Yet another reason for Ari to be silently glad they’d had the money in cash to buy the tickets—she had the opportunity to take the girl on a train properly.
With a sharp whistle and some calls from the platform, the train ground to life. Florence pressed herself up to the window, pulling back the curtains just enough to peer out. Arianna watched the hazy lights illuminate the fabric in increasing frequency until they zoomed by in a race to meet the impending blackness that awaited them at the city’s edge.
Arianna stood. The gentle sway of the train was making her tired, and she wasn’t ready to be lulled to sleep just yet. She wouldn’t feel comfortable until more space was placed between them and Dortam. They’d never found out what happened with the Dragon Riders. They’d overheard whispers and hushed conversations on their way to the station, but no one spoke too loudly and no one knew if the Riders had truly left Dortam to return to Nova, or just left the area. The further they got from the city without incident, the more relaxed she’d let herself feel.
“I’m going to go to the dining car. It’s late, but they may still be serving something since the train didn’t get moving until just now. Flor, do you have a preference?” Arianna made it a point not to ask Cvareh.
“No, anything is fine.” She was entranced by the outside world blurring by as the train steadily gained speed. “Actually, should I go?”
Arianna’s mask was halfway on when her student recalled the illusion they were working to uphold. She considered this, weighing the options. “We can both go.”
“Why are you unmarked?” Cvareh’s attention hadn’t wavered from the cheek she had just covered with her mask.
“Because I was in the guilds before your kind.” Her skin prickled at the retort—at the memory of the time before the Dragons.
“Florence said you’re a Rivet.” Arianna glared at her student for imparting such information to the Dragon. He continued, “Why not just get the mark? Then you wouldn’t have to hide your face. Wouldn’t it be easier?”
“Because I do not want the mark.” There would be no way a Dragon could ever understand. It was like asking a Revolver to fix an engine, or a Harvester to use just enough medicine to save rather than kill. Even if she believed he wanted to understand—which Arianna didn’t believe—he still couldn’t.
“But you wear it anyway.”
The iron of her pin was cool under her fingertips. “I can remove this.” The man was infuriating, and she wasn’t going to defend herself to him. “Tattoos should be choices, not brands.”
Cvareh was silenced and seemed to heed to her words. The tattoos Arianna did bear burned underneath her clothing. They reaffirmed her position.
“Now, we are going to find food. Stay here, and don’t get into trouble. If you do I’ll—”
“I know, you’ll cut me. Or kill me. Or have me kill myself.” He flopped into the corner by the window and pulled back the curtain a sliver, just enough to watch the gray world slip further into darkness.
Arianna concealed a smirk under her mask. He was fun to toy with, more fun than she’d had in a long time. Sure, her jobs kept her satisfied enough knowing she was bringing a measure of harm to the Dragons’ system. But seeing an actual Dragon caused any measure of pain by her actions? It was an unparalleled joy.
“Are we going to make it to Keel in one piece?” Florence asked as the door closed behind her.
“That’s mostly up to him.” Arianna lowered her voice as they walked through the corridor. It was dim now that they no longer had the light from Old Dortam’s platform. Small sconces filled with bioluminescent bacteria in water rocked with the sway of the train, bathing the passage in a dim glow.
“Why did you take the boon?” Florence was still mastering the skill of intimidation. Her penetrating stare was nothing more than a harmless reflection of Ari’s own insistent looks.
“Because I want the wish.” She rewarded her apprentice’s efforts with a real response. The easy way out would’ve been to hide behind her hate for the Dragons. But Ari would give Florence more than that. She’d earned it with her boldness, and with the risk she was willing to take.
“Why though?”
Ari had carefully built her walls over the years. She’d made them thick and tall around her most guarded truths, and were constructed along the lines she’d drawn when she’d first met Flor. The lines kept the other woman just far enough away that Arianna could sleep at night with some small assurance that her student would be safe, from even her. They were the same lines that showed Arianna where the edge to oblivion was. It was the only thing that kept her plunging into the madness revenge begot.