Chapter 3

Kaidan and Zerua glanced at each other before turning their attention back to the large double doors leading into the king’s audience chambers. “You ready?” He slipped his fingers through hers.

She bit her lip. “Me? You’re the one who’s explaining what we found. Are you ready?”

He took a deep breath. “To lie to the king and leave out our most recent discovery? No. But I don’t have a choice. We can’t reveal this until we know for sure that it’s true.”

She sighed. “I hope the king doesn’t question anything.”

Kaidan squeezed her hand. “It’ll be fine. I’ve had the last half hour of waiting to come up with something suitable.”

The doors opened, and the guards who had gone to see if the king was available slipped back out. “His Majesty King Aladhan will see you now.” The bulkier of the two guards held the door open, his gaze piercing into them.

Zerua resisted the urge to turn around and run. I can hardly believe we’re lying to the king of Argos about our discoveries... First time for everything, right? She swallowed back a laugh, her shoulders tensing.

Kaidan tugged her forward, and she followed him into the audience chamber, clinging to him. He let go of her hand as they passed the threshold, and she fought the surge of anxiety begging her to turn around and flee the room. The two of them paused in the center of the room and knelt on the cold marble floor, bowing their heads.

King Aladhan’s robes rustled as he shifted and stood. “You may rise. What news do you bring of the dig, Tadegan?”

Kaidan stood, drawing Zerua up with him. “We’ve finished, Sire. The dig site has been cleaned up, and we’ve brought the artifacts we removed for your perusal.”

King Aladhan smiled. “Did you find the evidence you were looking for?”

Kaidan glanced at Zerua. “We did, Sire.”

“So, the battle really happened?”

“I couldn’t say if it was truly a battle between the gods, Sire, but we did find evidence of a battle, and we found multiple pieces with the crests of Rith and Sedra Valmurith.” Kaidan ducked his head. “Besides that, we didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.”

Zerua kept her head down, remaining quiet as Argosian tradition dictated she should in the presence of royalty. Sweat slicked her palms, and she clasped her hands in front of her to avoid fidgeting.

The king settled back into his throne, his robes brushing the marble platform in Zerua’s line of vision. “Well, have the artifacts brought to the Vault. My Imperial Knights are trained to work with researchers; they’ll help you with getting the artifacts placed in the proper places within the Vault. Bring me the records list of what you found when you finish.”

Kaidan cleared his throat. “Of course, Sire. I will deliver it myself.”

King Aladhan laughed. “I know you will. You came with high recommendations and commendations from previous benefactors. The two of you are dismissed. Thank you for the report, Kaidan. I wish you and your lovely wife the best with whatever you do next.”

“Thank you, Sire.” Kaidan turned and strode toward the door.

Zerua bowed to King Aladhan once more before turning to follow her husband. The two of them walked through the door without any comment from the king. Sweat trickled down Zerua’s back, and she bit her lip, hastening her steps. Kaidan shot her a glance as they strode past the guards.

Once they’d moved out of the guards’ earshot, Kaidan laid a hand on her arm. “Are you going to be alright? You’re looking a bit pale.”

Zerua took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping. “I’ll be fine.”

He stopped walking, taking her hands in his. “Zerua, there’s nothing to worry about. No one has any reason to think we found something else there. We buried the body when everyone was busy, and we kept the journal under lock and key.”

She rested her forehead against his chest. “I know. I just can’t help wondering when the anvil will drop.”

Kaidan ran his hands up and down her arms with a sigh. “Me too, but we’re going to face much worse than this in this endeavor. We can’t get cold feet now or we’ll never make it through this.”

Zerua leaned into him, her pulse slowing down to normal rates. Her breathing steadied, and she exhaled, warmth returning to her extremities. “True... Well, we’d better get on with the labeling and storing of the artifacts.”

He pulled away with a grimace. “Yes, I suppose so. Though I’d prefer we got on our way now instead of later.”

She shook her head with a laugh. “Patience, dear.” Looping her arm through his, she tugged him forward. “The sooner we complete this task, the sooner we can worry about the next.”

***

On their lunch break, Zerua and Kaidan left the musty tunnels of the Kier Records Library and emerged into the bustle of the castle courtyard as others also went to find lunch or bartered with the vendors in the courtyard. They stepped aside as two children barreled by, one in hot pursuit of the other. Zerua smiled at the weary mother who was following on their heels.

Dogs barked and quarreled over a bone by a meat vendor’s shop, and as they passed, they heard the vendor haggling with a customer over the price of a shank of agharval—a venison-like meat that the vendor insisted was of the highest quality. Zerua and Kaidan glanced at each other with a laugh.

“Vendors around here—” Kaidan shook his head. “If you aren’t careful, they’ll swindle you quicker than the best actor around.”

Zerua looped her arm through his with a grin. “One might say they are the best actors around here. Look there. That woman’s paying that man twice what that shawl is worth.”

She pointed to a woman handing a vendor two gold coins for a shawl in a powder blue shade.

“True enough.” Kaidan guided her around a steaming pile of horse dung and through crowded stalls.

The cries of vendors trying to sell their wares filled the air. The couple shook their heads at vendors who clung to them, begging them to buy and offering steep discounts if they would. Beggars and thieves wove through the market byways, snatching purses or pleading for a copper or two.

