CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sebastian and Ren reached the depot. It smelled like garages everywhere did, with the metallic chemical scents fighting the earthier tang of biofuel. Over all of that, though, was fresh air coming from the wide-open garage doors. They were so close to getting out of here — except for the dozen or so people working in the space.
“Maybe we can pull an alarm,” Sebastian whispered to Ren as he peered around a doorway. “Hopefully it’ll distract enough of them that we can steal something without too much violence.”
“There’s no need. According to my grandfather, the regent is keeping my house arrest quiet for now. She doesn’t want a scandal.”
“So you’re just going to walk in there and assume that information is still accurate?”
Ren brushed off his clothes and stepped forward into the room.
“Wait,” Sebastian hissed, but Ren was striding forward, his face calm and cool. Sebastian hurried to catch up with him.
Everyone in the room turned to look at them. Sebastian tensed, ready for a fight, but then smiles broke out on their faces. It was like the proprietor of a brothel seeing her best customer walk in.
The oldest of the mechanics came over immediately. “Prince Ren,” she said. “I hadn’t heard you were back.”
“Just today,” Ren said with genuine warmth in his voice.
“Already looking to get out of the palace, eh?” She smiled a conspiratorial grin.
“I wanted to show my friend the countryside,” Ren said. Sebastian offered a weak grin, still expecting guards to burst in at any moment.
“Well, we’ve got it in good working order, just waiting for your return, sir. No one appreciates the bikes like you do.”
She led them to a cloth-covered shape. With a flourish that Sebastian appreciated, she pulled the cloth back to reveal a sleek silver machine. It rested on a stained metal frame, but the thing itself was polished and bright — a long tube, marked with curving indentations. Sebastian realized that the indentations were places to sit and grip with one’s legs. Beyond that, he had no idea what it was.
“Will you be needing a second bike, sir?” the mechanic asked. “We can bring it out for you.”
Ren glanced at Sebastian’s staring face. “Just the one will be fine. Thank you for your help.”
She nodded and stepped away. Ren nudged Sebastian. “I take it you’ve never been on a hover bike before?” he asked in low voice.
“I’ve heard of them. I didn’t think there were any functioning ones left.”
“We have three. It’s a point of pride on Arcadia to keep as many things from the past working, even the ones that aren’t exactly practical.”
Ren slid a hand over the surface of the bike, revealing a panel of colored lights. He pressed one, and there was a barely detectable hum from the machine as it shifted slightly in the metal rack. Ren pulled forward, and it smoothly slid out, hovering just at waist-height above the ground. Sebastian couldn’t see what propelled it. The only sign that it was on at all — besides the obvious fact of the hovering — was a faint smell of ozone.
Ren swung a leg over, the bike bobbing slightly before adjusting to his weight, and then nodded to Sebastian. He rested his hands on Ren’s shoulders for balance and then put a leg over the bike. Once he was seated, it was surprisingly comfortable, the metal seeming to shift to allow him to grip the body of the bike more firmly with his legs and feet. It felt solid despite the fact they were floating in the air.
“Do we need goggles?” he asked, moving the sword Ren was wearing out of the way so it wasn’t poking Sebastian in the thigh. “Or maybe something to hold on to?”
Ren’s hands seemed to be inside the body of the machine, working hidden controls. “There’s a force field all around the bike. It keeps us from feeling more than a light wind. It also makes it very difficult to fall off. Though,” he said as he turned to look at Sebastian over his shoulder and smiled slightly, “I suppose you could hold on to me. If you want.”
Sebastian slid his hands around Ren’s waist. His grip tightened as Ren did something to cause the bike to zip forward and they were suddenly out the garage doors and moving — fast. Not just moving, but flying, low over the ground through streets lined with white buildings and people who turned to stare.
The city was spread out like a wheel, with the palace its central hub and streets and wider avenues like spokes. Sebastian glimpsed more conical white buildings, hung with bright cloth awnings as they zipped past. He saw that there was more traffic up ahead — earthbound trucks and a crowd of people at some kind of market — but Ren shifted, and suddenly the bike was moving up into the sky, above the tips of the single-story buildings and soaring easily along.
“Wow.”
“We can’t stay this high for long,” Ren said, his voice clear over the breeze against their faces. “The bike’s force fields need mass to push against, but we can keep this altitude until we clear the city.”
“I can’t believe I thought you were scared of heights,” Sebastian said. “You do this all the time, don’t you?”
“As often as I can get away,” Ren admitted. “It’s… a good feeling to imagine myself so free.”
He pressed his hands more firmly against Ren’s stomach. “You’re ridiculously hot right now. I hope you realize that.”
