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Chapter 19

“How much of that was an act back there?” Adam asked Solara once they were alone in their cabin. “The constant insulting of Dragon Puppets, I mean.”

Solara didn’t immediately respond. Instead, she closed the latch of their door, then began to walk around the cabin, seemingly checking for any abnormalities on the wooden walls.

Her investigative march only paused twice. Once at the sole window in the room, a large panel behind the bed that occasionally showed the night sky behind them, but now only showed the inside of a cloud. Then, at the second door – the one connecting it to another room at the center of the east wing.

“There’s another door behind this one,” Solara mused out loud. “This should connect this cabin to Tenver’s room.”

“Makes sense,” Adam said vaguely. It looked like the same setup he’d find in hotels back on Earth. Two connected rooms, but both sides had to unlock the passage for it to open. Not that the architecture of the ship felt even remotely like an Earthly ship. “My question from before stands.”

Solara didn’t stop measuring the room, as if she was still sure there was something to find. “Partially. I did want to give you the opportunity to sound righteous, but I also didn’t have to exaggerate much.” She placed her ears against the wall, then moved on to the next panel, and repeated the process.

If she’s not careful, Adam wondered, could she accidentally poke a hole through the wall with those ears? How sharp are they?

“I’m no fan of the Puppets,” Solara continued. “My people were nearly slaughtered because of a hazy link to the dragons of old, who the Puppets were actually created by. If someone has to be subjected to scorn, it might as well be–”

“–Well, is it really necessary for someone to be treated like that?” Adam cut her off.

“You sound like my father,” Solara said, through a bitter smile.

“Can’t say I ever want to hear that from a woman,” Adam joked. He felt momentarily concerned it had been inappropriate, and was relieved when Solara chuckled. “You went really hard on Valeria about not following etiquette back there. Would have thought you of all people wouldn’t like that.”

Solara paused her investigation of the room to look back at Adam. “Etiquette has always been somewhat of a cursed shield for me. Too many people ridiculed me – ridiculed father – when I broke it in my earlier years.”

She grit her teeth at her own mention of Vasco. “At father’s court, they were quick to use my failings or etiquette to force me to obey them. It was a way to swing a dull blade at me and call it sport, rather than an attack, if you catch my meaning.”

You’re more upset at how it reflected on him than how it affected you. “So you got pretty good at it, eh?” Adam asked, in a deliberately casual tone. “To keep them from judging you too harshly?”

“So that I could judge them. I might be an elf, and the Emperor might have once ordered the massacre of my people – but so long as I am Vasco’s daughter, my rank allowed me to tell them to...”

Suddenly, her bitter expression softened, as if just now noticing Adam’s tone. More casually, she said, “To tell them to fuck off. There’s a method to it, though. Like a magic spell.”

“Oh really?” Adam laughed. “I should learn it too. Can’t say I trained much for this.” Or at all. Not unless hanging around theater kids counted as training for conversing like a pompous, quasi-medieval lord.

Which, in truth, it probably did.

“You’re doing quite well so far, although I could offer some pointers here and there.” Solara sighed, yet didn’t wipe her smile off her face. “Sometimes, etiquette strangles me. Sometimes, however, it is my only defense. If I drop it, people like them – anyone, really, can say whatever they want about me.”

“You mind elaborating?”

“If we all agree to follow the invisible rules of etiquette, then I am deserving of at least a little respect. If I am not, then there’s nothing stopping people from...”

She trailed off, but Adam could fill in the blanks. He hadn’t considered her perspective in that way. While his reaction was still fair, he could’ve chosen his words better, at least. Sometimes, Solara sounds like she’s ready to snap at everything...but I should remember she damn well has a reason for it.

“Sorry about putting you on the spot back there,” Adam said, awkwardly. “I hadn’t considered how that could affect–”

“It’s fine,” Solara said, and sounded like she meant it. “I would have wanted you to respond like that, anyhow. Everyone aboard this ship is, to a degree, a Puppet sympathizer. Might as well turn me into the villain to make you more admirable.”