Moments later, they burst out onto the main street and passed under the castle gate, following the crowd jostling and hustling across the drawbridge. Then they flowed out onto the streets of Upper Kier, and the crowd thinned, leaving Zerua and Kaidan to amble down the streets in relative peace.

Zerua pressed a hand to her chest with a sigh. “Rith, but I hate crowds.”

Kaidan patted her back. “There, there. We’re free of it now.”

She turned a baleful frown upon him. “Are you mocking me?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, love.” A smirk played on the corner of his lips.

Zerua smacked his arm with her purse, narrowing her eyes. “You are!”

“Well, perhaps a little.”

She huffed and turned her focus to the streets around them. “So, what have we ventured out of the bowels of the library to do?”

Kaidan threw his head back and laughed. “Such impatience, woman!”

“You said you’d tell me when we got out of the library and the courtyard.”

He shrugged. “So I did. We’re going for lunch, and then we’re going to commission one of those new-fangled flying contraptions for the journey to Ashkarith.”

Zerua raised a brow. “Really?”

“Yes, really. You didn’t think I’d want to wait three months to travel all that way, did you? We’ve got the money, Zer. Better to find the truth sooner rather than later.” Kaidan looped his arm around her waist and tugged her into him, laughing when she squealed. “Isn’t that right?”

His wife’s lips curved up in a soft smile. “I suppose.”

He released her with a grin. “It’ll be an adventure!”

She smoothed the creases from her gown with a shake of her head. “Yes, an adventure where we’re very likely to lose our lives. Quite entertaining, I’m sure.”

“Oh, don’t be sour.” He elbowed her. “It’ll be the grandest adventure we’ve ever taken in the pursuit of truth. And if we don’t come back—” He bit his lip. “Well, we will. But if we didn’t for some reason, at least we died searching for the truth, right?”

She heaved a sigh. “Yes, I suppose you have a point there. Better that than dying of old age.”

Kaidan chuckled and threw an arm around her shoulders. “That’s my girl.”

Zerua leaned into his side, appreciating the rays of sunshine soaking the two of them and the comfort his presence radiated. For the moment, she decided, it would be best to set aside the worries. They had to go whether they had fears or not. Truth and justice demanded it, and that was what they’d stood for their entire lives.

They went where the leads took them and told the tales they found. Nothing was kept secret and nothing was too sacred to be told. The truth was meant to be shared, to be used to enlighten others, not to be hidden away for fear of the repercussions.

***

The flying ship, Rith’s Demise, tugged at its moorings in the breeze blowing across the air field. Kaidan tilted his head back to look up at the curling black letters that declared the ship’s name proudly to any onlookers. Beside him, Zerua clung to his side, a small hitch in her breath the only other indication of surprise.

“What do you think, love?” He turned to her, drawing her close with a smile.

Zerua cast the ship an apprehensive look. “Well—” She bit her lip.

Kaidan looked back at the ship too. The iron-covered boards were grooved from many flights, and the soft-bodied, gelatinous hael that followed the air ships clung to the hull, leaving their own trails of glowing slime over the clear film from previous feeders. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Look.” He pointed to the hull. “Plenty of hael occupying the hull. That means it’ll fly smoother.”

Zerua frowned. “Does it?”

“According to the research I did, it does.” Kaidan rubbed the back of his neck. “Supposedly, the slime they deposit hardens, and over time, the lightweight layers of the deposits are able to store more and more energy for the Endenes who guide the ship and keep it aloft.”

He tugged her to stand in front of him and pointed out the empty spaces on the hull. “The hull itself is made of iron because that conducts energy best. So, you see, the more hael that attach themselves to the ship to feed on the oxidization on the hull’s surface, the better the ship will fly.”

“So, it’s a sort of symbiotic relationship?”

Kaidan squeezed her hips with a smile. “Exactly.”

She leaned her head back against his shoulder. “Intriguing. So, you say this ship is a good choice?”

“For the price we’re willing to pay?” Kaidan wrapped his arms around her waist. “Yes.”

“Then we should find the captain and speak with him about passage to Ashkarith.”

“That shouldn’t be a hardship.” Kaidan released her with a grin. “He’s been watching us since we arrived. Looks like he’s starving for business too.”

“Does it?” She craned her neck, looking for the captain.

Kaidan pointed him out.

The man stood in the shadow of his ship, long grass brushing over his boots. He wore all black, his long coattails whipping in the wind whistling across the field. His sharp gaze met theirs as the couple sized him up the same way he’d been sizing them up since they’d arrived. Kaidan shot the man a broad smile.

Zerua cleared her throat, running her fingers through her loose black curls. “I don’t like him. Looks like a swindler.”

Kaidan’s grin widened. “That he does. Probably is. But you heard what they said in the tavern. He’s the best air-captain in port that’s affordable.”

She heaved a sigh, dropping her hands to her sides. “Well. Then we’d best start the process. Just keep an eye on your purse.” She pursed her lips. “I don’t like the way his men are eyeing us.”

The men, Kaidan noted, had ceased their work on deck and were thronging the rails to eye the newcomers their captain had been sizing up. The looks on their faces were ones of unabashed greed. It mingled with the looks of curiosity and the longing for a reason to be back in the air, creating a peculiar mix of expressions on the crew’s faces.

“They don’t seem so bad to me, love. Just a little starved for business.” With that, he took her hand in his and tugged her forward, striding across the field to meet with Captain Eras Dhiabhan.