Plague of Mybyncia (15 page)

Lalu… are you nearby? Can you take me to the
FH’s Docking Station?

“They’re long gone by now,” Reid’s next to
me, applying his own headgear. “Qippert will be back any
minute.”

Suddenly, a long, periwinkle neck emerges and
we both step back as Lalu brushes up to the shore.

I am here, Fallon. I can take you.

“You were saying?” I toss Reid a grin.

He rolls his eyes with a smile. “Fine. You
win.”

“Call yours. What’s her name?”

“Palli,” he closes his eyes and after a
moment, a second purplish-blue neck emerges, just next to Lalu. The
two Millix nuzzle one another a greeting, Reid and I standing
awkwardly as we watch. When they’re finally done, we head for them
and like before, they lower their necks so we can climb on.

Patting the back of Lalu’s neck, I kick my
heels under her fins.

“Ready?” Reid grips Palli’s bairs.

I nod and they submerge, Lalu and me right
behind them. It only takes seconds to reach the city’s blinding
gold lights and before I realize it, we’re back at the Docking
Station, reemerging into the vast emptiness.

Thank you, Lalu.

I climb off and Reid dismounts Palli.

Goodbye, Fallon.

The two Millix sink into the pool and
disappear beneath the dark water, leaving Reid and me alone
again.

“Well that was quick,” Reid removes his
helmet.

“You heading back to your room?” I follow
along, unbuckling my headgear.

“Yeah. But I’ll walk you to yours first,” a
lump rolls down his throat, “if that’s cool?”

My heart skips, my focus dropping to the
ground. “Sure.”

We take off for the tunnel to the Great Hall,
Reid and I walking in silence, keeping our sights on the end of the
passage ahead. When we reach the giant space, I direct him down the
tunnel for the East Wing and he’s on my heels, keeping inches
behind me. Nearly to the corridor’s end, I slow, turning toward
him.

“Thanks.”

He nods, refusing to move. “So…” he gestures
to the opening behind me, “what do you think about them?”

“What?”

“Your quarters. Better than Harrizel?”

“Roomier,” I nod. “Definitely roomier.”

“Well you only have to share it with Pratt
and Mae right?”

I nod again.

“That’s what I thought. I have all the
Rogues, Sampson, Clarence, Qippert and the chancellor in mine. It’s
a little stuffy.”

“I can imagine.”

We stand for a minute in silence, glancing
around the golden glowing tunnel.

“I’m just going to…” I gesture to my helmet,
then to the bed and Reid nods. Walking into the room, I place my
headgear on the circular bed and exhale. He hasn’t even touched me
and yet, my blood boils under my skin. With a deep breath, I turn
around and find Reid peeking in the room, his eyes set on mine.

“Is it the same as yours?”

“Pretty much,” he fleetingly scans the space,
pausing on the pile of clothes on the floor. “Except, no shelled
bras.”

“Good thing. You look better in a
loincloth.”

“Yeah?” he smiles.

I blush, my heart picking up, thumping
through my chest, paralyzing me all over again. Reid enters the
room, moving methodically slow, closing the distance between us.
He’s focused on me, his body a sleek, smooth machine that sets fire
to the pit of my stomach. Pausing as he reaches me, we gaze at each
other, lost in this hanging moment.

After what feels like forever, Reid lifts his
hand and brushes a curl behind my ear. I force myself to remain
still as he traces a finger down my cheek, traveling toward my jaw.
My skin tingles with his touch, especially as he runs his thumb
over my bottom lip. He’s watching it intently, running his tongue
over his own, lost in some image.

“Reid…” I whisper and his hungry eyes fly to
mine.

His chest expands, deflates, and expands
again—he’s breathing hard. A large lump rolls down his throat as he
slowly leans in, his intoxicating scent overwhelming me. My heart
is a ticking time bomb at his nearing proximity and I think my
knees are going to give out. Any second. Any second and I’ll be
gone. But he doesn’t seem to notice. He’s focused on my mouth,
heavy breath leaving his own as he leans closer.

“You cannot be here!”

Salva stands in the tunnel’s entrance,
wide-eyed and flabbergasted. Pratt, Mae and Princess Ariana
surround her, all gaping with enormous grins as Reid spins, quickly
calculating the situation. I do the same, my blood cooling at the
new company.