“Can’t be easy playing the villain though,” Adam offered. “No reason to pretend it doesn’t bother you.”

To his surprise, she laughed. “Of course it’s not easy, my lord. But I’m willing to do much worse to my reputation if that’s what it takes to achieve my dream.” Solara gestured at the room around them. “For example, take a look.”

He followed her gesture and found nothing of importance. “What about it?”

“There are three free rooms in the East Wing. We could have had separate rooms. There’s another one connected to Lord Tenver’s, even, on the opposite side. Why do you think I publicly asked to share a room with you?”

Adam drew the memory in his mind. He’d only vaguely paid attention then, having been almost entirely focused on scrutinizing the interior of the airship. From what he could recall, Solara had loudly asked the captain for them to share a room. She hadn’t quite yelled it out, but everyone must’ve heard it.

“Don’t tell me,” Solara began, with a teasing tone, “that you thought I was making a romantic advance on you.”

“No,” Adam frankly said. “I just figured that, after all the time you spent in an isolated tower, you wouldn’t be a huge fan of being alone if you could avoid it.” And to be honest, I don’t really care. I’m not fourteen; it isn’t a big deal to share a room.

“That’s not–”

Solara cut herself short, her realization just slightly slower than her own speech. She glanced thoughtfully to the side, and then looked back at Adam. “Well, mayhap there’s truth in that,” she remarked, as if this was new to her as well. “But I’d much rather that everyone else thinks we are romantically attached.”

Adam raised an eyebrow, then nodded. “You think rumors of us would benefit you?”

“It’s already scandalous enough that I’m an elven heir.” Solara sat down on the bed. “Many people are sure that the Emperor would stop me from succeeding Father when the time comes. It’s why so many upstart nobles act above their station with me sometimes. And to be honest, that possibility does concern me as well.”

“Ah, I see your point. If they hear you’re engaged with a Lord of a different city...”

“They might think I have more power, yes.” Solara seemed quite proud of herself. “In addition, such rumors make it harder for you to cast me aside when you no longer need Gama.”

That gave him pause. Adam had spent so long considering why he should trust Solara that he hadn’t stopped to consider that maybe she didn’t trust him. Not completely, anyway.

Just how goddamn arrogant am I? Sure, he’d saved her from the curse, but that was a mutually beneficial arrangement. It was reasonable for her to be worried that he wouldn’t keep her around if she became a liability – and her elven heritage made her somewhat of a political risk almost by nature.

“I don’t have an army at my disposal,” Solara said, as if admitting a weakness. “Father controls it still. But even with my meager funds, I do have enough to hire out a number of bards and send them around the Empire. By now, taverns across the land should be hearing songs and tales of a romantic bastard who took down his father, then rescued the Heiress of Gama from a curse placed on her by the Emperor.”

Adam rubbed his temples to digest the information. “That...doesn’t sound like an accurate retelling.”

“Because it isn’t. But it makes the Emperor look cruel – and pretending you’re Aspreay’s bastard son might give your takeover of the city some legitimacy. That latter part was your idea, no? Father told me so.”

How fast did you have this arranged? That was the night before we left! “Yes, but–” Adam sighed. “I guess your idea is to gather enough public support that if I were to betray you, I would be inconvenienced with enough...let’s say ‘complaints’, that it would cost me less to keep you around.”

“Am I wrong?”

She probably wasn’t. Adam knew people weren’t overly fond of elves, but they could put aside their prejudice if they didn’t have to interact with the elf – when she was just an exotic element in a story. Plus, if Solara’s bards were good enough, they’d likely drum up some public support on their ‘side’ because of the romanticism inherent in propaganda. Not to mention it served the dual purpose of making people hate the Emperor for supposedly cursing Solara.

The thing was, Adam had never planned on getting rid of her to begin with.

