Coldbloods (Hotbloods #2)

With skilled hands, Navan took us up into the skies above Vysanthe. A city lay below, enclosed between the towering walls of several mountains, though there were buildings carved into every inch of the mountainside, their lights glowing like fireflies in the near distance. Houses and structures of all shapes and sizes were crammed into the mountains’ shadow, huddled together like penguins, but every single one was sculpted in the same unusual style. I couldn’t tell whether it was beautiful or not—the lines were so severe, the colors so uniform. Sharply sloping roofs glinted with black tiles, each one decorated with a silver weathervane that depicted a different creature.

At the far end of the city itself, where the edges of two mountain ranges met, was an enormous gulley, with two gigantic figures carved into the rock, protecting the entrance to the huge city. One was female, the other male, their hands extended upward, seemingly in worship. There were crowns atop their heads, made from what looked like pure gold, that gleamed in the pale sunlight of Vysanthe.

“What city is this?” I asked, awestruck. “And who are they?”

“This is Regium—it’s the royal district,” Navan replied, evidently less impressed by a sight he’d seen countless times before. “And those two are the old king and queen—Queen Gianne’s parents. Talk about overkill,” he muttered, allowing the Snapper to swoop low over a series of ancient-looking buildings, their silver spires glistening with jewels that resembled rubies, drawing my eye like I was a magpie.

“I think they’re beautiful,” I said.

“You wouldn’t if you knew how many people died to build them,” he countered, and I grimaced, their beauty fading somewhat.

“What’s that?” I asked, wanting to change the subject. I pointed through the windscreen at the ancient buildings, with their twisting spires, curved walls, and rounded windows. It reminded me of pictures I’d seen of the architect Gaudí’s work, in Barcelona, back on Earth, and it gave me a pang of homesickness.

“That’s the university—I used to study there,” he replied. “It’s got one of the best libraries in the universe. Maybe we’ll find some time to look around.”

I smiled, wondering if there were books in there that could tell me about all these weird and wonderful species that kept crossing my path. I wanted to know all there was to know about the universe, until I knew as much as Navan. Still, time was precious, and there was so much we had to do.

“We should start gathering intel for Orion,” I said. “Who knows when we might get a chance like this again.”

Navan nodded. “We should go to the Observatory first, see what we can find out there.”

He swerved the ship around, heading away from the worshipping figures of the old king and queen. I couldn’t take my eyes off the city below. Every so often, the crowded buildings would give way to an expanse of open space, possibly a town square or what might have been a pleasant park, had the greenery not been so dark and gloomy. The trees were barely holding on to their curling leaves. Here, coldbloods walked, carrying on with their everyday lives.

I saw restaurants and cafés, with elegantly dressed Vysantheans sitting at tables outside, despite the freezing temperatures, sipping from various vials. Though I couldn’t hear them all the way up here, I could see the telltale expression of laughter from time to time, and the animated gestures of intense discussion. If I squinted hard enough, I could just about pretend they were human.

And then the city gave way to a steeply rising rockface, though the houses were crammed right up against the sheer incline. We rushed upward, the pull of gravity making my body feel heavy, before swooping up and over the snowy peak of a jagged mountain. On the other side, the Snapper descended toward a building that lay nestled on a broad ledge, looking over a black lake that lashed against the slippery cliffs below. The Observatory was enormous, its walls seemingly made from pure crystal. From where we were hovering, I could see people milling around inside.

Navan landed the Snapper outside, in a designated parking zone, before we exited the ship. I wrapped the fur coat tight around me, grateful for its warmth as the brutal winds hurtled against me, nearly knocking me off my feet. Navan held me fast, stopping me from falling.

Within a few moments, we were inside the relative warmth of the Observatory. It was a strange building, looking remarkably high-tech, with monitors showing countless regions of Vysanthe flashing up every few seconds. I knew it was Vysanthe because I recognized the cathedral building where we had met Queen Gianne, followed by the ruby-encrusted spires of the university building. There were many other places I didn’t recognize, belonging to different Vysanthean districts, with a number of coldbloods monitoring the images that flashed up.

“This way,” Navan said quietly, moving off to a vacant space around the perimeter of the crystal building. I followed him, surprised by the amount of attention he was getting. At least five coldbloods had said a warm “hello” to him in the five minutes we’d been inside the Observatory, and he had politely waved back and asked after their families. I just hoped he wasn’t attracting too much attention. We were supposed to be acting covertly, after all.

As Navan seated himself at a desk, a young coldblood wandered over. He was younger than Navan, with dark brown hair and eager blue eyes. For a moment, he just hovered close to where Navan was sitting, hopping anxiously from foot to foot. I wasn’t sure he even saw me.

“Navan Idrax?” the coldblood asked tentatively.

Navan turned. “Yes?”

“Vasily Smail, at your service,” he gushed.

Navan suppressed a smile. “You know anything about recent breaches in the queendom?” he asked. “I am curious to know about even the slightest chink in security. Now that I’m back, I’m serving as an advisor to the queen—and you must understand, this is all top secret. You are not to breathe a word of this to anyone. If you do, the queen will be most upset.”

Vasily’s eyes went wide with awe. “Of course, sir. I’ll bring you a copy of the transcripts from the last week or so,” he said, excitement bristling from him. I almost felt bad for him—this boy was clearly a big fan of Navan’s, and Navan was using that against him. Still, if it meant we got to go home again, I wasn’t exactly against a bit of harmless manipulation.

“Thank you, Vasily,” Navan replied. The boy looked like he might faint at the sound of his name coming from Navan’s lips.

As Vasily hurried away, I made a tutting sound in Navan’s direction. “Poor kid,” I murmured, half teasing.

“He’s too weak,” Navan muttered sympathetically. “Coldbloods like him don’t last long anywhere.”