“You are not allowed in the female quarters,”
Salva frowns with another step. “It is not acceptable.”

“Sorry,” he gestures to me. “I was walking
Fallon back.”

“You must leave.”

Reid nods, tosses me a quick glance and walks
past the group and into the tunnel. Salva watches him go before
turning back to me.

“He cannot be in here. This is the female
quarters. It is not allowed.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“How did you get back here so quickly?”

“We took our Millix.”

“Alone?” she raises a brow.

I nod.

Salva exhales, gesturing Mae, Pratt and the
princess into the room. “I will leave you to prepare for your
interrogation of Perio,” she starts to leave but pauses with a
glance at me over her shoulder. “There are to be
no
males in
here. It is not allowed, nor is it appropriate. I will not report
this transgression but it
cannot
happen again.”

“Okay.”

Salva turns to leave and once gone, Pratt,
Mae and the princess rush forward, encircling me.

“Uh,” Pratt grins, folding her arms, “what
was that?”

“What?”

“You know.”

I sigh, rolling my eyes. “It was
nothing.”

“You two are mates?” the princess asks.

“Mates?” I choke on the word.

“They are,” Pratt nods. “Can’t you tell?”

“I did have an idea,” the princess
smirks.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” I try forcing the heat
from my cheeks. “I promise he won’t be in here again.”

“It is fine,” she laughs, “and please, call
me Ariana.
I
do not mind he was here. The elders are
extremely uptight about tradition, though. It is not custom to have
the opposite sex in one’s quarters. They think it
disrespectful.”

“Why?” Mae frowns.

Ariana shrugs. “It has just always been that
way.”

“Then how…” Mae blushes, “…how do you…
repopulate?”

“The normal way…” Ariana follows, crimson
rising beneath her sage cheekbones. “It is just not tradition to
share sleeping quarters.”

“I’ll remember that,” I say. “If we’re
welcome past tonight.”

The corner of the princess’s mouth lifts, a
new smile blooming. “I was advised you are welcome to stay
indefinitely, should you choose to.”

“Really?”

“The queen has forgiven last night’s
transgressions. I believe she feels you have proven yourselves
worthy and loyal allies. Although,” and now Ariana frowns, “she
is
uncomfortable with our plan to speak with Perio.”

“I’m still game if you are.”

“Oh, I am,” she nods. “In fact… I was hoping
we could get to it sooner rather than later.”

“You ready now?”

She hesitates, a cautionary frown forming,
“…Are you?”

“Sure.”

“I will need to let my mother and the guards
know. I can meet you at the Docking Station in fifteen minutes.
Will that work?”

“Definitely.”

“Okay,” she grins, moving for the tunnel.
“I’ll see you soon.”

I reach the Docking Station and find Mimi,
the giant Stancimis, already in the center pool. We’re alone, which
is what I want, since I’ve needed a moment from the encounter
earlier, when Reid almost kissed me. I haven’t had time to process
it—the hungry look in his eye, the need in his mouth as he leaned
in for mine. My stomach contracts at the thought, heat blooming
from somewhere deep inside. Flushing at the memory of his scent,
I’m overwhelming myself when footsteps sound down the tunnel.

Must be Princess Ariana.

Except it’s not.

Qippert arrives in his human form, moving
steadily for me with his hands cupped at the small of his back. He
pauses a few feet away. “I heard you took the Millix back.”

I nod.

“And?”

I shrug, “It went fine. But we’re taking Mimi
to interrogate Perio.”

“You do not plan on saying much, do you?” he
steps closer, his face hardening. “You must understand that Queen
Ravan has only agreed to this because she knows what the princess
says is true. Perio will not talk with her guards or any of the
other humans present. It is mostly a comfort to the princess to
have you there. The prison is quite impenetrable, so there is no
way he will be able to escape,” Qippert eyes me warily, “unless you
help
him.”

“Why would I…”

“Not on purpose, of course. No one would
expect that from someone of your character,” Qippert strolls around
Mimi. “Perio is a mastermind; an extreme genius fighting for the
wrong cause. Any information you give him, any little detail and he
will use it against you. Your best weapon is silence. Your best
attack is to stick to the shadows and hope he does not see
you.”

