I sleep through much of the next day, Bat tucked under my arm, trusting that this place is as safe as Yvonne claims it is. It isn’t as if I can get up and walk out of here. I may not be dying anymore—I’m going to have to ask what exactly needed fixing—but I feel like hell.
By the time night falls on the next day, I’m sick of laying down, all my muscles sore and aching and wanting to be moved. I roll over, Bat still snoring lightly under the blankets, and switch on one of the lamps on the bedside table.
The room is quiet and empty.
Zane and Lalia have been in and out all day, Anya as well. Yvonne has mostly stuck by my side, but I can hear her in the bathroom, the shower running. Good. That means she won’t yell at me about trying to get up.
Carefully, I sit on the edge of the bed, a little dizzy but not nearly as bad as last time, digging my toes into the fluffy carpet. I remember a little about this planet—Yvonne told me the name and I vaguely recognized it—but not enough to know about the people or the environment. There’s a broad window along the wall to my left, but it’s been shuttered with a heavy curtain this whole time.
Glancing at the bathroom door, I’m about to have a go at getting up and walking around when the door opens. Anya stops in the walkway to the kitchen and puts her hands on her hips in such an exact miniature of her sister I chew the inside of my lip so I won’t laugh.
“And what are you doing?” she asks in her best impression of an adult’s voice.
I can’t help the weak laugh this time. “Stretching. Because I can. How are you feeling?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
That gets me some giggles, and she drops the act, wandering up and throwing her arms around my neck. Sitting on the bed, I’m right at eye level, so there’s no escape.
“I like it better when you’re awake.”
Well, it’s not like I have any dignity left, anyway. I boost her up onto my knee and let her lean against my chest. “I prefer not being passed out, too. Where are the other two idiots?”
“Huh?”
“Zane and Lalia.”
“Oh. Lalia’s down in the kitchen stealing food, I’m gonna go back and find her. I think I saw Zane go outside a long time ago.”
She points at the door near the broad, covered window. I nod, glancing back at it. I should be able to stand without toppling over, and it’s worth a look outside.
“You go find Lalia, I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, but don’t tell your sister. She’ll murder me.”
“Uh-huh,” she says, finally dropping back to the ground. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I look that bad, huh?”
She looks me up and down and presses her lips together. I glance down at myself. She’s not wrong. Most of the damage I can’t see thanks to gauze in all the correct places, and I’m a little concerned about actually looking in a mirror. I don’t know whose clothes these are, but they’re not mine, and they cover what the gauze doesn’t, I’m certain hiding a lot of bruising, even after a few days.
Pushing myself to my feet takes a bit more effort than I’d wish, but it isn’t too bad. Nothing like back in those tunnels on Zar. I shudder, trying not to think about it too much. Anya’s small hand grabs mine as if she’s worried I’m going to topple over at any moment, but I’m steady enough I’m not concerned.
“I’m fine, I promise. You’re as bad as your sister.”
She just looks at me with those huge eyes and doesn’t release my hand.
“What?”
“Yvonne wouldn’t let me see you until the doctors fixed you. She wouldn’t tell me what happened, so I asked Bat and he said some people tried to take you apart, is that true?”
A part of me wishes Bat hadn’t told her, but I’m also glad she won’t be following me around asking what happened for the next few weeks.
“Yes, that happened. The doctors had to find me some new eyes and ears here. They’re very nice, I can see you much better.”
She doesn’t give me the smile I was hoping for, so I squeeze her hand. “I’m alright, kid.”
She shakes her head, then hugs me around my middle. My ribs complain, but she isn’t being too rough, so I let her. “We’re gonna take care of you.”
Oh, for heaven’s sake. “Well, sure you are,” I say, a little weakly. I really need to get it together.
Nodding, she grabs my hand again and leads me toward the door alongside the window as if it’s now her personal mission to make sure I don’t fall on my face on the way there. I would laugh if I wasn’t feeling sheepish about the whole ordeal.
I expect fresh air when Anya leads me outside, and it certainly smells fresher than indoors, but it isn’t precisely what I anticipated.
“Right,” I mumble, remembering what little bits of information I’ve learned about this planet.
Most of it’s underwater.
A high dome of thick glass reaches over us, shimmering clear water over our heads. Getting a good look at what this place is like for the first time, we seem to be on another small wing of a series of pale structures clustered together into one larger house. The stone of the buildings almost appears to be marble, and the glass dome reaching over the entire structure is webbed with ornate metal to keep it safe and offer more structure. We’re on a little patio with plants and a few levels down of grasses and small trees. Out past the glass, coral is visible in the depths and through dozens of other bubbles of glass from the rest of the set of this city.