“I went through that curse twice,” Solara quietly muttered. There was a bit of defensiveness in her tone. Adam stopped rubbing his forehead to meet her eyes, but when he did, he found her averting her gaze. “The second time just to make sure you could trust me.”

A pang of guilt stabbed at him. I put her through that for nothing. My painting told me she could be trusted. But he wouldn’t have known that if he hadn’t done it.

“You’re saying we should call it even?” Adam asked, slowly.

“If you wouldn’t mind,” she said. The casualness of Solara’s voice, and her sudden smile when she looked up at him, made it hard not to laugh.

“Sure,” Adam smirked. “This works out for me, too. It makes me even more sure I can trust you.”

“It does tie our fate, doesn’t it?”

Adam’s face turned dark. “Better than how Tenver did it.” He still had the occasional nightmare of seeing Tenver pull out heads one after another from a blood-soaked bag.

“Do you trust Lord Tenver?” Solara asked suddenly. “I don’t know where you stand with him.”

“I don’t know either. Guy’s a difficult man to understand.” Adam sighed. “Not too long ago, he made a disturbingly good argument about how murdering my political opponents was a way of showing his trustworthiness...and considering his background, it doesn’t sound like very fond of the Emperor. Still, I can’t ever tell what is going through his head, and he’s been acting weird since I became Lord of Penumbria.”

“Do you think that maybe—”

There was a knock on the door.

Adam and Solara exchanged a look. When he saw the knowing smile on her face, he finally understood her unspoken other reason for insisting on sharing a room. I said that the detective woman should speak to me about funding her ‘scholarly’ activities...and Solara wanted an excuse to be present for that.

The thought sent a brief chill down his spine. Not because there was anything particularly concerning about the action itself, but because it reminded him that the elf wasn’t going to let much slip by her.

“Come in,” Adam announced.

There was a small movement from the door, but it clashed against the pulled latch. “Forgive me,” Valeria said, from outside. “The door is locked. Could you let me in?”

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Solara raised an eyebrow at Adam, who responded with a shrug. He’d wanted to test if the latch actually kept the room closed. It was an old, probably useless habit he’d retained from visiting...questionable hotels back on Earth. Not that he had been able to afford any trips for a long time. Even if Eric insisted otherwise.

“Give me a minute,” he answered. After unlocking the door, Valeria entered, closing it behind her. At a glance, it was already apparent that something was different about her. Earlier, she’d worn the expression of an awestruck individual; a scholar who felt dazzled by the wonders of the world around here.

No longer.

Now, there was hardly a speck of innocence on her face.

Even her clothes had changed, from an extravagant dress to an attire not very dissimilar from Adam’s. She was sporting a man’s jacket over a red shirt, white pants, and – most notably of all – a bitter smile.

“Lord Adam.” Valeria’s salutation was profound and theatrical, like that of a gentleman. She placed a hand over her chest, and extended the other to the side as she bowed. Then, without lifting her head, she said, “I trust that Lady Solara’s presence is of no problem?”

“None,” Adam said.

“You trust her?”

“As much as I trust anyone.”

He caught a glimpse of a brief smirk on Valeria’s face before she suddenly whirled herself into a standing position, one hand behind her back, and the other holding her chin in a thoughtful pose. “Very well. I dare not guess how, but you appear to have surmised something of me.”

“That’s correct. Didn’t expect you to reveal your true self so easily, though – I barely showed you any proof.”

“Who says this is my true self, oh Lord Painter?” Valeria asked, wryly. It made Adam feel like she was acting out a one-woman satirical play, although her subject of parody was one he wasn’t familiar with. “Besides – you may not have revealed much back there, but I can gather much from very little.”

He nodded. “Right. I should expect that from someone who bears the Talent of a Detective.”

Adam enjoyed the immediate effect this had on both of them. Valeria’s face tightened immediately, and Solara glared at him as if hoping he’d disclose how he knew. Stare at me all you want, I’m not confessing to anything more than I have to. He’d only called out her Talent to speed things up – and more importantly, to make the point that he was someone the detective should be careful around.

