Dark Fate: The Gathering (The Dark Fate Chronicles Book 1) (50 page)

Alexander handed a pair to her. “Put these on, please.”

She took the altered spectacles but watched him place his own before donning hers and tightening the strap as she had seen him do. The glass lenses were crystal clear and fit nicely to the contours of her face.

“Gloves?” The prince had extracted thin leather gloves from the satchel after affixing the goggles, and he was proffering them to her over one shoulder.

Sloane clutched the hand gear a little spasmodically as Tytus began to shuffle in a side step down the giant perch after Rouke and Aria. The captain and her mount had already disappeared through the opening, dropping away with silent intensity. Rouke, by contrast, let a loud whoop of excitement as his eagle jumped from the end and plummeted out of sight, beak first.

She took the pair of finely crafted gloves and pulled them on quickly. Tytus’s sidestep took them over the threshold and the world opened below her. Sloane’s stomach fluttered as she took in the view of the city and wilderness spreading below. Eos help me. Heights had ceased bothering her, or so she had thought, after her many leaps from the Diver’s Spire. This height, however, was another matter. The city was a quilt of streets bordering the patches of buildings and open areas along the island. Tiny dots that she took to be people could barely be discerned as they crept along, attending to their business, uncaring that she dangled above them. The lake to the East was a cobalt blue puddle, and the mighty river system just a network of veins, feeding life to the surrounding lands. Swallowing hard, she wondered if this was a good idea after all.

“Hang on!” Alexander yelled as Tytus leapt off the pole into the open air.

Sloane flailed at the flapping loops but managed only to claw at the prince’s arms in desperation as they plummeted toward the city. She shrieked with a combination of fear and exhilaration as the buildings that were once tiny and meshed together began to grow larger and separate into individual structures.

Tytus’s wings remained closed.

The ground was almost upon them. Individuals on the streets nearby started pointing up.

She dug her fingers into the prince’s shoulders. “Alexander!”

He tugged once on the handles and the mighty bird’s wings spread open in response. Tytus let out a screech that echoed between the taverns and cottages below. People who had not been aware of their descent ducked suddenly for cover, and more than one bundle of goods went flying.

Sloane’s stomach felt as if it had dropped out of her body onto the cobblestone street below. She pressed so hard into Alexander’s back that even the flight suits couldn’t have done a better job of making their bodies move as one. The prince’s body shook below her with laughter.

“You
are
trying to kill me!” she shouted over the roaring wind, but she found herself laughing along with him. Flying was, by far, the most amazing, glorious, and liberating thing she had ever experienced in her life. The landscape reeled past her at a dizzying speed, and then dropped away as Tytus’s mighty wings began to beat, pushing them higher once again. “Unbelievable!”

Tytus sped by the western curtain wall of the city and Alexander pulled on one of the handles. The world turned upside down as the mighty bird swung into a roll.

Sloane’s stomach lurched once more, but she let go of Alexander to let her body dangle from the harnesses, with her leather-clad fingers spread wide to sift the wind. Gravity pulled her once more against Alexander’s back as Tytus completed the maneuver and the world assumed its rightful perspective.

They had flown to the western side of the city, which was perched on the very edge of the second “step” of the massive waterfall chain of the Tanglevine. The cascading water could be seen smashing onto the rocks hundreds of feet below, then it flowed onward to the next giant step in the chain.

A shout of approval from the right side drew her eye to where Rouke was dropping into line with her and Alexander. She could feel the wide grin on her face mirroring the fierce joy on Rouke’s.

Captain Aria and her mount settled in on the opposite side. The stocky woman wore a look of concentration; her head moved about as if she were in search of something. The three birds flew in a rough triangle with Tytus at the head.

“So, what do you think?” Alexander called over his shoulder.

Sloane laughed again, unabashedly allowing tears of joy and excitement to drop away into the wind. “I love it!” she yelled back, but the words fell short of the feeling. Here, there was no duty. There were no wars, and there was no strife with family or sadness of separation.

This was what it felt to be truly and completely free.

They sat together on the edge of one of the many balconies that lined the exterior of the palace. The day’s flight had left Sloane speechless for some time after, and only now did she feel able to respond to questions with more than an overwhelmed smile and some gestures.

The flight had replaced her building doubts and frustrations with hope and possibility. Placing her feet once more upon the ground had brought home the burdens she had been under, but now, she looked at them with fresh eyes, as challenges that could—no, would be met. “What now? How will we look for my sister?”

Alexander kept his eyes on the amber-colored sky when he spoke. “We will fly to Riverwood tomorrow and take lodging for a few days. The eagles will see things we cannot, and will find her trail or the trail of those who follow her.”

She reached out and touched his hand. “Thank you for this.”