The bike wobbled, just a little, as one of Sebastian’s hands moved lower, so he hastily moved it back to somewhere less distracting, grinning out into the blue sky.
They sped over the city, Ren bringing the bike closer to the ground as the houses thinned out and well-tended farmlands took over. He turned the bike away from the roads, toward the low green hills. Sebastian kept looking back over his shoulder, expecting to see some kind of pursuit, but there were only annoyed-looking birds in their wake.
“What is it?” Ren asked after Sebastian had twisted around yet again.
“Sorry, I just can’t believe this is actually working. You should do the plans more often.”
“I wish I could take more credit,” Ren replied. “My grandfather came up with most of our escape from the palace.”
“Handy person to have in a jailbreak, your grandfather,” Sebastian said carefully. “Did you tell him where we were going?”
“Not everyone in my family is under suspicion, Sebastian,” Ren said testily. “But no, I didn’t tell him where the jewel was hidden.”
“We’ll get this figured out.” Sebastian squeezed him lightly — they were zooming across the countryside very fast, and he didn’t want Ren to lose concentration. “Once we’re back on the ship and at a safe distance.”
Ren sounded sad. “I can’t run away forever.”
“Why not?” Sebastian said lightly. “Look how well it’s worked for me. I’m perpetually broke, only slightly one step ahead of the authorities, and generally despised by most people.”
“Most,” Ren said, amused, “but perhaps not all.”
Sebastian leaned forward to rest his head against Ren’s back. “And yet, here I am. Flying along a beautiful planet on machine that might as well be magic after being rescued by a handsome prince. Sometimes it all works out.”
Ren reached up to cover Sebastian’s hand on his chest. “I’m glad you’re here… and that I found you again.”
“I’m glad you came looking. I just wish…” Sebastian fell silent, unable to say anymore because there was too much to say. He wished that he could hang on to this moment forever because he didn’t expect to have the happiness he was feeling last.
But for now, there was the wind and the feeling of flight. There were rounded hills spreading out in front of them. And there was Ren to hold onto, with his broad back covered in soft cloth, and the air smelling like the end of summertime.
“We’re here,” Ren said far too soon, and Sebastian opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure when he’d closed them. He hadn’t been sleeping, just dreaming of something impossible.
The spot where Ren brought the bike to a rest was another gentle hill, a bit higher and rockier than the ones around it. Most of the trees in the countryside grew in valleys or along small rivers, but this hill had a lone red-leafed tree in a hollow on one side. The trunk was broad, with smooth bark except for one spot near the base where there was an opening. Ren crouched and reached inside the tree to draw out a thick waterproof pouch. He unfastened it, and they both looked in to see the dull gleam of the jewel set in the necklace, Ren’s shoulders relaxing a little at the sight of it.
Sebastian turned to scan the skies. He didn’t know how long it would take for the others to throw off any pursuit and meet them — that was assuming they’d managed to get away in the first place. Sebastian wished they had some way of communicating with the ship, but he supposed, looking around, that it wasn’t a bad place to wait. It felt utterly remote and peaceful, the only sounds the breeze stirring the leaves of the tree and a soft hum of distant insects.
“How’d you find this spot?” he asked Ren.
Ren patted the bike on the ground beside him. “I used to sneak out and take the bike farther than I was supposed to. One day I found this place.” He looked at the tree and the wide branches above them. “Do you know, I used to write messages and leave them inside the tree?”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “Like love notes?”
“More like awkward teenage outpourings. I was always worried that if I kept a diary at the palace someone would find it. For some reason the tree seemed a safer option.” He shook his head. “I kept that up for an embarrassingly long time.”
Sebastian traced the rough opening in the tree. “Are there any messages from young Ren in there now?” he asked teasingly.
“No.” He looked away, face turning inward. “I burned them all a few years ago.”
All teasing dropped away from Sebastian. “Were there any letters in there about me?”
“I suppose there were.” He tried to smile. “Like I said, I kept up the habit too long.”
“You can tell me what they said, if you want.”
“I was very angry at the time, Sebastian.”
“I deserve that. You should still be angry, you should still—” Sebastian paused. The buzzing noise was growing louder, but he couldn’t see any bugs.
Ren frowned, not noticing the noise. “Sometimes I think you cling to your guilt to avoid actual responsibility—”
“Shh,” Sebastian said.
Ren’s eyes widened in surprised anger. “Did you actually shush me?”
The buzzing was getting closer. “What kind of bugs do you have on this planet?”
Ren stopped glaring at Sebastian and listened. “That’s not — look!”
Flying around the side of the hill toward them was a drone no bigger than the size of his hand.