Night has already fallen, so the watery planet is dark and a bit foreboding, but lights shimmer along all the glass, dim enough it isn’t irritating, bright enough I can still see my way around. My eyes don’t glitch at any of it. I still can’t figure out if I can see heat with these, but I’m less inclined to worry about that at the moment.
“Wow,” I mutter. It’s a bit like Amethyst, but underwater.
And nothing is killing my eyes and ears.
“Some of it’s above water,” Anya says, swinging our hands a little. “But not most of it. My cousin lives here. He’s nice.”
I nod a little numbly. I really missed out on what happened for a few days being so near death. “Are we alone in this section?”
“Mostly. This is a guest’s wing or something.”
“Huh.”
Anya points down the set of pale steps to one of the terraces below. Even without a heat signature to find, I find the shape of someone sitting down in the garden, near a little bubbling fountain.
I give Anya’s hand a squeeze. “I’m gonna go talk to Zane, you can go back and find La if you want.”
“You’re sure you can walk around?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” I say with fake snippiness, poking her in the nose.
She rolls her eyes, gives me a warning look and finger shake, and trots back into the room. I snort a little, heading down the steps with about all the grace and speed of an old turtle. My ankle still hurts, but not by much. The doctors here must be about as good as the ones on Amethyst, and if I don’t think too much about them working on me while I was helpless and unconscious, I don’t want to throw up or anything.
Zane doesn’t appear to be doing much of anything, feet propped on the edge of the fountain, staring into the garden with a faraway expression.
“Rich people are something else, huh?” I ask, rounding the bush at the bottom of the stairs.
He started, then scowls at me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing out of bed?”
“You’re not in charge of me.”
He’s fighting to keep a smirk off his face, but there’s nervousness in his eyes as well. Pain. A lot happened on Zar even before I nearly died. I knew coming down here and bothering him would mean we’ll talk about it, but somehow, that didn’t quite discourage me enough.
“You look like death walking,” he says, then scoots over on the little bench he’s found. “Sit your ass down before you fall over, geez.”
I take a step over, then hesitate, feeling even more sheepish than before. “If you want to be alone I can go back, I was just getting up and walking around a little. I’m sick of laying down.”
He looks at the ground for a moment then says, “No, sit. I actually really want to say some things, if you can bear another one of my dreaded heart-to-hearts.”
I laugh once before deciding that’s still not the best idea with the state of my ribs, and sit.
I sleep through much of the next day, Bat tucked under my arm, trusting that this place is as safe as Yvonne claims it is. It isn’t as if I can get up and walk out of here. I may not be dying anymore—I’m going to have to ask what exactly needed fixing—but I feel like hell.
By the time night falls on the next day, I’m sick of laying down, all my muscles sore and aching and wanting to be moved. I roll over, Bat still snoring lightly under the blankets, and switch on one of the lamps on the bedside table.
The room is quiet and empty.
Zane and Lalia have been in and out all day, Anya as well. Yvonne has mostly stuck by my side, but I can hear her in the bathroom, the shower running. Good. That means she won’t yell at me about trying to get up.
Carefully, I sit on the edge of the bed, a little dizzy but not nearly as bad as last time, digging my toes into the fluffy carpet. I remember a little about this planet—Yvonne told me the name and I vaguely recognized it—but not enough to know about the people or the environment. There’s a broad window along the wall to my left, but it’s been shuttered with a heavy curtain this whole time.
Glancing at the bathroom door, I’m about to have a go at getting up and walking around when the door opens. Anya stops in the walkway to the kitchen and puts her hands on her hips in such an exact miniature of her sister I chew the inside of my lip so I won’t laugh.
“And what are you doing?” she asks in her best impression of an adult’s voice.
I can’t help the weak laugh this time. “Stretching. Because I can. How are you feeling?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
That gets me some giggles, and she drops the act, wandering up and throwing her arms around my neck. Sitting on the bed, I’m right at eye level, so there’s no escape.
“I like it better when you’re awake.”
Well, it’s not like I have any dignity left, anyway. I boost her up onto my knee and let her lean against my chest. “I prefer not being passed out, too. Where are the other two idiots?”
“Huh?”
“Zane and Lalia.”
“Oh. Lalia’s down in the kitchen stealing food, I’m gonna go back and find her. I think I saw Zane go outside a long time ago.”
She points at the door near the broad, covered window. I nod, glancing back at it. I should be able to stand without toppling over, and it’s worth a look outside.
“You go find Lalia, I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, but don’t tell your sister. She’ll murder me.”
“Uh-huh,” she says, finally dropping back to the ground. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I look that bad, huh?”
