Thrumming with excitement, Vikram flitted from one intricately carved pillar to the next, muttering jargon-filled assessments and analyses under his breath that flew right over Ruban’s head.

“What’s he doing?” he whispered to Simani, leaning over what looked to be a fountain of light.

She shrugged, her eyes slightly glazed. “Probably rehearsing his speech for the next faculty seminar. He’s going to brag to his colleagues about this for the rest of eternity – I don’t doubt that for a second.” She smiled, fondly contemplating her exhilarated husband. “This is basically his dream come true, you know.”

Safaa swept out of the throne room, flanked by Shehzaa, Ashwin, Kaheen, and a few other courtiers. Her dark, silver-flecked gaze alighted on Ruban and his companions. She inclined her head slightly in greeting. Ruban nodded back, watching Vikram hyperventilate soundlessly out of the corner of his eye.

Exchanging a few more words with her associates, Safaa raised a hand in dismissal. Immediately, Shehzaa corralled the other courtiers and took to the air, leaving only Ashwin and Kaheen behind to accompany the queen.

Safaa glided forward until she stood before Ruban. Then, she reached out and took both his hands in hers.

Ruban blinked. Not the kind of greeting he was used to, but he supposed it wouldn’t be altogether wise to snatch his hands back from the Aeriel queen. “Uh,” he began, eloquently.

“I don’t know how I can begin to thank you.” Safaa’s alien eyes were soft, her voice rich with emotion. “For all that you’ve done for my brother. Shwaan has told me about everything that’s happened on earth, these last few weeks. And he wouldn’t be here with me now, if it weren’t for you.”

Ruban stilled, fighting back a grimace. He had a sneaking suspicion that Ashwin hadn’t, in fact, told his sister about everything that’d happened on earth. Particularly not the part that’d taken place in Ghorib, and the role Ruban had played in his capture.

He was pretty sure Safaa wouldn’t be trying to give him the human of the year award, if she knew about that.

As she continued speaking, the knot in the pit of his stomach grew tighter. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t stand here, smiling and nodding, as she showered him with praises for helping solve the problem he’d created in the first place. He couldn’t allow her to thank him for trading her brother’s life for Simani’s.

“It’s not… Uh, I don’t think you understand,” Ruban blurted, cutting Safaa off mid-sentence. “Janak would never have been able to – Aargh!”

Grinding his heel into Ruban’s foot, Ashwin flitted closer. “Being modest as usual, I see.” He threw an arm around Ruban’s shoulder, smiling brightly. “What Ruban’s trying to say is that he can’t take all the credit for my rescue. He’d never have been able to hold the Qawirsin off for as long as he did, if it weren’t for all the help he got from Simani and Vikram.” He glanced over Safaa’s shoulder, his eyes soft. “And, of course, Kaheen.”

Letting go of Ruban’s hands, Safaa turned to Kaheen. “Indeed, Kinoh isn’t the only one to whom I owe a lasting debt of gratitude. Especially after what we – what I did to you, Kaheen. You had every reason to hate us, to want revenge. But you helped my brother anyway, when he needed you the most.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Kaheen looked distinctly uncomfortable. Ruban felt a sudden pang of empathy for his one-time enemy. Getting caught up in the tortuous machinations of Vaan’s royal family had apparently left her quite out of her depth; and that was a feeling with which Ruban could wholeheartedly relate.

“After everything our mother had done, I didn’t want to cause more bloodshed on earth.” Safaa looked away, her expression strained. “Especially not over Reivaa’s daughter.” She closed her eyes, tilting her head momentarily back. Variegated sunlight illuminated her elegant, angular visage. “I told myself I was prioritizing the safety of millions over that of an individual; that it was a necessary sacrifice.

“But Shwaan is right. He always was. We can’t buy peace with the suffering of innocents. And it’s not up to us to decide who is to be sacrificed and who isn’t. Our problems with earth and the Exiles won’t just go away because we refuse to face them. What happened at Reivaa’s castle has proved that beyond any doubt.

“We’ve cloaked ourselves in this farcical neutrality for too long. Perhaps six hundred years too long. Tauheen and Reivaa are dead; it’s time for us to step out of Vaan and embrace reality for what it is. Deal with the mess Tauheen made of our relationships with humanity, and perhaps even try to repair some of the damage–”

“Now, just wait a second,” Ruban interjected with a growing sense of unease. “Are you suggesting that the lot of you will descend on earth to try and ‘repair the damage’ Tauheen did? ’Cause I can’t imagine that ending in anything short of an all-out war.”

Safaa pinned him with a narrowed gaze. “I know you’re not used to socializing with the brightest of our kind on earth, but there’s no reason to be insolent. I’m not planning to open Vaan up to the mortals or reveal ourselves overnight.”

“With all due respect, I don’t see why you need to reveal yourselves at all.” Simani took a small step forward. “Things are strained enough already, what with the actions of the feather mafia and the prospective roll-out of the enhanced sifblade formula. The press is still fulminating over all the carnage Tauheen and her followers caused last year. And it’s only going to get worse once reporters get wind of what happened last night at Reivaa’s castle. Honestly, I can’t think of a worse time to reinitiate contact between earth and Vaan–”

“Which is precisely why we must do it now.” Safaa sighed. “My mother conspired to attack Vaan with a human army wielding reinforced sifblades. That’s why she stole the formula; why she wanted it at all costs. There’s still a faction of the Exiles loyal to her and dedicated to her vision. Granted, their numbers have been depleted. Shehzaa’s troops all but wiped out the group that was working with the Qawirsin.”

“But it’s not a risk we can afford to take.” Ashwin stretched, head tilted back to absorb the vibrant sunlight streaming in through the latticed roof. “There are a lot more of you than there are of us, you see. Humans outnumber Aeriels by…well, billions.

“One-on-one, most humans are no threat to an Aeriel. And they can’t reach Vaan on their own. But with the Exiles as collaborators, even if a fraction of the earth’s population could be convinced to take up arms against Vaan,” he shrugged. “We’d be pretty much done for.”

“Especially if those arms consisted of reinforced sifblades.” Vikram nodded, comprehension dawning on his face. “You think the introduction of the updated formula will inspire Tauheen’s followers to finish what she started. Orchestrate a war between earth and Vaan.”

“It’s a possibility,” Safaa acquiesced. “But if there’s even the slightest chance–”

“Then you can’t afford to risk it. Of course.” Vikram was nodding vigorously, his usually dreamy eyes alight with single-minded focus. “Vaan needs proper representation on earth, to sway public perception and manage the roll-out of the updated formula. At this point, your silence would only amplify the voices of the Exiles.”

“Who’ve had quite enough to say over the last six hundred years,” Safaa scoffed. “It’s our turn, now. After all, we do have some shared interests with the humans. To start with, we could offer your government significant help in dealing with the feather mafia. They’ve been a thorn in all our sides for far too long.”