AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Plenty of time to discuss that after,” she says, tugging me forward.
I frown up at her. “You’re not frightened of the world ending?”
“I’m the oldest living alaki in history.” White Hands shrugs. “If you think this is the first apocalypse I’ve encountered, you’re sorely mistaken. Come along, Deka, we have places to be.”
24
The first of the places White Hands is referring to turns out to be a massive plain that’s hidden deep inside the jungle, well beyond the grove of ganib trees. There, a river of wildflowers awaits, their blue petals undulating so softly, they almost appear to be swells of water. The thicket of trees surrounding them is in such a perfect circle, it makes my eyes narrow.
“Is this a farm of some sort?” I ask, glancing at Adwapa, who’s walking along with me, Asha, as always, by her side.
“More like a landing area,” Adwapa replies, looking pointedly up. The moment I follow her gaze, my eyes widen.
There, rising above us, is the mountain I saw when White Hands appeared to us in Maiwuri, although now that I’m nearer, I realize it’s not just any mountain. This one has a series of peaks that soar high above the clouds, a city carved into them. So that is Ilarong, the capital of all aviax cities. Buildings arise from the delicate stone, so precariously perched, they seem like they’re on the verge of tumbling into the abyss below. Flocks of aviax flit around them, either on their own or atop zerizards, the feathered, birdlike lizards commonly used as transport in Hemaira.
I watch the zerizards, stunned by how different they are here. Not in looks, perhaps, but in utilization. Back in Hemaira, zerizards were used as glorified horses to pull carriages. They very rarely left the ground. In fact, most had their wings clipped so they could never truly fly. Here, they’re in their natural element, soaring through the clouds, pulling what look like delicate glass palanquins, their highly polished sides gleaming in the late afternoon sun.
I gape up at them. “Are those—”
“Zerizards, such as you have never seen before?” a cheerful voice says. “Why, yes, yes they are.” A familiar whirring sounds as Lord Kamanda, the slight, gregarious aristocrat I met not so long ago, glides out of what seems like thin air on his golden chair, a pair of elaborately plumaged aviax at his side. Tall, bright red males, their necks and talon-like fingers are bedecked in heavy gold jewelry. They coo to each other as they stare at me, seemingly fascinated by my presence. It’s the same with the other aviax now landing, all of them males who tower over even the tallest human. They glance around at the people now gathered in the glade before their eyes slowly, inexorably find their way to me.
The moment each one spots me, he cocks his head, cooing to his comrades in the birdlike aviax language.
“Beautiful, are they not, Deka?” Lord Kamanda asks, emerging from the conveyance that I now see has brought him here.
It’s one of those palanquins, only this one is constructed of glass that reflects its surroundings, rendering it nearly invisible. The same glass armors the zerizards pulling the palanquin, obscuring them so completely, only their eyes are visible.
My jaw drops. No wonder aviax are so rarely spotted outside their cities. If they’ve been traveling in glass palanquins like this, they’re able to render themselves practically invisible.
Lord Kamanda takes the startled gasps of the crowd in stride as he makes his way over to me in his chair, which glides just as easily over the flowers as it did the polished stone floor of his mansion back in Hemaira.
Once again, I wonder if that chair isn’t some sort of arcane object, but no, I sense no divine power coming from it, only clever mechanics. Money truly does buy the finest things.
“Lord Kamanda,” I say, grinning. “What an unexpected pleasure it is to see you again.”
“And you, Deka,” the nobleman replies with his usual pleased smile. Becoming an enemy of the empire by helping young alaki escape the Warthu Bera doesn’t seem to have affected his optimistic nature in the least. He’s still his same exuberant self as he adds, “And under such auspicious circumstances too.”
“And what are those?” I can’t help but ask.
Adwapa turns to me, a long-suffering expression on her face as she says, “Lord Kamanda has been working with us as the official ambassador to the aviax.”
“A most colorful people,” the nobleman confirms admiringly.
Adwapa rolls her eyes, no longer able to hold back the expression, apparently. One thing she can’t abide is overly cheerful people. She and Belcalis are alike in that respect, and Lord Kamanda truly is one of the most genial people I’ve ever met.
I return my attention to him. “And your wife?” When last I saw Lady Kamanda, she was as enormous as a house, ready to pop twins at any moment.
A fond look enters the noble’s eyes. “It is my deepest joy to tell you that she has just birthed the twins. They’re up there.” He nods up at the city, where a host of those delicate palanquins is now descending. “As is Thandiwe, of course.”
“Of course,” I echo, nodding.
Karmoko Thandiwe, head instructor and my battle-strategy teacher at the Warthu Bera, is Lady Kamanda’s partner, her lover of at least a year. The pair met when Karmoko Thandiwe was searching for allies to rescue the girls who had been imprisoned in the Warthu Bera after I rebelled against the former Oteran emperor. That Lady Kamanda was married to Lord Kamanda was no obstacle either. Both nobles freely admitted that they were in a marriage of convenience.
I return my attention to Lord Kamanda as he adds, “Also, it is my deepest joy to tell you that Lady Kamanda and I have severed our marital bonds. As we can no longer reside in Hemaira, it is no longer necessary for us to uphold our union. And while we remain the deepest of friends and mates of the soul, as well as, of course, joint parents to our children, it’s high time I venture off and find a person of my own, perhaps a nice older gentleman. Preferably someone of some heft.” The exuberant noble sketches a plump figure with his hands.
I bite back a smile. “Then it seems I must offer you my deepest congratulations, Lord Kamanda,” I say. “I am happy for all the wonderful developments in your life, and I wish you well in finding the gentleman of your dreams.”
“My thanks,” he says, then he nods. “And now, for my official purpose. As ambassador of the Armies of the Angoro—”