“Fuck,” Sebastian said. He yanked a rock up from the ground at the tree’s roots and threw it at the drone. It connected with a satisfying noise, and the machine careened into the ground.
“Could it have tracked us from the palace?” Sebastian asked. “Or maybe they sent drones out in all directions, and this one got lucky—”
“Sebastian.” Ren held up a hand, and Sebastian realized that the buzzing noise had not stopped after he’d hit the drone. In fact it was even louder.
“Get on the bike,” Sebastian said, but before they could move, more drones came flying toward them. A dozen, then two, then some impossible number of buzzing machines circled around them and zipped above the branches of the tree.
“This must be every drone on Arcadia,” Ren breathed, “not just from the palace.”
Some of the drones were small, of the type used for messages or surveillance, but others were larger, designed for deliveries. One was even bigger, hovering at the back of the drone swarm, an open airship with a place for a person to ride on it. In it was Ebba.
“Hello, there,” she called. “Everyone else is off chasing your ship, but I knew you wouldn’t be that obvious. Just like I knew you’d lead me straight to the jewel.” She nodded at the bag Ren held. “Seems I was right, but then I know how thieves think.” Ebba winked at Sebastian.
He clapped his hands together sarcastically. “Congratulations. I’m sure the nice regent lady will be very impressed that you caught us with your army of delivery drones. Tales will be told, songs sung. But Ebba, no one’s going to believe you for very long. I know how liars think… and fuck up.”
Her smile grew nastier. “It won’t matter what anyone believes. I’ll have the jewel.” Her hovering drone brought her closer but still out of reach. “You were right, Prince Ren, about this world. I don’t have to hide what I am here. I like it. The whole place was made for people like me to be in charge, and with that jewel I will be.”
Ren gripped the bag tighter. “That’s not how it works. The Heart contains knowledge yes, but—”
“And that knowledge is power,” she said. “You don’t get it, you can’t, you’re as blind to the kind of magic I can do as any regular human. This world doesn’t have the usual safeguards and barriers other places do. Everything’s still connected and speaks to each other here; it’s just waiting for that one voice to tell all the computers what to do. With the knowledge inside that data storage crystal, it wouldn’t be hard for me to turn off the planet’s power grid or fuck up the waste filtration.” She shook her head. “When I think of all the trinkets Graven and I collected that we had no idea how to work — you’ve got the secrets of the old days in your hand, and for someone like you it might as well be a paperweight.” Ebba sneered at him. “Hand it over, Ren, and let someone who deserves it be in charge for a change.”
Ren drew himself up. “Whatever I lack, the rest of my family does not. My aunt, my cousins, they will not allow you to keep the Heart.”
Ebba waved a hand dismissively. “They’re too used to their easy lives to deal with any real challenge. Do you know it was someone in your family who had me steal the thing away in the first place? I guess they were just tired of all that responsibility.”
“Who was it?” Ren demanded.
Her eyes were sharp on Ren. “You don’t give orders anymore. I do. Oh, and Garcia,” she said offhandedly, “if you reach for that rock I’ve got three drones ready to slam into your groin.”
Sebastian, who’d been surreptitiously trying to move a stone closer with the toe of his boot, gave up the attempt. He bared his teeth in a grin to Ebba. “Don’t give it to her, Ren,” he said. “She talks a lot, but there’s nothing to her. We can outrun a few unarmed drones.”
There were technically considerably more than a few drones, but Sebastian felt fairly certain he and Ren could make it down the hill to where there was more tree cover.
Ebba smirked again. “The machines may be unarmed, but I’m not.” From the small of her back she pulled out a gun that was sleek and oddly curved. Sebastian recognized it as a laser pistol from the display case in Graven’s mansion. He wondered if it actually worked, but then if anyone could make that happen it was Ebba.
Ren remembered the gun as well because he stepped toward Ebba. “Alright, enough. Please.”
“Ren,” Sebastian said, “don’t—”
“The jewel isn’t worth your life.” He held the bag out to Ebba. “It may not even work for you, the Heart chooses who it speaks to.”
“It’s a machine,” she scoffed. “I control it, not the other way around. And it turns out, with it I get to control your world.”
One of the smaller drones flew over to Ren and hovered in front of him, extending a metal basket. He dropped the bag in, and it zipped back to hover near Ebba. She didn’t take the bag, nor did she lower the gun. Instead she looked musingly at the drone that Sebastian had knocked to the ground.
“Did you know there are some places where they throw rocks at people like me?” she asked conversationally. “Just rock after rock until that person isn’t anything anymore, only bits of bone, blood, and flesh mixed in with all the stones.”
“Okay, Ebba,” Sebastian said. “You’ve got what you wanted, you don’t need to be creepy and gross when you gloat about it.”
