, twist the future from it, and handle dragons to boot.

She had to say something since he towered over her, motionless and assessing.

"Hey, I'm looking for the prince."

He looked at her with distaste. "You're going to be the death of us all." His accent was thick and difficult to understand. She wondered why the prince lacked the accent. Or, perhaps he had one and hid it from her.

She wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. "Oh, you mean back in the palace with the dragon? I am sorry that I put your lives in danger."

"Rafe is obsessed with you." The other man loomed so closely that she felt the need to think of an exit route. He was most certainly wanting to be aggressive. "He'd do just about anything to save you…even nearly die to find your worthless runes in the Dynn."

"I don't understand," she stammered. So, not all the Sanuri were in agreement regarding her rescue from Luiximor.

He continued, words laced with malice. "Have you ever heard of the Ardemeon?"

She shook her head. "Is that some boogeyman that bothers your sleep?"

He sneered. "You'll find out soon enough. Your runes are cursed… evil . They will destroy our realm and our prince as well. You should have died but he thinks you're worth saving for some gods-damned reason."

She started, heart thumping loudly in her chest. "That's a horrible thing to say to me…or to anyone."

His words dripped with loathing. "I wish they were more than words. Do you have any idea what he did to himself to enter that trance and find your runes? I stood guard at the alter upon which channels of blood carried away his life force over the days of torture. He almost died even though they applied healing magic to bring him back again and again."

"What are you talking about?" she whispered.

"Of course, you want to know the details. I bet you love that he suffers for you."

"What? That's not true. I need to speak with him. Please…tell me where he is." She had no more time to waste on this obviously hateful man. She doubted his story. It sounded too vulgar and insane to be real.

He thumbed behind him. "Down there. Engine room."

"How do I find it?"

"Two doors to the left, after the stairs. Is it too much to hope you break your neck on steps and save us all the trouble of arranging your death later?"

She swallowed hard and edged past his large form. She felt his eyes heavy upon her fleeing back. But he did not try to shove her down the stairs, despite his words and she was relieved to see him stomp away round the corner.