Chapter 7

It takes us about a day to plan the first stage of the operation.

I don’t like this feeling Jewel left me with, and I know Yossul is dealing with the same tempest in his heart. We want her more than anything else in this world, but we cannot have her unless we close the final chapter of this war.

It’s what Jewel was trying to say, as well, though she is nowhere near as articulate with her feelings as she thought. Her words cut deep despite her best intentions. Fortunately, we’ve both been around her long enough to understand.

It doesn’t mean we have to like it. I certainly don’t. But I can accept it for now.

With our bags packed, we bid our friends and allies farewell.

“You have to reach out if you need help,” Kai Hadana insists as we shake hands outside the gates of Sapphire City. “Whatever it is, reach out, Fadai. We’ll be there.”

“As soon as we have a location of the hangar, you’ll be the first to know,” I reply, stealing a glance at Jewel as she fondly hugs her human friends.

There are tears in Alicia and Amber’s eyes. Cynthia tries to give words of encouragement, but her voice is breaking, too. Jewel does her best to keep calm and smiling, confident and determined. It’s what she always does when faced with certain danger.

Something has changed, however. I see it in the way she looks at Yossul and me. The intimacy between us is so deeply ingrained that we cannot pretend otherwise.

Alas, the situation demands three clear heads for the mission ahead.

“Come on, let’s go,” Yossul says, getting in the driver’s seat of our buggy. “We’ve got a long way ahead of us.”

It takes three days to get to Pearl City. Situated far in the northernmost region of the continent, it’s surrounded by dormant volcanoes. Six mountains, to be precise—black limestone giants with purple forests draped across their ridges and sharp peaks that haven’t released a single plume of smoke or ash in over a century, much to the surprise of many scholars.

It’s blessed with a gentler climate than the southern parts of Sunna. I actually find it kind of chilly after nightfall, but Jewel says it reminds her of a Californian winter evening. Still warm enough for a skinny dip in the ocean. All I can do is imagine her naked and basking in those deep blue waters she’s fondly described over the years.

Pearl City rises in the middle of a valley, the volcanoes rising around it like sullen guardians. Its towers glisten with massive sheets of mother-of-pearl that dress the conical rooftops, while the rest of the buildings wear open-air terraces.

“There are island cities in Greece that look like this,” Jewel says as we pull over under a cluster of ancient blackwood trees at the base of one of the eastern volcanoes. We’re out of sight and sheltered by the shadows, which gives us plenty of time to analyze the entire area properly. “White buildings, mostly square in design,” she adds as she peers through the binoculars with a faint smile. “Granted, the Greek ones overlook the bluest of seas. This place is beautiful, too.”

“Pearl City was a learning center in its heyday,” Yossul replies, casually sitting behind the wheel while I scan our surroundings carefully. “The kingdom’s brightest minds got their start here. The schools were the best. It was an honor for any teacher to be summoned here. It was an honor to be charged with molding the future generations.”

“Some of Sunna’s greatest engineers and medical scientists came out of Pearl City. Solomon Daron included,” I say.

“It’s a shame he chose to destroy the world instead of building into something better,” Jewel mutters.

“Most of the scholars died in the first wave of violence,” I remind Jewel. “The warlords came forth, the military rogues, the power-hungry generals. Those with sharp and educated minds didn’t possess the grit and the ruthlessness required to survive in this hellscape, I’m afraid.”

“Yeah, and the oafs who live there now seem to enjoy burning it down,” she replies.

I take the binoculars and give the city a thorough analysis of my own. She’s right. Smoke rises from various buildings throughout the eastern neighborhoods. “Violence changes people, I’m afraid,” I tell her. Objectives change. Wants and needs change. Nobody cares about a higher education when your species is at risk of extinction. Wait,” I pause as my gaze shifts across the city. “Hold on a second.”

“What is it?” Yossul asks.

“No wonder we couldn’t spot it with a drone,” I mutter, feasting my eyes on the one thing we came here for. “It was on the southwestern side of town, too close to their command center where there was high aerial activity.”

Yossul takes the binoculars and confirms what I just saw. “The hangar. I can’t believe it.”

“It doesn’t look like one, though. One more reason we couldn’t spot it,” I say, looking at Jewel as she, too, peers through the lenses and gasps. “They built a mirrored structure over an entire neighborhood. It reflected the surrounding buildings, so—”

“We couldn’t pick it up from above,” Jewel says, smiling. “We found it.”

