“Thank you, no.”
“Then get out.”
Sunniva went to slide her chair back. It didn’t move. When she twisted around Marcus was gripping it so tightly with both hands that the skin around his knuckles was white with tension.
“Marcus?”
He didn’t respond, and she had to ask again before he blinked and let go. “My lady.”
She was aware Giels was just across the table, watching them. She stood up awkwardly.
They were most of the way to the door when Giels spoke again. “I see you’ve named him. Try not to get too attached.”
A shiver went down Sunniva’s spine. She didn’t reply.
Back in her suite someone had left the requested clothing in the antechamber in a neat pile. A mat and rolled-up blanket were stacked outside her bedroom door.
She sat down in a chair, suddenly exhausted. “I forgot food. I’ll order something for you.” Less than a day, and she’d been nothing but incompetent.
“It’s not necessary, my lady.” Marcus picked up the shoes she’d kicked off on entering.
Sunniva rubbed her temples. “It is. I’m sorry.”
Was she looking after him, or overriding his wishes? The opal was no longer buzzing, but that only meant he wasn’t fighting her. She asked the matrix to have someone send up anything that they had that was ready, and gave Marcus a series of what she hoped were sufficiently detailed orders about eating, self-care and sleeping.
In her own room, she took the pins out of her hair and dug her fingers into her scalp, massaging it vigorously. Her dragon made a contented crooning noise.
There was a family portrait on the wall, an old one done before she was born; no doubt chosen for this room specifically to send Sunniva the message that she didn’t belong. Her older sister Osla, now a successful matriarch on a Dreki outpost nearer home, stood poised and graceful, the small horn buds she’d developed when her dragon rose in her teens tipped with platinum. Giels, five or six at most, stood in front of her clutching a lump of obsidian, a challenging stone to control at the best of times, and her mother in dragonform curled around them both protectively, her eyes gleaming with pride. They looked content. They didn’t need anyone else.
“Giels can have the aerie,” Sunni said to the picture. She wasn’t fit to look after anything. “I just need to sort a few things out.”
The linens were turned down on her empty bed, waiting for her. Sunniva snarled in their direction and went over to her desk to see what she could get out of the aerie matrix about modifiers.
The morning was clear, with a sharp cold that bit into the lungs. Sunniva, still bleary from a late night reading a lot of technical but mostly unhelpful information, sucked in deep clarifying breaths as they climbed up to the workshop.
They had three days. She’d decided to start with four locations that were easily reachable by the narrow trail that wound past the workshop and along the ridgeline, staying well north of all the human settlements. The crawler that had belonged to the weather station was small and slow, but it would carry everything they needed and handle the trail. Sunniva directed Marcus towards the outside shed full of installation equipment and the food supply, and went in to check on her new matrix.
It was humming quietly in its vat. Sunniva slipped her hand with the bracelet into the liquid and lined up the opal with the matrix, giving it a chance to imprint. Her reading hadn’t helped much on the practical applications and she suspected that much of the material she needed was under Giels’ private lock. Undoing whatever Giels had done to Marcus was beyond her, anyway. This was her best chance.
It didn’t take long, and although the opal shivered unnervingly in its mount during the process, it didn’t change color. Sunniva resealed the vat and started checking her network sensors to ensure they were ready for travel.
When she went back outside Marcus was lifting the last of the heavy shielding boxes up onto the flatbed of the crawler. He’d taken off the warm jacket he’d worn up to the workshop to reveal a thin sleeveless top, and the muscles of his arms and shoulders tensed and rippled under his lightly gilded skin as he set the box down with precise control. Sunniva stared.
You do like him. Her dragon sounded smug.
He’s very — strong. The early morning sunlight picked out laughlines at the corner of his visible eye. She hadn’t noticed those before, she thought, and then realized how foolish that was. As if there’d been anything for him to laugh at.
He finished securing the box and turned. Sunniva, caught, cleared her throat and tried not to stammer.
“I need your help with the sensors.”
Marcus nodded and followed her into the workshop. Inside, Sunniva pointed out the right vats and stepped aside as Marcus lifted up the first one. In the close quarters she could feel the heat radiating off him. He smelled of fresh sweat and the crisp mountain air, familiar and strange at the same time. Intoxicating. She backed away.
“I’ll get the door.”
Once the sensors were loaded in their protective cradles Sunniva clambered up to the crawler’s small front cabin and set their course. Marcus had swung himself up into the back of the flatbed. As the crawler lurched into motion, its tracks juddering on the rocky trail, Sunniva glanced up at the faint haze of the protective shield. She’d sent a message to Giels via the aerie matrix this morning, giving details of her intended departure, but hadn’t received any acknowledgement.
From here she could see only one of the four giant monitor lizards that guarded the aerie, each crouching on their own elevated platforms. As they drew closer to the barrier Sunniva thumbed the clan crystal on her bracelet. The great head swiveled towards her, its jeweled eyes glinting.