Geared for Pleasure (28 page)

Dare’s expression was still somber. Knowing. It made Phina’s hair stand on end. Did she know what she and Cyrus had done last night? That was a stupid question. Everyone knew. She had seen it in the men’s eyes when she’d come up from belowdeck this morning.

She had never been good at being quiet.

“It can be difficult,” Dare agreed. “It can also be insightful. It helped me make it to this point alive. Along with my friends, of course, whose emotions never bother me.”

She needed to change the subject. “What is this news that I was dragged out of my bed for? I warn you now, I had too much to drink last night. Keep your voice down while you amaze me.”

Dare’s expression radiated excitement. It hurt Phina’s eyes as the sun had moments before. “It was Cyrus, in a way. I was telling him about my time aboard the Siren, and he said I reminded him of the queen and the way she loved to spin stories.” She let go of Phina to gesture adamantly with her hands. “
That
is where the clues lie. I’ve just had to work on recalling them. It was a daily ritual we had, you see. Queen Idony told me amazing tales, unbelievable stories about submersibles the size of cities beneath the sea, ships that flew like
birds through the air. A tower in the shape of a white flower beside a lake of northern stars.”

Phina rubbed her temple. “I definitely had an overabundance of drink. How are children’s stories the answer?”

Bodhan came up behind her, clapping her heartily on the back. “Rough night, Seraphina? I would suggest a trip to the galley for something to settle your stomach, but I’ve been there. Looks like some of the men had a fight over the last of the supplies last night. Or whatever sort of stowaway pests airships carry, the kind who screech loud enough to wake the ship with their screaming.”

She glared at his cheerful, knowing leer. “Fair Dare, is he still giving you pleasure? We can chain him up again if you’d like.”

Dare blushed, giving Phina her answer. Bodhan went to stand beside her, his light eyes studying her face. “Dare barely slept last night, desperate to recall the details of that particular story. She thinks that since the queen’s games taught her about the hidden qualities of the seal, her stories might have been intended to be helpful as well.”

That no one hesitated to believe Queen Idony the Ever Young had the foresight to see this day was a testament to her wisdom. To Phina, it was an obvious assumption. The queen was more than royal—she was divine. But why then had she allowed herself to be taken?

The last voice she wanted to hear joined the others, making Phina whirl around. An action she instantly regretted. Damn the man.

“She’s right.” Cyrus stopped when she saw him, shifting as though he were as uncomfortable with her presence as she was with his. A fact that instantly elevated her mood.

He looked away from her, toward the others. “I know the story she speaks of. It was one of her favorites. The tower was a lotus, and the lotus held the universe inside its petals.”

Dare nodded. “Yes, that’s it. Captain Amaranthe thinks the lake in the story may be the key to our direction.”

The captain’s hazel eyes were surprisingly warm as she spoke. “Dare told me the tale and it jostled my memory. In the North, where the Yazata Range meets the Pearl Mountains, I saw from the air a lake that has similar properties to the one in Dare’s story. Whatever plant life grows within it makes it glow.” She met Phina’s stare with a pointed one of her own. “Like northern stars.”

Bodhan pulled Dare closer, the excitement apparently contagious. “Did you see a tower?”

Captain Amaranthe shook her head. “No. The area appeared untouched. Unpopulated. But I know of no other lake with those qualities in Northern Theorrey.”

Phina was disbelieving. “When did this become a treasure hunt? The queen said herself that her time was winding down. Was I the only one who heard that? Are human ears that inferior?”

The captain stepped toward her, lowering her voice so the crew could not hear. “Seraphina, no one has forgotten the queen’s message. Or our time constraints. She is the one who told us of Tower Orr. Her Chalice and her Sword, much as it pains me to admit it, know her better than we do. We have to take the chance. Unless you have another option, another direction for us to go.”

They were all looking at her expectantly, but it was difficult not to argue. She wanted to head into Centre City, to break into the tight security of the Theorrean Raj’s domain and demand answers. But the captain was right. Dare had known, when she hadn’t, that the queen had been replaced. She had to trust in the gentle Chalice. Queen Idony certainly did.

