Mercy threw up her hands. “Am I missing something? Do you think Eithan left him to side with the Dreadgods?”
“Who knows?” Malice said softly. Then she faded into shadows.
Grumbling, Mercy mounted her staff and prepared to make the long, cold flight back to her office.
The irritation was starting to erode Lindon’s wariness. He tried to keep his guard up against Malice; she had already found out that he knew the connection between Monarchs and Dreadgods, and then she’d seen Eithan fight the mysterious enemy in the sky. She was dangerous, and he’d come here resolved to keep both eyes open.
But he hadn’t expected his time to be blatantly wasted on her very doorstep. If Malice wasn’t going to allow him into the city, then why would she transport him most of the way there? Why not just leave him to crawl his way there on Windfall? She could even strike him down as soon as he appeared from the labyrinth.
Dross had his own ideas. [She wants to keep us lost in the mists of doubt. Make us think that she’s testing us, only to strike when we least expect it.]
Not only was Dross more paranoid now, but he also had a much greater appreciation for Moongrave’s color scheme. Which he had plenty of time to express as Akura Justice took them on a tour of the city that was apparently mandatory.
“And over here we have the monument known as the Seed of Honor, representing the moment Malice founded our city over four hundred years ago.” The Seed of Honor was a bronze monument of Malice pulling back a bow that resembled Suu.
“Apologies, but I am familiar with the city,” Lindon said. He hadn’t visited the cultural or historical landmarks before, but he was no more interested in them now than he had been before. “With a Dreadgod on the way, shouldn’t we hurry?”
Justice didn’t look any more comfortable than Lindon was, but he was insistent. “Mercy is not quite ready for you yet. In the meantime, I’d like to draw your attention to the inscription on the base of the Seed of Honor, which reads…”
Dross chuckled at his misfortune, and for lack of any better options, Lindon paid attention to the tour.
Which he found fascinating.
That annoyed him most of all.
Much later, Lindon found himself asking questions about the decorative trees that grew all over Moongrave, with their wide-petaled glowing flowers that came in several different colors. The tree they inspected at the moment had blossoms of white, violet, and blue growing from the same branches, all shining in the darkness.
“They flourish in abundant shadow aura,” said Justice, who had fallen into his role as a tour guide since Lindon had started paying attention. “Their species was initially taken from Everwood, but now we have the only native population, so it’s known as the Moongrave amphelia.”
“How do they get three colors on the same branch without disrupting the madra flow?” Lindon asked.
“Ah, it’s quite the clever graft. You see, when the tree is young, our life artists can mold—”
Both Lindon and Justice turned at the same time as they sensed the spirit approaching them at high speed.
Justice stroked his beard. “It appears our tour has come to an end.”
“Gratitude.” Lindon bowed to him. “And my apologies for what happened at the gate. I suspect you were caught in an unfortunate position.”
Justice sighed. It looked like he was about to say something, then he waved his hand. “Think nothing of it. Enjoy your time with young Mercy, but I expect I will be calling on you soon to prepare our defenses.”
“I’ll be counting on you, then.”
Since advancing to Archlord, Lindon had found the surrounding aura obeyed him more easily than ever. The wind picked him up and carried him as he flew to meet Mercy.
He’d been forced to leave Windfall behind; the city’s skies were bustling and the cloudship docks were crowded, but Justice had opened a hangar specifically for cloud fortresses. Lindon was glad for that, since it would have been difficult to navigate while dragging an entire flying island behind him.
[It’s very convenient…as long as they don’t have any nefarious intentions. Like holding our home hostage.]
Lindon had considered the same thing, but he wasn’t sure why they’d bother. The Akura clan had enough experts that they could keep him under control even without Malice’s personal intervention.
Mercy waved brightly as she saw him, pulling her staff to a halt in midair. “Lindon! I’m so sorry about all that at the gate! I was watching, but I couldn’t do anything about it.”