Captain and a Corset (2 page)

For a moment, she recalled the moment when her best friend, Janette Aston, had found the Root Ball. The sun had been blistering their faces as a man named Grainger held a gun on them. Janette was a Pure Spirit. She could hear Deep Earth Crystals but had never known of them until she boldly tried to enter the Solitary Lodge one afternoon last year. Somehow, they’d both ended up on the Hawaiian Islands and it had altered Sophia’s life forever.

That steam had stimulated growth in the rods of her retinas, so that her eyesight was much keener—and more sensitive.

Are
you
sure
you
are
not
thinking
about
your
feelings
for
Bion
Donkova?

She scoffed at her thoughts, rejecting such foolishness.

The airship captain had been with her in the Kingdom of Hawaii when Janette had found the Root Ball.

You’re not being very kind… to wish him on his way and away from you…

Her cheeks heated with a touch of shame because her frustration was unkind. Bion had cared for her after the damned Root Ball had vaporized and she hadn’t known better than to look at it. She hadn’t known anything about Deep Earth Crystals or the power they could produce. The man had carried her when her knees buckled from the pain and he hadn’t deserted her as she’d recovered. It hadn’t been his duty to make sure she was comfortable; truly she ought to be more thankful.

Had it really only been half a year ago?

It seemed much, much longer. Janette was married and in love with her husband, and happily wore her gold Illuminist member pin now, which was fortunate, since Janette was a Pure Spirit, which meant she could hear Deep Earth Crystals—her mother had even been an Illuminist without her daughter ever knowing. Wouldn’t the matrons have a delightful time spreading that rumor?

They likely were, since Janette was an Illuminist now and her mother often visited while wearing a pin of the Order. It was very likely all their names were being tarred and feathered for daring to associate with an Order that violated womanhood by stripping innocence away. Sophia had heard such lamentations many a day during tea. It had never concerned her greatly, but now it seemed fate had ensured that she discover what the Secret Order was about.

Her eyes were changed irreversibly. The dark glasses that were necessary to prevent pain from assaulting her in the bright light of day marked her as an Illuminist. She knew she didn’t have to join the Order, but Bion had been quick to tell her that she would not be safe back in her father’s care. She’d wanted to argue—still did—but to what end? Should she return home and hide in the back room forever and risk one of her father’s well-to-do clients noticing her glasses? Her sisters would not fare well if that happened.

Besides, what sort of life was it to live in the back room of a tailor shop? She adored working with fabric, but what use was a pretty dress if she had nowhere to wear it? No ball to attend where she might waltz in her silk petticoats, and no afternoon tea with friends where they might laugh together?

Enough
pity!

That was the most useful thought she’d had all day. Well, at least since leaving Bion. The man was arrogant, but he knew the world she’d been tossed into. In a way, she’d been shanghaied. One afternoon stroll had ended with her being dragged into a carriage and taken away from her life forever. Never once in her sheltered life had she ever thought someone might use her to force her best friend to do something illegal. Of course, it was only a crime among the Illuminist Order to harvest Deep Earth Crystals for the Helikeians, but Janette had been on her way to joining the Order. The Helikeians didn’t share the Illuminists’ views on leaving the rest of the world alone. Their greatest wish was to gain enough Deep Earth Crystal to equip an army to conquer the world. The Illuminists had held them off for centuries, as they clung to their ideals of honor and dedication to learning. Now, Sophia’s life was a series of challenges that she must conquer, or else she risked losing more.

Shanghaiing was the true word for it. It was more than sin and vice that kept the upper crust of society inside their closed carriages and their section of town. There were tales of men and women taken from dark alleys to become slaves aboard the vessels heading for the Orient. Sophia wasn’t fool enough to think there were no dangers in the world; she knew some of them were just across the street from her own doorstep. But she hadn’t realized there were two forces facing off that might easily wipe out everything Britain might muster to defend herself with. She paused, looking at the silver pin in a mirror. How much more was there to learn? Or fear?

