I shook my head as I grabbed the ladder. “No. I don’t want to risk infecting any of them.” If my tainted blood got anywhere near the others, I could spread the plague to them as well. I had to get it cured before I returned.
I had to.
I motioned for Adelgis to join me. He walked over, his long hair whipping around in the wind. When he reached the ladder, he furrowed his brow. “You want me to go first?”
Out of the three of us, he was the weakest. If he fell, I wanted the option to catch him.
Adelgis, who heard the rationale through my thoughts, replied with a solemn nod. “I see. That makes sense. Thank you, Volke.” He grabbed the first few rungs and hoisted himself upward. He wasn’t ridiculously weak, but fifty feet was a long way to climb. His eldrin stayed hidden in the rays of sunlight, however, floating along, untethered by gravity.
I motioned for Fain and Wraith.
A wolf couldn’t climb a rope ladder, but my knightmare and I had the ability to travel through darkness. We could plunge into the void and reemerge on any surface a shadow could touch, like the darkness was our own personal pool of water. I would follow Adelgis up the ladder, and Luthair would take Wraith through the void, traveling like only a shadow could.
I would’ve taken them all up by traveling through the shadows, but my exhaustion wouldn’t allow that. I hadn’t slept the last few days, and less than thirty minutes ago I had dealt with the assassins in Thronehold. Luthair could handle one wendigo. I would use what little physical strength I had left to ascend to the deck of the airship.
“You go,” I said to Fain.
He nodded and easily followed Adelgis up the rungs.
Wraith stared at his arcanist and whined, the wind sweeping away his noise in the next instant.
“Luthair,” I said.
My eldrin rose out of the darkness around my feet, coalescing into a full set of armor, complete with a helmet and gauntlets. The black plate was made of shadows, but solid and lightweight. Luthair’s helmet was empty, but he moved and saw without problems. His cape fluttered in the breeze, the hem tattered and worn. The cracks that ran across his body reminded me that Luthair was second-bonded, meaning I was his second arcanist.
“Take Wraith up to the airship,” I said. “Please.”
“Of course, my arcanist.”
Luthair swished his cape over Wraith and then pulled him into the void of darkness. As a shadow on the ground, Luthair slithered up the ropes of the ladder, straight past Fain and Adelgis, and arrived on the deck of the Sun Chaser long before anyone else. Satisfied everyone had been accounted for, I started up the ladder myself.
Everything felt heavy. My legs. My arms. Even reaching a hand over my head required concentrated effort.
Halfway up, my boot slipped on a rung. I gripped the rope tightly, the threading rubbing my bare palm raw. I jerked my hand away immediately, fearful I would leave tainted plague-blood on the rope. Fortunately, I didn’t stain the ladder. Unfortunately, I had shredded my hand enough that blood popped up as crimson droplets from the creases in my palm.
I waited for a minute, cradling my hand close. Arcanists could heal over time. It was much faster than normal, and reliable. As soon as my hand was repaired, I could climb again without fear of smearing my blood across the equipment.
Sure enough, my flesh stitched itself back together. I wiped the blood off on my shirt—everything I wore was soaked in crimson, most of it dried. I would have to change in the near future, though I didn’t have any of my belongings with me. Hopefully someone on the Sun Chaser would have something I could borrow.
I ascended the last of the ladder, my breathing heavier than I would have liked.
How long had it been since I’d slept properly? Four days? A whole week? The toll for my foolishness was hefty.
With a final deep breath, I lifted myself over the airship railing and landed on the deck. My unruly black hair, disturbed by the wind rushing off the hull, puffed outward the moment I escaped the breeze. The deck was peaceful, and it had the appearance and parts of a standard sailing ship, including an anchor lift and drains for sea water. I suspected it had been a real ship once and had just been converted into an airship with the use of the bones and roc magic.
Adelgis, Fain, Wraith, and Luthair all stood near the top of the rope ladder, waiting.
I hated their expressions. They seemed like a mix between pity and concern. I didn’t want to trouble them—and I also didn’t want them to feel sorry for me. I had been infected while protecting someone, and I wouldn’t change that no matter what.
“Oh, there you all are,” a woman said. “I was wondering when you’d finally join us.”
To my surprise, only two crew members of the Sun Chaser awaited us on the deck of the airship.
The first individual, the one who had spoken, I recognized right away—Karna the doppelgänger arcanist. The mark on her forehead was a star with a human wrapped around the points. She had her hands on her hips, her blonde hair spilling over her shoulders and down her waist like molten gold waterfalls. And she wore a dancer’s outfit, a two-piece azure ensemble, the skirt long and loose, the top tight across her chest.
Karna motioned to the man next to her. “This is Captain Devlin, the proud owner of the Sun Chaser and a master roc arcanist of some renown.”
The captain smirked. “Cordial introductions? Really? That’s unlike you, Karna.”
“Come now, Cap’n. I always love making a good impression.”
Captain Devlin stroked his chinstrap beard—a thin line of black hair that outlined his jaw. His curly hair, just as dark as his beard, hung to his shoulders, held in place with a bandana and a tricorn hat. The man had the lithe build of someone who had spent years climbing the rigging on a boat, and his clothing was plucked straight off a pirate, complete with tall leather boots and a sash of a belt.
“This is Volke Savan, the knightmare arcanist,” Karna said as she flashed me a quick smile. “And these two are his associates.” She didn’t even look at Fain or Adelgis when she introduced them, she just gestured with a wave of her hand.
The captain glared. “He needs to be cleaned up and his clothes burned.”
“I’ll ask Tammi to handle everything.”
The morning sun lifted over the mountains on the horizon, backlighting Karna and Captain Devlin. I lifted an arm to shield my eyes from the rays.
“I’m sorry we had to meet this way,” the captain said. “Karna says you have a plan to get a cure, so I’ll help for now. But listen to me—if you so much as scratch anyone on this ship, I’ll make you regret every decision that brought you here.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
“Good. Then we need to leave the Argo Empire as soon as possible. Follow instructions until you’re properly cleaned up.”
2
The Sun Chaser
The Argo Empire was the largest nation around. Technically, it had been almost twice its size hundreds of years ago, but the late queen—assassinated last night—had allowed the edges of her territory to rebel and break away, resulting in several smaller kingdoms and island nations. With the capital city of Thronehold in turmoil, I assumed the Argo Empire would become even smaller.