Because even if he thought he could come out on top against just about anyone...he’d rather not have to bother. If he kept gambling forever, eventually, he was bound to lose.

Valeria tried prodding one last time. “Lord Penumbria, do you wish to elaborate?”

“No.”

The detective laughed. “Very well, then. If you will not elucidate that particular mystery for me, mayhap your gentlemanly soul will induce you to unravel a different truth?”

Adam took a moment before responding. Partially because he wanted to consider what to say, and partially because he wanted to make sure he’d understood the woman correctly. While her way of speaking had been mostly easy to comprehend so far, her phrasing – and especially her delivery – felt more pompous than even Aspreay. “I did mention the possibility of working together,” he remarked.

“You did, my lord!” Valeria moved her hand away from her chin, and into a dramatic pointing gesture, as if Adam had just said something brilliant. It would’ve come across as condescending if not for the sheer enthusiasm she exhibited. “What must we do to make it a reality?”

“I’m not one for hidden daggers,” Adam said. He could swear he heard Solara chuckle at that, but he didn’t dare to look away from the detective. “Our purpose for going there is not a secret. Penumbria wants to deal with the Puppets – trade, military alliances, whatever they are willing to discuss.”

Whatever Valeria’s thoughts about this were, she didn’t allow them to show on her face. The theatrical smirk was still on full display. “Oh, I see. A most difficult mission, that one. And what could this poor scholar have to offer you?”

“You’re a detective heading into the Puppet Mines. There’s no way you don’t have contacts, information, or something of the sort.”

“Good point, good point!” Valeria exclaimed, so excitedly that Adam was really struggling not to feel patronized. “That would make sense. I suppose the next step would be to make clear what I’m hiding, yes?”

Solara cleared her throat. “Believe it or not, wasting time is not one of my favored hobbies.”

“Truly?” Valeria tilted her head in puzzlement. “Then why did you waste nearly a year of your life locked inside a tower?”

How does she know–

Adam’s thought was blown aside by the sound of Solara stepping forward. Her foot slammed against the floor hard enough to create a thunderous threat, and her hand fell inside her coat to reach for what seemed like a knife. Valeria moved away, but kept smirking all the while, only raising her hands in a declaration of harmlessness. “Hey, hey – no need to make this violent. Please, have mercy, I am but a weak detective.”

Yet there was not a trace of fear in her voice.

“Okay,” Adam began, trying to calm things down. “How about telling us what you want, Valeria?”

As if changing characters in a play, Valeria whirled around and began pacing about the room, one hand on her chin, and the other holding her elbow. “Ah, but of course. Let us not waste time with idle distractions.”

“You’re the one who–” Solara angrily started, before curbing her own outrage by drawing deep breaths. “Very well. Go on.”

“My apologies. I must be naturally talented at angering you, my elven lady, because I have not put any effort into doing so.” Without waiting for a response, Valeria turned around on the ball of one foot in an exaggerated fashion, almost like a dancer, then took two long steps toward Adam. “My lord, let us rectify the offense that created Lady Solara’s initial dislike of me.”

She offered the back of her hand to him.

“Are you sure?” Adam asked warily. “There is no need to push yourself on account of old customs.”

“I was not concerned by the act – it was your reaction I feared. The captain is ignorant of this little detail.” Valeria shook her extended hand as if to hurry him. “Fear not, my lord.”

Something about her reminds me of Tenver, Adam thought. It’s probably the way I feel exhausted after exchanging just a few words. But tired or not, he had to go ahead with it – no point in complaining. At least he was used to this show of etiquette by now.

Adam curved his back into a bow, took her hand, and kissed it gently. After that, he was supposed to either release her hand, or slowly move it back towards the lady before dropping it.

He did neither.

