The note came late in the afternoon. Rina took Fin's crystal from around her neck and held it. It didn't pulse, but it was warmer, and excitement slipped through her veins, urging her to hurry.

She raced across the lawn to the edge of the acolyte level and started up a set of stairs hewn into the mountain city. After a day in the sun, their warmth penetrated the soles of her slippers. Nebia sprawled below her in layer upon concentric layer, outlined by the towering outer wall, and beyond it, the azure bay. The ships were colourful insects drifting on a pond. One the Crystal Queen.

When she reached the Magister's level, she sprinted down the gravel path, kicking up dust, slowing when the tower loomed. Her heart skipped a beat as a sentry excited the building. She paused. Less than a week had passed since that guard had tried to kill her. But this man was young and fair, with a guileless face.

Olav would have been careful in who he selected as a replacement she reminded herself.

"Miss?" the man asked.

She detected no distrust, no haughtiness, no contempt in his tone: nothing but candour.

The guard's questioning eyes swept her.

"I—ah—I'm here to see Ola—the captain."

"And you are?"

"Rina."

The guard smiled a wicked smile that did not belong on the face of a subordinate. She narrowed her eyes. The smile left his face. "Ah, I see," he said. "A moment, please." He turned on his heels and disappeared into the tower.

Rina walked around the cottage garden, trying to stamp down the urge to move faster. To act. The smooth white rocks rolled beneath her feet in a clinking rhythm. She plucked a sprig of rosemary, rubbing the waxy leaves between her fingers and inhaled the sharp aroma. What was the man doing?

She caught the sound of footsteps. Olav was still adjusting his half-armour as he came to her, his breaths coming fast and his face flushed.

"Rina, is everything okay?"

"Yes!" she cried out, a little too enthusiastically.

Olav's forehead creased. "You're feeling better now?"

"I'm fine. I promise."

"Oh, so then..." His face lit with what looked like hope, and it struck her he might think she came here to tell him this—that she came just for him. "How can I help you?"

She bit her lip not wanting to disappoint him, but the bay lay behind her, and it called. Hurry, it cried. And her bones sung for her to follow the order.

"I need to get to the harbour—as quick as possible, and well, I hoped to use the—" she waved a hand in a circle, searching for a word. "The—contraption."

One dark eyebrow rose. Wind blew through the courtyard, and the black ringlets of his hair danced about his face. His lips pursed.

"Contraption?"

"You know, Ol—the carriage that takes you down the mountain. Is there room for me to go down in the next one?"

He flushed as she said, Ol, then he paled. "The Crystal Queen landed today."

Rina missed a breath. So, he was here. Her bones had been right. Her hand moved to her chest, to Fin's crystal, half aware of Mai's crystal beneath her skin.

"It did?" she said, hoping to sound nonplussed.

After Olav's brow raised higher, she amended, "I mean, I'd heard a rumour—and after the court, I wasn't ready to walk down the streets by myself."

His face grew stern. "While you recovered, Mai sent out proclamations—though I'm sure the gossip spread faster—and they made it damned clear that none of the Denese here is to be harmed. You're under his protection—the same as any Magister, acolyte or guard. I sincerely doubt they would hurt you now. Still." He sighed, his dark black eyes sad. "You know I can't refuse you, Ri."

"Ol... Olav, you shouldn't call me that."

The heel of his right boot lifted as if he meant to take a step toward her, then he hesitated, and his boot crunched back into the gravel. "You're here now, and I have men on their way to visit the docks. I am sure we can find a place for you."

She smiled an ear-splitting smile, and threw her arms around him, inhaling the scent of leather and lye. Tentatively, he returned the gesture, his chin resting on the crown of her head. After a shaking breath, he squeezed her for a brief moment, then patted her shoulders. "Come on, let's get you sorted."

"Thank you."

The smile didn't reach his eyes. "Anytime, Rina."

The walk to the station took but a moment. The sun had lowered further, and the meleke stone glowed, while the shadows of the palm trees stretched out to the east. A faint hum that Rina recognised as the cable became a whir.

Olav entered and ordered the men inside. They didn't question his instructions, as she had expected them to. Good. They could be trusted not to throw her out the carriage mid-journey—at least she hoped. The edge of the plateau was mere metres from her, only a chest-high stone wall preventing a fall.

"Rina, are you ready?"

Swallowing, she said, "Yes."

He ushered her through the building. It was dark and cold within the thick walls, and she shivered. The cable purred now. She emerged on a platform on the other side. The carriage approached, gliding through the air as smooth as a seal through the water. It was fat as a seal, too, and when it stopped, and the door opened, it squealed the cry of oil-hungry hinges and rocked side to side.

A tall, slender man in his early twenties with long, ash-blonde hair and emerald eyes stepped out. They raked over Rina, and his lips pressed together like he held back a chuckle. "Capt'," he said, saluting Olav. "I see we 'ave an extra passenger."

"You do, Avil. I trust this won't be an issue."

"A slip of a thing like her—no, not a bother at all." His green eyes sparkled.