Why did she still have such a terrible knot in her chest? Cyrus Arendal? Or the guilt that was growing inside her for her only real family, left behind in the Copper Palace?

Phina swallowed past the tightness in her throat. “I believe I need some of Freeman’s strongest tea yet. I will have to be in top form if I’m to help you find this lotus tower.”

The obvious relief of the group around her eased her mind. The last thing she needed was more scrutiny. More judgment from the blue eyes of the Arendal.

He had no idea how much she wanted to find the queen. No idea what she was willing to do to ensure Idony’s safety. And no inkling of the personal stake she had in discovering exactly what had happened.

But despite her determination, the small voice inside her head could not stop wondering what had become of the queen’s maid. What had become of Nephi?

“Wulf. Hadiyah. How long has it been?” Bodhan called out in welcome to the strangely dressed men waiting under a copse of trees near the clearing where the Deviant had found its port. This was a favorite spot for the captain to resupply. Just outside of Newgarren. The small town on the western edge of the Avici desert drew many traders, and few Wode.

Phina sprang easily off the cargo platform as it lowered slowly, its mechanical arms on either side of her whirring loudly in her still sensitive ears. She landed gently on the ground beside Dare, watching the newcomers with an alert and wary gaze. Bodhan’s mysterious friends.

She had gone back to her room to splash water on her face and get herself together. Freeman, her savior, had left his special blend of tea outside her door. The queen needed her to be Seraphina. Fearless and bold. That was exactly what she would be.

What she found on her dressing table had been a step in that direction. Cyrus had gotten into her room, leaving a memento behind.

Her brass and copper bracelet. He’d even left the darts intact. It was a gesture of truce she could not quite ignore.

That a Wode had managed to disarm her without her awareness was unacceptable. It was a move
she
had perfected over the years. Seduction and misdirection. Until now, no one had gotten the drop on her. Since adulthood, no human male had been able to catch her in the act of pinching any object she desired. And no one had ever taken anything from her without her permission.

How had
he
?

Still, he had kept his word. He had returned it to her possession for their landing, in time for her to meet Bodhan’s friends. She had to admit, the jangling of her pretty wrist piece was comforting.

Now that her mind had cleared, she catalogued the features of the two men carefully. Bodhan had contacted them the same way he had his Siren guards. That wonder of a wrist cuff. She needed to get her hands on one.

They had been waiting patiently in the sparse shade granted by the wispy trees when the Deviant began to descend. She’d noticed their broad smiles as the ship moored and the landing dodge was unfurled, needing no monocular to see them clearly, even from a distance. Though both had their eyes hidden behind strange lenses similar to Bodhan’s, which were tinted with varying hues of rose and violet, she could tell from their expressions that they were taking in every detail of the Deviant’s design until it disappeared from view. Admiring.

They’d come bearing gifts, sacks of food and several large trunks laden, she imagined, with other necessities. She inhaled deeply, scenting nothing combustive or dangerous in their effects.

Neither man was close to Freeman in size, and they had brought no pack animals. She would ask how they had carried their load, but it was instantly apparent when they came closer. The dark-haired man took a rectangular metal box out of his pants pocket, causing Phina to tense, ready for weapons fire.

He did not aim, but shook the object, smacking it against his
palm with a curse while the fairer man chuckled. Then small jets of steam puffed up into the still air behind the large wooden cart that had been stationary beside them. It juddered to life and the brass wheels of the wooden wagon started to roll between the two of them, seemingly guiding itself to where Bodhan stood.

She had seen carts move on a charged rail in the Theorrean mines, where her family had worked for generations, but never on rocky terrain. Never without a pre-laid track. She could see the value in it, the cleverness.

She wondered if they knew the Khepri.

Phina let her senses take over. There was no tension in these men. They had no fear of the ship or its crew. Their confidence was undeniably attractive, as was their unusual appearance.

One of them had a scent and look similar to Bodhan’s. He wore a tunic shirt with a belt of leather pouches at his hip instead of a sword or pistol. His dark hair was contained in a long braid that came down over his shoulder to his waist, lending to his exotic appeal and darker coloring. He removed his rose-tinted spectacles and squinted against the daylight. Once revealed, his eyes were the same nearly colorless blue of Bodhan’s. Like seeing the sky through ice, or a river that had frozen over in winter. Seraphina could not deny he was a beautiful specimen.