Instead, he dropped all etiquette, widened his eyes, and used both hands to bring the woman’s arm closer to him.

There was probably a gentler way of accomplishing this, but Adam was too preoccupied with what he now saw. He made a mental note to apologize later. With the way he’d grabbed her wrist, he could’ve pulled her shoulder out of its socket.

That is, if she had a shoulder socket to begin with.

“If you’ll excuse my language – what the hell is this?” Adam exclaimed in wonder. “You have an extra joint on each of your fingers. And your skin...it feels like skin, but it’s like...what’s this beneath it? That’s not muscle. It’s more like...wood?”

Adam didn’t even realize that Solara had drawn her knife until he caught a glimpse of steel pointed at Valeria from the edge of his peripheral vision. He should have wondered why she was doing that, and then attempted to defuse what was fast becoming a delicate situation.What he actually thought was: Can’t this wait? I want to try sketching her hand. Haven’t done a study like this before. Live anatomy of otherworldly creatures – could be fun. Hmm. How many joints are there?

“Lord Adam, let go of her hand,” Solara gravely said. “This woman is a Dragon Puppet. She cannot be trusted.”

“Guilty!” Valeria exclaimed, appearing unbothered by the sharp steel nearly touching her eyes. “On both counts. And I come aboard the ship on behalf of our Grandmaster. Surely you can guess why, Heiress of Gama.”

Solara said nothing, but Adam recalled something she’d mentioned a couple of days ago. “Didn’t you say there was something odd about this ship?”

The elven woman hesitated. “I...suppose I did.”

“But you don’t know,” Valeria joyfully began, “exactly what the issue is, do you? Of course you wouldn’t. Missing cargo – or rather, the lack thereof – is only discovered and verified upon arriving at the Mines, and people who travel there rarely ever come back. The most you’d be aware of is vague rumors, eh?”

To her credit, Solara drew a deep breath, seeming to regain her composure. “Adam,” she said, quietly. “Will you please let go of her hand?”

“But–”

“At least until we know what she wants?”

“Fine.” He let go. “Although I really would like to sketch your hands later, if you don’t mind. There are very few written records about your kind in Penumbria, and absolutely no details on your anatomy aside from vague mentions of wood and string.”

Valeria smiled. “Of course. It would be my pleasure to answer all your questions regarding Dragon Puppets, and even to vouch for your noble character to the Grandmaster...if you can fulfill your part of the deal.”

Adam adopted a more serious tone. “What do you want?”

“The missing cargo,” Valeria directly stated, as if the topic had already been discussed at length. “I am here to find out what makes it go missing.”

Solara raised an eyebrow. “And you expect us to believe that you aren’t stealing the cargo, then claiming it went missing to obscure your crimes?”

“I do. Because that’s just the issue – the cargo disappears before the ship lands. Captain Baltsar himself can attest to that. And we’ve been paying him in full for years, even when the occasional discrepancy arose. It has been getting worse lately, however. That’s why I’m here.”

All at once, Adam’s focus went from dreams of anatomy and composition to a more practical, if concerning thought. He recalled what the captain had said earlier and bit his lip. Shit. Don’t tell me... “This cargo you’re speaking of – do you mean the passengers?”

“Correct!” Valeria exclaimed happily. “On many occasions, for years now, people have gone missing during voyages headed by Captain Baltsar. They leave for the Puppet Mines and never complete their journey. Remember, this is a state of the art airship! There’s a barrier preventing anyone from jumping off the deck, willingly or otherwise.”

She didn’t need to explain further. Adam immediately understood the implications. There was someone – or something – responsible for this. “Have you ever found...corpses?”

“No!” Valeria exclaimed, a genuine smile widening across her face. “That’s the beautiful thing! There’s no way for corpses to be removed from the Airship in the middle of a voyage. And yet, there’s no mistaking the amount of people who board the airship, either. So, Lord Adam...what do you think happened?”

The Stained Ink inside of him stirred like a sudden chill.