She looked over at him with a friendly expression. ”You know, Captain Garcia, from the first moment I met you, I didn’t like you.”
He saw the gun point directly at him and her finger tighten on the trigger.
There was no bolt of light or loud noise. There was a sudden line of fire across his side, with agony spreading across his belly as Sebastian fell to the ground. He heard Ren calling to him, but he couldn’t answer. He couldn’t do anything but writhe against the pain, not even crying out, simply gasping until darkness took him.
Sebastian found himself staring at a lizard.
It was on the ground, at an eye level with Sebastian, one tiny five-toed foot resting delicately on a dark rock, as though to better set off its blue-green skin. As Sebastian watched, it lifted a ruffled crest and hissed before scurrying behind the rock. He’d have to ask Ren what it was called—
Ren.
Awareness started coming back. Sebastian had one side of his face in the dirt. Reality, beyond tiny lizards and rocks, felt very far away, and Sebastian was reluctant to let go of his detachment. Right now it felt like all his senses were packed in wool — he had a feeling that waking up was going to bring pain, but—
Ren.
Sebastian lifted his head, and the world came tilting back, along with the burning pain along his side.
He must have been out for only a few seconds because Ren was only just falling to his knees beside Sebastian, and Ebba was still pointing the gun at him, an interested expression on her face. Sebastian thought that while firing a laser gun might be cool, being shot with one most definitely was not. Then he screamed as Ren rolled him over to look at the wound in his side.
When he was able to breathe again, Sebastian had to assume it was very bad judging from the look on Ren’s face. Ren moved to crouch between Sebastian and Ebba, but she holstered the weapon.
“You didn’t have to do this,” Ren snarled up at Ebba. “I gave you what you wanted.”
“Yes, but I also want to watch you die. I’m going to send these drones at you like stones. I wonder how many it will take to kill you.” The drone carrying her pulled back, allowing more of the smaller ones to close in around them.
“Ren,” Sebastian grated out through his teeth. “Run. More trees — the bigger drones won’t be able to follow.”
Ren stood, and Sebastian hoped that he was going to escape. But Ren looked back over his shoulder at him. “I’m not leaving you.”
“I’ll be fine, Ren. You can — draw them off, okay? Go.”
“I’m not leaving you, and you’re not to leave me. Remember, you promised.”
Sebastian tried to shift himself into a sitting position and failed. “Fuck. We don’t have any weapons.”
Ren drew the sword from the sheath on his belt, the dark metal blade gleaming.
“Please,” Sebastian begged. “Don’t die because of me. I’m — I’m not—”
Ren spun, bringing the sword down on a drone. It careened to the ground, sparks flying.
Ren turned back, looking at him with wild eyes and fierce pride. “You don’t understand, my love. The only time I feel alive is with you. Now, hold on.”
More drones flew at him. Ren caught one with the side of the blade, sending it crashing into another drone. He swung and missed a third, flinging out a hand to knock it away from Sebastian.
A small fast one caught Ren on the shoulder, and he grunted but ignored it in favor of driving his sword into a drone the size of his torso. The sword caught in it and he quickly wrenched it free to meet the onslaught of flying drones coming at him.
Sebastian scrambled in the dirt for another rock, thinking he could help Ren somehow, but the effort left his vision dimming. He fought to stay conscious. He owed that to Ren at least. He wanted to call out to Ren to change his mind and go, because there was no point — Sebastian was too far gone to save — but his breath caught too painfully for him to get the words out.
He hoped that Ren would know he tried to stay as long as he could. Sebastian was fighting his own battle to keep his eyes open, to focus on Ren and witness his bravery. It felt like both the hardest and most important thing he’d ever done, and Sebastian could feel himself failing at this too.
Maybe there was some kind of afterlife or his brain was providing a last mercy in the form of a hallucination, because he saw, in the sky above the tree, the ship — his ship, their ship. The Wayward Prince in all its ungainly beauty. Everything he could have ever wanted was here — Ren beside him and the ship above. Sebastian smiled around the metallic taste in his mouth. He must have done something right to get this.
Though, if his brain was supplying comforting final images, what were all those other ships doing there?
Three ships with Arcadian markings were descending. The Prince hovered nearby, at the bottom of the hill, the cargo bay door opening and figures making the jump from it to the ground. He thought he glimpsed Mags’ gray hair and Rylan’s broad shoulders, but his eyes were blurring, and his head was too heavy to lift higher.
He used the last of his strength to shout. “To the Prince! Here! To Ren!”
Sebastian fell back, coughing blood. He could hear Ren and dimly see the flash of his sword.
“They’re coming, Sebastian. Stay with me — hold on!”