The paler man with silky yellow hair was even more startling. If it weren’t for his brilliant red shirt and black vest and pants, he would seem nearly transparent he was that pale. Had he never left his home? Never gone out into the sun? And what was on his eyes?

He had placed what looked to be a smaller, trimmed-down version of an ocularia device on his spectacles, all wires and multiple lenses. He moved them up and down as he studied the area of the ship covered by the dodge. His friend nudged him and he removed the device and his violet lenses, reacting as the other had, reaching
up to pinch the bridge of his nose at the brightness of the day. After her night of revelry, it was a reaction Phina understood.

Bodhan gestured to them, guiding them to the shadow the ship threw, even in its apparent absence. When he did, the blond man opened his eyes in gratitude, showing a color similar to the moss green of her favorite drink but much lighter. So light she had to squint herself to see the color within. Despite his pallor, he, too, was magnetically attractive. His smile was knowing and playful. Cocky.

She had always believed Bodhan unique. Now, however, she felt as she imagined Dare must have when she’d first seen the Deviant. Speechless.

The pale man spoke first, in a subtle accent that was also similar to Bodhan’s. “It has been too long, Bodhan. I was sorry to miss you on your last visit home. We’ve been refitting the Slide.”

The man next to him smiled sheepishly at the brothel owner. “I, on the other hand, was not expecting to see you again so soon. At least it is under better circumstances this time.”

Bodhan chuckled. “As long as you’ve learned your lesson about bragging in alehouses, this trip should be simple in comparison.”

Phina’s brow furrowed but Bodhan’s smile merely widened without further explanation. He turned to gesture toward her. “Captain Amaranthe is no doubt giving my men what for about how to properly lock down the concealment cloak—”

Phina snorted. “The landing dodge.”

Bodhan shrugged, sending her a long, suffering look. “Yes. The dodge. Speaking of dodgy, this is Seraphina Felidae. Occasional employee on the Siren, and full-time mischief-maker. Keep your trunks locked, men.” He winked at her to show he was teasing, but she was not particularly amused.

Then he did something that made up for it. He held out his arm to Dare, an expression of such devotion and passion on his face that
she could not help the small sting of envy that it caused. She could not recall anyone looking at her that way. It was an emotion no pheromone could induce.

“This is Dare, gentlemen. The woman who unwittingly captured my heart. Love, meet two of my oldest friends. My cousin Hadiyah, Hadi to his friends, I’ve already told you about. The ghostly gentleman beside him is Wulfric the Great.”

Wulfric’s look was self-deprecating as he held out his hand. “I am pleased to meet you, Dare. I thought Bodhan was too focused on the family business to ever get to the business of starting his own family.” He turned to Phina and studied her outfit with interest. “Wulfric the Great is my father. I am still but a shadow of that mad old inventor. Or a ghost, as Bodhan says. You may call me Wulf the Modest Yet Irresistible to Women.”

Phina’s smile tilted at the ease of his sensuality. She allowed his hand to engulf hers. He studied her in open appreciation, but he was not put off balance by her pheromones. Odd. But then, Bodhan had never been affected, either.

Who were these men and where did they come from? Wherever it was, she reminded herself to stay away. It was hard to trust a man she could not seduce.

Wulf caught her puzzled expression. “I may be immune to your scent, my dear, but the view has no need for enhancement. You are stunning.”

When the men turned to Bodhan once more, speaking in hushed, enthusiastic tones about their journey, Dare leaned close to her ear. Her breath made Phina shiver.

“They are from Aaru. Queen Idony spoke of a secret Bodhan must share with the captain? They are it. That is to say, where they come from is. They are here to help, and meet with the captain. Can you imagine it, Phina? A hidden city not bound by Theorrean reproductive laws or castes. They are loyal to the queen, but not the
Theorrean Raj.” Dare’s soft voice held a hint of awe. “Bodhan was born there. And Hadi? He is the reason Bodhan was missing from the Siren.”