It
is
for
your
protection, Miss Stevenson.

Bion’s deep voice rose from her memory clear as a church bell.

Or just possibly it was more about keeping her in the possession of the Illuminist Order. Soon, she would be a Navigator. The fleet of airships the Order used to transport their goods and their members traveled through dimension gates. Only a Navigator could see the seams and guide the ship to the correct place. With her eyes altered, she was as rare a commodity as her friend Janette. Navigators were either born of two Navigator parents or created by being exposed to a Root Ball. Bion was protecting her, but he was also ensuring that she did not tip the scales by working with the Helikeians.

Not that she was tempted. No, she’d witnessed just what manner of fiends the men of the Helikeian cause were while she was in their keeping.

Sophia gave in to the urge to groan out loud. She was sick unto death of hearing about how she needed watching, guarding, and protecting, even if there was logic to support it. Little girls truly were the silliest creatures on the planet for wishing to be princesses. The royal family had to retreat behind their estate walls for any privacy and she understood how they felt. Fine possessions did not quench the yearning for freedom.

Not a bit.

***

Soft applause filled the mock engine room. Guardian Lykos Claxton appeared near the edge of the training stage, slowly clapping his hands. Bion clasped the rail and glared at him.

“It’s not a good day to try my patience,” Bion warned. His tone made it clear he wasn’t toying.

Lykos cocked his head to one side, a lock of his fair hair moving across his forehead as he did so. “I am not the one straining your rather notable reserves of restraint. The culprit just left, attired in a very nice set of trousers. I fear she was somewhat uncomfortable being seen wearing trousers in public.”

Bion growled softly before using his grip on the rail to assist him in jumping over it. He landed on the floor in a perfect stance; knees bent enough to absorb the shock and hands ready to deal with any threat.

Lykos lifted his hands in mock surrender. “By all means, train her as you see fit. I simply wanted to thank you for amusing me so greatly.”

Bion straightened. “I warned you, Guardian…”

Lykos shook his head. “I understand you are looking for an outlet for all that turmoil our newest foundling seems to inspire inside you, but I assure you, I am not your man tonight.”

Bion sent his fist into his opposite palm, the sound popping loudly across the room. “I believe you will serve quite nicely.”

“I might argue on behalf of my comrade, but I discover myself agreeing with you, Captain,” Guardian Darius Lawley interrupted from the doorway. He was formally attired in a brown suit that complemented his black hair and eyes. Settled in his ear was a control with several copper and brass gears that would allow him to open any door throughout the Solitary Chamber. It covered most of his ear, and when he pressed it, the door behind him closed.

“Lykos has a misplaced sense of humor at times,” Darius continued. “But the ladies do enjoy his fair features.”

Lykos made a face. “I have no use for ‘ladies’ of any sort. Tempting your wife away from the ever-so-proper Society beyond our Order improved her immensely. The upper crust’s ideal of what a woman should be is ridiculous. A lady has limbs instead of arms and a gentleman never bothers his wife with his base needs, nor can a lady be seen while in the family way, for the very sight of her rounded belly might be too much for another lady’s delicate sensibilities. The lady must also not be burdened with higher learning, for it will harden her mothering instincts.” Lykos shook his head. “Drivel. They spend their lives inventing rules of conduct that lack any benefit instead of expanding their minds.”

“But it led to the current situation with Miss Stevenson. She was raised to be a lady yet finds herself among us—the uncivilized Illuminists. A situation bound to cause friction as she adjusts,” Bion remarked dryly. “I thought you and your wife were assigned to the Hawaiian Islands, Guardian Lawley.”

Darius nodded. “I had the pleasure of escorting Grainger here for trial.”

“That bastard is still breathing?” Bion demanded.

“A fact I find irritating as well,” Lykos agreed. “I thought the doctor predicted he would die from his head injury. You really should have done a better job of cracking the man’s skull, Captain Donkova.”