We have a location of one of the last remaining starships.

“You’ll stay back here and send a message to the base camp in Sapphire City,” Yossul tells Jewel, though I already know where this conversation will end. It’s written all over her face as she quietly waits for him to finish his instructions. “The nearest telegraph post is about eighty miles south of here. You can take the buggy and come back before nightfall, but they need to know.”

“And once I’m back, I just need to sit on my ass under the shade and wait for you two to do all the recon work, right?” she replies, surprisingly calm.

I’ve already caught the sarcastic undertone, and Yossul is actively ignoring it. “We’ll do the recon,” he says. “It won’t take more than a day.”

“You’re delusional,” she cackles. “I’m not staying here. Forget it.”

“You’re human, Jewel. You can’t exactly blend in,” I say. “The minute you’re recognized, that’s it. We can’t protect you in Pearl City. I thought that was obvious.”

“I am not staying here!” she snaps. “First of all, you need my eyes in there because I’m the one who knows how many pounds of explosives we’ll need once I survey the hangar. I know where to best place each load and how to pull the wiring around without anybody noticing in record time so we can blow the fucker up. I need to be there!”

“You’re human!” Yossul replies, gradually losing his patience. “How the fuck are we supposed to get past that?”

“We need access inside their command center,” Jewel says. “Which brings me to my second point. I have to get in there, as well. The command center is linked to the hangar, no doubt about it. We have to disable any fire safety protocols they have set up for the starship. Otherwise, the explosive charges themselves won’t be enough. It’s how we succeeded before, and it’s how we’ll succeed this time, too. You need me in there, Yossul.”

I can’t help but groan with frustration. “You’re human,” I say it again. Maybe it’ll finally stick.

“And that has never stopped me before,” she shoots back with a cool grin. “Bring me in as a prisoner. Wear the Sky Tribe colors and bring me in as a prisoner. They’ll take us straight into the command center, which is where we need to be. You know they’ll keep me somewhere safe, and you’ll be able to spring me out in no time. We’re already accustomed to their protocols and their access systems. They’re the same all over.”

“It’s incredibly risky, Jewel,” Yossul exhales sharply. “Why do you insist on putting yourself in danger?”

“Because we only get one shot at destroying that starship. And I’m the top prize for these fuckers. They’ll be so excited to have me that they won’t think twice about your credentials. We’ll give them a good story about how you caught me while my crew and I were trying to blow up a Sky Tribe outpost not far from here. They’ll figure out we’ve got a lead on the starship, which is a risk we should be willing to take. Once we’re done with the recon, you’ll help me escape, and then you’ll stick around and prepare for the Yellow Gang to come in with the explosives, the wiring, and my specific instructions. You’ll be on the inside, having earned the Sky Tribe’s trust. They won’t think twice about you.”

“But they will tighten security around the hangar,” I say.

“True. Yet another risk, but a calculated one. They won’t be able to move it out of there in time. They fear us, and we need to take advantage of that fear. With you two infiltrated among their ranks, all that extra security won’t count for much. We’ll get the job done!”

“It’s insane,” Yossul replies.

“It’s the best way forward. Besides, they’ll want to keep me for their dear leaders,” Jewel says. “It’ll be a while before word reaches Shaytan and his fellow generals that I was captured. A day, at least, for him to get to Pearl City so he can gloat in my face. You both know he’s looking forward to that. And a day is all we need before the next stage of the operation.”

We can’t use drones to better analyze the hangar itself. The Sky Tribe’s own drones will shoot them down. We can’t let Jewel sit on the sidelines, either. It irks me to admit it, but it’s the truth. She is way too determined and stubborn for her own good. And she’s got a point, too.

As soon as the Pearl City guards see her, they’ll be too happy to notice anything else. There’s been a bounty for her live capture for almost five years, and there’s a lot of gold and prestige involved. And the Sky Tribe’s higher-ups wouldn’t even fathom that Jewel would be crazy enough to simply walk into Pearl City on her own to blow up that starship.

Yes, it’s insane.

But it might work.

All Yossul and I have to do is make sure we spring her without blowing our cover. It’s dangerous territory, yet the payoff is enormous. And time hasn’t been on our side lately. Insanity could very well be the key to our victory in this war.