She looks me up and down and presses her lips together. I glance down at myself. She’s not wrong. Most of the damage I can’t see thanks to gauze in all the correct places, and I’m a little concerned about actually looking in a mirror. I don’t know whose clothes these are, but they’re not mine, and they cover what the gauze doesn’t, I’m certain hiding a lot of bruising, even after a few days.
Pushing myself to my feet takes a bit more effort than I’d wish, but it isn’t too bad. Nothing like back in those tunnels on Zar. I shudder, trying not to think about it too much. Anya’s small hand grabs mine as if she’s worried I’m going to topple over at any moment, but I’m steady enough I’m not concerned.
“I’m fine, I promise. You’re as bad as your sister.”
She just looks at me with those huge eyes and doesn’t release my hand.
“What?”
“Yvonne wouldn’t let me see you until the doctors fixed you. She wouldn’t tell me what happened, so I asked Bat and he said some people tried to take you apart, is that true?”
A part of me wishes Bat hadn’t told her, but I’m also glad she won’t be following me around asking what happened for the next few weeks.
“Yes, that happened. The doctors had to find me some new eyes and ears here. They’re very nice, I can see you much better.”
She doesn’t give me the smile I was hoping for, so I squeeze her hand. “I’m alright, kid.”
She shakes her head, then hugs me around my middle. My ribs complain, but she isn’t being too rough, so I let her. “We’re gonna take care of you.”
Oh, for heaven’s sake. “Well, sure you are,” I say, a little weakly. I really need to get it together.
Nodding, she grabs my hand again and leads me toward the door alongside the window as if it’s now her personal mission to make sure I don’t fall on my face on the way there. I would laugh if I wasn’t feeling sheepish about the whole ordeal.
I expect fresh air when Anya leads me outside, and it certainly smells fresher than indoors, but it isn’t precisely what I anticipated.
“Right,” I mumble, remembering what little bits of information I’ve learned about this planet.
Most of it’s underwater.
A high dome of thick glass reaches over us, shimmering clear water over our heads. Getting a good look at what this place is like for the first time, we seem to be on another small wing of a series of pale structures clustered together into one larger house. The stone of the buildings almost appears to be marble, and the glass dome reaching over the entire structure is webbed with ornate metal to keep it safe and offer more structure. We’re on a little patio with plants and a few levels down of grasses and small trees. Out past the glass, coral is visible in the depths and through dozens of other bubbles of glass from the rest of the set of this city.
Night has already fallen, so the watery planet is dark and a bit foreboding, but lights shimmer along all the glass, dim enough it isn’t irritating, bright enough I can still see my way around. My eyes don’t glitch at any of it. I still can’t figure out if I can see heat with these, but I’m less inclined to worry about that at the moment.
“Wow,” I mutter. It’s a bit like Amethyst, but underwater.
And nothing is killing my eyes and ears.
“Some of it’s above water,” Anya says, swinging our hands a little. “But not most of it. My cousin lives here. He’s nice.”
I nod a little numbly. I really missed out on what happened for a few days being so near death. “Are we alone in this section?”
“Mostly. This is a guest’s wing or something.”
“Huh.”
Anya points down the set of pale steps to one of the terraces below. Even without a heat signature to find, I find the shape of someone sitting down in the garden, near a little bubbling fountain.
I give Anya’s hand a squeeze. “I’m gonna go talk to Zane, you can go back and find La if you want.”
“You’re sure you can walk around?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” I say with fake snippiness, poking her in the nose.
She rolls her eyes, gives me a warning look and finger shake, and trots back into the room. I snort a little, heading down the steps with about all the grace and speed of an old turtle. My ankle still hurts, but not by much. The doctors here must be about as good as the ones on Amethyst, and if I don’t think too much about them working on me while I was helpless and unconscious, I don’t want to throw up or anything.
Zane doesn’t appear to be doing much of anything, feet propped on the edge of the fountain, staring into the garden with a faraway expression.
“Rich people are something else, huh?” I ask, rounding the bush at the bottom of the stairs.
He started, then scowls at me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing out of bed?”
“You’re not in charge of me.”
He’s fighting to keep a smirk off his face, but there’s nervousness in his eyes as well. Pain. A lot happened on Zar even before I nearly died. I knew coming down here and bothering him would mean we’ll talk about it, but somehow, that didn’t quite discourage me enough.
“You look like death walking,” he says, then scoots over on the little bench he’s found. “Sit your ass down before you fall over, geez.”
I take a step over, then hesitate, feeling even more sheepish than before. “If you want to be alone I can go back, I was just getting up and walking around a little. I’m sick of laying down.”
He looks at the ground for a moment then says, “No, sit. I actually really want to say some things, if you can bear another one of my dreaded heart-to-hearts.”
I laugh once before deciding that’s still not the best idea with the state of my ribs, and sit.