Olav scowled. "Mai's decree was not an invitation to flirt, Avil."

Lines sprouted from the corners of Avil's eyes. "But I've always wanted to with one such as 'er." Olav's face grew stony. "Ay, yes, sir. Come, milady. Let me show you to the best seat. Front of house."

Rina's heart thundered as he escorted her across the platform. The sky carriage still pitched, and a space of two handspans lay between it and solid ground. She stared below, to the drop that went down, down, down to the manicured grass at the edge of the acolyte level. She could trace a portion of the stairs she had raced up. If she fell...

"Miss, it's perfectly safe." Avil's hand came to her shoulder. Glancing back, Rina looked to Olav for reassurance. He nodded at her. She let Avil guide her over the space and into the swaying thing. Her legs buckled a moment, adjusting to the movement, and she grabbed the back of one of the wooden seats.

"Here, there isna a better place or a more magical time than this." Avil directed her to a seat at the front. "Don't ye worry, I'll see ye safely down."

The mountain city stretched out before her, giant's steps sweeping down to the blue of the bay, and him. The man who had been a pleasant dream until she saw that letter. It had reignited something in her. Her hand moved to his crystal again. Hot now, as if it understood what she was doing. As if it was telling her to go to him.

The rest of the passengers clambered aboard, six in total, their boots loud and heavy on the polished wood floor, and the carriage swayed harder. Rina swallowed and breathed through her nose to keep herself from being sick. Her hands gripped the seat.

Avil settled to her right, behind a series of gears and levers. He turned to her. "Ye be ready, milady?"

Gulping, she nodded and held the seat tighter, the tips of her fingers pressing hard, her nails trying to dig into the wood.

Avil wrapped his hand around a metal lever. He yanked it back with a crunch.

"Avil." Came Olav's voice a moment before he released it.

"Aye, Capt'?"

"Take care of her."

Avil saluted again, tipping his hand to his temple. The carriage shot forward. Rina just caught Olav's last words: "And oil those damned wheels!"

Her stomach dropped—the sensation reminding her of jumping into the rock pool outside Amadore in Summer. Olav had shown her that place, tucked in a cove. A climb worthy of a mountain goat to a ledge jutting from the cliff, then a leap of faith. She'd jumped it with him, their hearts both shocked into overdrive. Trusted him. Now she did again, getting in this bloody machine—even if she'd asked to do so.

The sinking sensation lasted much longer than the fall to the rock pool.

"Settle, 'ay," said Avil, looking at her from the corner of an eye. He thumped the interior hull, causing it to rattle—and Rina's heart to freeze. My Habibi isna a quitter. She'll see us down."

"If you say."

Avil chuckled. "Make the most of the view, 'ay. It's the golden hour. The time for magic. Not many get to see Nebia from this perspective."

Breathing deep, Rina sent her attention out to the horizon. The lowering sun drizzled honey across the city as they passed the lords levels and came to the administration level. She saw the courts. The nine sacred pillars of Mai's system rose above the other buildings and looked down upon the figures that scuttled through the darkening streets. Down to the medical level, the merchant level. They passed a waterfall cascading down to the markets, the spray of water gentle as a winter kiss across her cheeks.

A phantom hand slipped behind her neck and drew her into its embrace. Hurry, it said, and goosebumps prickled her skin. She closed her eyes and sighed.

The carriage jolted, and she opened her eyes, blinking.

Gulls cried about them, and the water of the bay flashed. She peered out the window past the guards. A separate city gate, too high for a person to climb, shut behind them.

"Lost ye there for a minute, didn't I?"

"Huh?"

Avil chuckled, "You went elsewhere."

Rina shook herself. "I suppose I did." The memory of that phantom embrace still flickered across her skin. Somewhere here, Fin waited for her. A pang of guilt jabbed at her as she remembered she had doubted her feelings. Not now. Not with this pull.

They had halted at a raised platform built on the pier. The guards exited first. Avil took her hand and led her off, her legs much steadier this time. She thanked him and was surprised at his bow, followed by a wink and a laugh.

A new set of guards mounted the steps to the carriage, and Rina shuffled to the edge of the platform to let them board. The air was fresh and damp as the evening's grasping fingers crept shadows across the world. A sea breeze streaked inland toward the Istaran river. She could taste the salt, smell seaweed and boiling tar. Using her hand as a visor, she scanned the bay, searching for the Crystal Queen.

There it was. Perhaps fifty metres away. Its familiar red sails thrust toward the blooming sky.

She turned to the steps.

"Farewell, milady!"

Biting her lower lip in an attempt to hide her grin, she waved to Avil, then she shot down, letting the adrenaline take over. 

☆☽○☾☆

A/N: Thank you for reading. If this part reads like a filler—well, it's more of a wind-up. Spoiler alert: drama ahead.

I've finished my fast-draft, so I hope to have my first draft up over the next few weeks 🤞 

If you enjoyed this, please consider pushing that star. As ever, you know I love comments, too: gifs, questions, nitpicky suggestions—all are very welcome and appreciated 😻