He gently took her hand and brought it to his lips. “I would see you at peace.”

“I am, in some ways. This place is not what I imagined it to be.” She cleared her throat softly. “
You
are not what I imagined.”

He chuckled and turned to face her. “I hope that is a good thing.” After a pause, he met her eyes. “I saw you once, three years ago. Did you know that?”

She shook her head, puzzled. Sloane tried to recall when they might have been in the same place but could think of none.

Alexander’s face was mischievous as he watched her delve into her memories. “Not a place you would expect, I think. I was on a ship, in the bay of Stone Mountain. Father had just fallen ill and it was left to me to handle certain affairs that were not yet finished. I had decided to handle them personally.”

She frowned. “In the bay?”

“You were jumping off of those rock pillars, with a group of others.” He sighed. “How I envied the lot of you.”

“You were there?” She looked down at their touching hands. She wasn’t sure if she should be self-conscious or not. When diving off the cliffs, she rarely wore much in the way of clothing. Neither did the others, for that matter. A thought came to her suddenly. “How did you know which one was me?” Few people could tell the difference between her and Sacha, even up close. From a ship on the bay, it would have been near impossible.

He moved closer. “I had been on Stone Mountain for several days by that time, negotiating terms with your father. During that time I had seen a painting of you. You were younger in the painting, to be sure, but I already had a good idea of what you looked like before I actually saw you.”

Not exactly what she wanted to know, but that explained how he could pick her out amongst all of her cousins and friends. “I meant, how could you tell Sacha and I apart?”

“Ah. She wasn’t there.”

That didn’t seem right, Sacha had always come to the Spire... Except the summer before she went to the Monastery. That was it. Sacha had been with Renee almost the entire summer, and the timing would have coincided with Alexander’s visit. “And what were you
negotiating
for?”

He moved even closer. “You.”

She blinked and attempted to respond but found herself at a loss. On the one hand, her heart soared. On the other, being bartered for made her uncomfortable. It was as if she were a treasured mare, or a piece of furniture, rather than a person with whom this man might be spending the rest of his life.

Alexander continued, and the flecks of brown in his hazel eyes seemed to glow with life. “I had asked the king if I might meet you before we entered into such a discussion.” He paused and twitched his head to one side, then shrugged softly. “But he declined. We were unable to come to terms, but I wanted to see you before I left.”

“What?” Sloane released Alexander’s hand and spread her arms. “Then how did this happen?”

Alexander shrugged and raised his brows. “I waited. Patiently. I sent letters to your father every so often, just to ensure that I, and my offer, remained in his thoughts. He never once replied. At least, not until this year, when the Wildmen began to cross the borders in great numbers.” He reached up and took hold of her hands again, bringing them down between them. “I have been waiting for you for quite some time.” One of his hands released hers and moved to cup her face. “And you have turned out to be so much
more
than I had imagined.” He leaned in and kissed her.

Any reservations Sloane had dissolved in their warm embrace. She realized, however the means of her arrival, she was happy to be here in Waterfall Citadel. She was happy here with him.

Vinnicus watched Sloane and her prince from the safety of the shadows.

He could walk in the light if necessary, but regardless of his preparation, such an act was never comfortable, and the sun’s golden rays could make him weak if he lingered.

The reward was worth the risk here, however. He needed to know how things were progressing in the relationship between the princess and Alexander. The two were bonding more swiftly than he had anticipated. Her twin must be found—immediately.

Dissatisfaction stirred his soul as he passed through the corridors amongst the busy people, who took no notice of him beyond slight shivers and occasional glances over the shoulder. Finding nothing, all turned back to their tasks and errands, though more than a few made warding gestures before they did so.

Sacha’s abduction had
not
been part of his plan.

Could it be, the same enemy who had discovered his ward was playing their own game here in Waterfall Citadel? Perhaps not, but it was foolish to behave otherwise. He would need to find which of the Spawn might be operating here, and how strong the influence they held was, but Sacha’s absence had to take precedence. It could be that the two missions intertwined.

He knew the girl still lived. The heartstone, created at her birth, beat brightly in his dark abode within the bowels of the Citadel. If its glow ever faded to nothing, well, he hoped that would not come to pass. For now, she was alive.

As Vinnicus approached the entry to the tunnels that led to his lair, he stopped near a young man lighting candles in the hallway. “See me,” he commanded.

The servant turned to face him and the young man’s face went ashen.

“Follow.”

The servant’s eyes rolled back to show white and he fell in behind Vinnicus.

Time passed quickly as the pair descended into the darkness. Vinnicus needed no light, and his new thrall stepped blithely behind him. They entered into the dimly glowing grotto, and Vinnicus crossed to the stone desk. The former candle lighter stumbled to a swaying halt.