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Taking a deep breath, I readied myself for whatever happened on the other side of the tinted glass walls of the complex. We received a few curious looks as we made our way through the city, but I knew it was because Kalliope was our escort and had nothing to do with Del. Kalliope wasn’t a woman to mingle with the commoners. She was too busy being a badass and rarely meandered the city without a small army at her back.
Flashing a reassuring smile at Del, I continued behind our hostess, taking in the oasis within the Menagerie walls. Fruit and shade trees adorned the interior, as did ponds and flower gardens. Despite its ruffians and scallywags, Morro City felt more like a refuge, and I knew Pyra was responsible for that.
This was the hub where the city grew its food and tended to its community gardens, where the solar power generated electricity and kept the lights glowing at night so that Abilities didn’t have to. And it was where the walls kept the wind at bay and wells dredged water up through the purification centers to provide fresh water for the villages below.
A set of glass doors opened with the flick of Kalliope’s wrist, revealing two guards standing sentry inside the Glass Palace, the glinting birdcage Pyra called home. They didn’t look anything like the Corvo guards with regimented black leather armor, but what they lacked in uniform, they made up for in weapons. Laser batons and tasers were holstered on their hips, and large, semi-automatic firearms were clutched in their hands and strapped to their backs.
“No one comes in,” Kalliope murmured to the muscled, stout man at the entrance to Pyra’s quarters. “And no weapons,” Kalliope tossed over her shoulder.
I’d expected as much and looked at Hills, nodding for her to do as Kalliope said. I unsheathed my own knives, strapped to my belt and hidden inside both of my boots, and handed over my shotgun holstered on my back.
“Pyra doesn’t like weapons,” I explained.
Del frowned, looking at the guards adorned in them.
“I’mthe one who likes weapons,” Kalliope said. She winked at Del.
Del handed over the pistol and knife she wore on the belt slung around her hips, and Hills went about disarming herself, which took a bit longer. Kalliope watched the petite older woman with interest, and once she was satisfied we’d given up all our goods, she continued walking.
The moment we stepped into Pyra’s chambers, I heard a collective gasp behind me. I smiled at Del and Hills. “It isn’t what you’d expected, is it?”
Both of them shook their heads, peering around the atrium. It was half greenhouse, half arboretum, and everything was lit with natural light pouring over the foliage that burst to life from every planter box and garden area. Water trickled somewhere off in the distance, and the chirping of birds and fluttering wings stirred as we made our way down the tiled walkway that cut in and around the garden beds.
Del gasped. “This place is...”
“Dangerous,” Kalliope said over her shoulder, and glancing back at us, she smirked. “Careful of the bird shit.”
Del’s brow lifted, and on cue, a black bird fluttered overhead. Even Callon flinched, and I chuckled softly despite myself.
“You’ll be fine,” I told them. “They mostly keep to the trees.”
“Speak for yourself,” Callon said. “Last time, there were some pretty close calls.”
My smile faltered as we rounded an elephant ear plant taller than me, and Pyra, bent over her desk, came into view. Her throne room wasn’t only an aviary of sorts; it was more like her house, with meeting rooms and coffee nooks nestled around the place. She was the most even-keeled ruler I’d ever met, making her meditative, strategic, and very frightening when she wanted to be.
Our footsteps echoed as we drew closer, and Pyra peered up from the glass table strewn with papers. “Ah, Fin,” she said, her voice almost melodic and her accent reminiscent of her home country.
I leaned into Del. “Hang back with the others, for now,” I whispered. Her big brown eyes met mine. Whatever thoughts churned behind her expressive gaze, she seemed to agree it was for the best. Biting her bottom lip, Del nodded.
Clasping her hands, Pyra rested her elbows on her desk. And just like her sister often did, Pyra tilted her head, her eyes widening slightly. “I was wondering when you would arrive.”
The sisters were known for their beauty but, more than that, for their ruthlessness. They came from a very long line of assassins feared throughout the foreign kingdoms across the sea. Here, they lived like queens. There, they lived like outlaws, and what better place to hide and rule than among others just like them?
While Kalliope could cut a man in half before he even realized she was in the room, Pyra had a coldness about her, a cunning callousness that instilled fear in the bravest warriors.
“Pyra,” I said, knowing she cared nothing for titles or pleasantries.
She gestured for me to sit in a high-back chair across from her desk.
Stone stayed with the others, lingering behind. I exhaled as Pyra assessed me, just like I watched her. Both of us wondered who had the leg up and knew more.
“I appreciate your seeing me,” I said, earning me a beautiful smile. Adangeroussmile.
“Yes, well, I have heard the prophecy, and my little birds tell me you’re smack dab in the middle of whatever Eduart wants.”
I nodded. “Unfortunately, your little birds are right. But the prophecy—I’m not here about that, exactly.”
Her eyebrow lifted with intrigue. “No?”