“He’s not blind. He’ll know I’m there.”

“Yes, but he is more likely to disregard you
as an ignorant creature of lesser worth. Do not give him a reason
to think otherwise.”

“If he’s so dangerous, why’d the queen submit
to letting the princess go?”

“Because Princess Ariana is right. We need to
know what he knows, what additional dangers he could possess should
he escape…”

“But you just said—”

“Things happen every day we do not intend or
expect, things we do not predict or plan for. We are told the
prison is impenetrable. Does that mean there is no possible way to
escape? Or just that no one has done it yet? You must remember the
danger Perio presents. The only hope, the only tool we have against
him…”

“…is his love for the princess.”

“He will never harm her—of this I am
certain.”

“How do you know?”

“The entire kingdom is aware. It is a fact he
does not keep quiet about, a fact he has ensured every miyon
knows,” Qippert sighs. “He and the princess are to be married.”

“Are they?”

Qippert inhales, strolling towards Mimi’s
face, offering a tiny shrug. “Perio believes so. They were engaged
at one point, but it did not work. Once his radical allegiance and
utter detest for everything outside this World became apparent, the
princess called off the engagement.”

“How long ago?”

“Maybe a year.”

“And he still believes they’ll get
married?”

“He believes she is
his
. He will never
change this belief, and with his severe reputation, no suitor will
come within feet of her.”

I stop and consider what Qippert is saying.
If Perio is bent on keeping the princess for himself while driving
away all others, her only option will be him. That, or be alone
forever. My heart suddenly breaks anew for Ariana. How lonely she
must be, how trapped she must feel to have no one to hold her or
love her. No one to tell her she’s beautiful while making her
feel
it with just a look. If Perio is scaring all other
suitors away, this is the life she’ll lead forever. This, or be
forced back into his insanely dangerous arms.

“How do you know all this?” I narrow my eyes.
“You couldn’t have possibly learned it all in the time you were
here with Blovid.”

“No,” he shakes his head, “certainly not. He
sent me ahead to secure his visit. When he heard from Sampson about
what was happening on Harrizel, he knew he would eventually have to
flee. But not all places are receptive to Arizals. Blovid had me
travel here to inform the queen of the impending dangers should he
need to leave. Sure enough, as soon as he alerted the other Leaders
about the Vermix experiments, Reuzkimpart had anyone oppose him
assassinated. Blovid fled before he could be killed.”

“How’d they know he came here?”

“They did not know. They hunted for him in
Dellapalania first, expecting him to hide out somewhere relatively
nearby.”

“When did they suspect Mybyncia?”

“Well,” Qippert sighs, “Reuzkimpart has
multiple goals in mind, you see. As he was planning the next
targets to seek Blovid, he had intentions to come here anyway,
seeking something that could assist in his greater plan—something
he would need to obtain. He put two and two together, figuring
Mybyncia was as good a hideout as any—with their culture honoring
the Way, they would accept him without reservation—and sent a
massive attack on the Southern Waters, claiming solely to search
for Blovid.”

“But they attacked the North.”

“Not as thoroughly as the South and he only
truly penetrated the Northern
Shore
. Not the Northern
waters
.”

“Why not?”

“My mother is in the North,” a soft new voice
joins the conversation. We both jump as Princess Ariana arrives,
her voice gentle and sad. She approaches slowly, her eyes on Mimi.
“Had he attacked her kingdom, he would have ignited war.”

“Aren’t we already at war?”

Qippert shakes his head. “Right now
Dellapalania is a civil war about to spread to the other two
Worlds. What Reuzkimpart did was merely chase down an escaped
traitor—or so he is saying.”

“But what about the other thing? The…” I
search my brain, trying to remember our arrival yesterday. “The
Shadow Bag? Isn’t he after Mybyncia’s Gift?”

“He will never admit to it.” Qippert shakes
his head. “To do so would
enact
war. Right now he is hiding
behind his Vermix honor—performing what is best for
Dellapalania.”

“Fallon,” Ariana turns to me, “it is best we
get going. If we are to arrive timely to the feast, we must go
now.”