“An oversight I will be happy to remedy,” Bion assured them.

“The law is clear. The man will have his trial and his sentence will be carried out in a civilized manner, else we are no better than he is.” Darius offered them a chilling look. “The man lingered near death for weeks but managed to recover, which leaves us the task of convicting him. Since Miss Stevenson is still in a delicate state, it was determined we would come to her.”

Bion snorted. “Do yourself a favor and refrain from mentioning your opinion of her current state. Miss Stevenson will be quite willing to correct you on the matter of how she views her strength.”

Darius grinned. “My wife described her as a redhead masquerading as a blonde. By the look on your face, Janette’s assessment appears accurate.”

“I have the situation well in hand,” Bion responded. No one missed the warning in his tone. “Her training is progressing well.”

“All the more reason to be finished with the cause of her transformation. There will be an official inquiry tomorrow. Both of you have been summoned by the Marshals.”

Bion nodded, then left the engine training room. His expression was controlled and devoid of any hints of his true feelings, but inside, he was elated. It was a savage sort of enjoyment, but one he didn’t try to control. Compatriot Grainger was a Helikeian. Their Order was as old as the Illuminists’, but they were very different. Helikeians would use Deep Earth Crystals and their power to build weapons for the purpose of global domination. For a solid millennia, the two orders had been clashing. Bion was certainly going to enjoy standing up before a Marshal to help Grainger get the conviction he so richly deserved.

To be sure, a part of him would rather know that the man had died from the blow to the head Bion had inflicted out on that Hawaiian lava flow. Bion snarled softly, the memory of that day still branded into his mind.

Even now, he was furious with himself. Janette Lawley was a Pure Spirit, and it had been his duty to keep her from falling into Helikeian hands. Still, he should have prevented the event that had torn Sophia away from her family.

Guilt was a bitch that chewed on him relentlessly. So much so that he had requested to be Sophia’s personal advisor during her training. The posting had been approved reluctantly because his own skills as a captain were exceptional and the Order needed him back in the air fleet.

But the Order would have to wait. Becoming a Navigator was something Illuminists waited years, often decades, for. It was something many trained for but never gained the opportunity to achieve. Root Balls were rare and competition for access to them was fierce. No member of the Order ever endured the agony of the transformation without being completely willing and eager. Only the elite were selected for transformation.

Except Sophia Stevenson. She was unprepared, ignorant of the process taking place inside her. Which was his failing.

The sting of that knowledge was intense, but he didn’t try to squelch it. Pain sometimes taught a deeper lesson than anything else. There was no way he would allow her to fall into the hands of a less accomplished training officer than himself.

Not a single chance in hell.

***

Sophia shut the book she’d been trying to read. She had classes to prepare for, but her mind was restless.

She made her way into the bathroom, still amazed by the conveniences offered by the Illuminists’ society. Her father had proudly installed piped-in water a few years before to the delight of the entire family. But here in the smallest, humblest rooms of the Solitary Chamber, she might have a hot bath without heating a kettle.

What did it matter that she might take a hot bath without stoking up the fire if she could not hear her father telling his favorite hunting story at the supper table once more?

She shook off her melancholy, ordering herself to concentrate on more practical matters. More positive ones.

She had rights among the Illuminists, rights her sisters would never enjoy in high society, with its ideas of what place a woman should stand in.

Like
being
able
to
kiss
Bion
Donkova
if
you
like…

She most certainly did not like that idea.

How
would
you
know? You’ve never been kissed.

Well, at least not by a man, she hadn’t. There had been Jonathon Saddler, who had kissed her in the Brimmers garden during a ball last spring. Somehow, she doubted Bion would hesitate when he leaned toward her or that his kiss would be anything like the soft salutation Jonathon had bestowed on her before stiffening and hurrying her back to the safety of the matrons’ watchful eyes.