I held Azul as if the storm could rip him out of my arms—it wasn’t so bad, though, especially not inside the energy center. The lightning vanished as soon as it’d arrived and the rest was all noise.

  He raised his head, eyes wide open. At first I thought he was scared and an inexplicable tenderness seized me. I could keep him safe; surely he knew that? I wanted so dearly to keep him safe.

  But then, he smiled, glowing like a little boy who sees fireworks for the first time. “You saw it, right?”

  Well, that spelled bitter disappointment, even more inexplicable than my previous feeling, but I refused to let him know.

  I leaned closer so I could speak in his ear. “She called down the lightning.”

  “Yeah! That went into the barrier spell. I think. What do you think?”

  “It’s very likely. If so, the barrier’s backed by the earth and the sky. That’d make it a very powerful spell indeed.”

  Maybe even powerful enough to withstand the Imperium—though of course that’d never happened before.

  Azul turned around to see Nina heading to the still-open doors. “Hey!”

  Unexpectedly, she stopped, turned around, and flickered the hood of her fme cloak off.

  “You were counting on that storm, right?” Azul asked.

  “Don’t you read the papers? They make sure to predict the weather accurately because of the flights, you know.”

  Azul held on to my arms like they were his own personal barrier, and just like that, the tenderness surged on me again. His right ear was too close to my face, though. I could slightly lower my head and bite it. It was too distracting.

  “But you didn’t come up with this whole pn st week. You had it all pnned.”

  Nina didn’t bother replying. Instead, she went outside, to face the crowd—if there was a crowd still.

  I hugged Azul tighter, still thinking of biting the delicate shell of his ear. Worse, his neck and shoulder were so close, too. I could sink my teeth all over him. I wanted to taste his warm, damp skin.

  I’d forgotten about the people who were still down by the generator; they poured out of the elevator, going after Nina without giving us a second look.

  Azul disentangled himself and gave me a good, serious look. “Yeah, I keep running into danger. All I can say is I’m sorry about that.”

  “Don’t. Apologize, I mean. It gets on my nerves. Just stop doing it—running into danger, I mean.”

  He pulled my head down to kiss my lips, not caring that a smell of blood lingered on me.

  “Maybe,” he said, “you really should keep me on a leash.”

  I grasped a fistful of his hair and wrenched his head up. “Maybe I should.”

  Azul just threw his arms around my neck and parted his wet lips for me, offering himself up. So I took him. There was a sour taste in his mouth, the dregs of fear and pain; that wouldn’t keep me away from him.

  He whimpered around my tongue, pushing his hardening cock against my thigh. My other hand was kneading his ass.

  “I could rip your clothes off and just fuck you, right here, right now, fuck you until you can’t walk.”

  He kissed me harder.

  Someone cleared their throat. I didn’t want to look up, but did so anyway.

  It was Sergeant Vargas. “Your Excellency.”

  “See, I didn’t get into danger. His Illustrious Highness is looking after me.”

  “So I see.”

  Looked like Sergeant Vargas was passing himself off as an ordinary worker, or at least a close facsimile: stripped down to his shirt with a second, bottle-green work shirt wrapped around his waist. He’d also undone his braid and tied his hair back loosely, lost his cravat, and rolled his shirt sleeves up; he wasn’t my type, but he was undeniably a handsome man, even more so when he looked like this. I didn’t like that from someone who spent so much time with Azul.

  “I’m very sorry you had to lose half your uniform to get through the crowd,” Azul said. I didn’t like the way he looked at Sergeant Vargas either.

  “Please, Your Excellency.” Sergeant Vargas was definitely losing his patience. He untied the borrowed shirt and wiped his forehead with a sleeve. “That part isn’t your fault. You weren’t the one attacking guards on sight.”

  “I’m happy they didn’t attack you. Or did they?”

  “No, thankfully they passed me by. I grabbed a cap too, but lost it somewhere.”

  “Grabbed it like the motorcycle? I mean, you didn’t run all the way to the hotel, right? How do you even steal a motorcycle, anyway?”

  Sergeant Vargas looked away. “That’s a long story.”

  I might as well intervene in his favor.

  “However it happened,” I said. “it was helpful indeed.”

  Sergeant Vargas looked at me with renewed interest, then bowed. “I thank Your Illustrious Highness for your understanding.”

  I waved him off. “If it isn’t necromancy it's not my business.”

  “Oh, fine,” Azul said. “Guess you’ll go to jail or something if you show me how.” A few words came our way from outside, and he perked up instantly. “Is that Nina addressing the crowd? Let’s hear!”

  Rather than waiting for an answer, Azul ran out; inevitably, Sergeant Vargas and I followed.

  I didn't expect there'd be a crowd left. I was terribly mistaken. Before I could grab Azul’s arm and bring him close to the wall to avoid attracting more attention than strictly necessary, though, he did that on his own.

  It was a relief, I suppose, to know he had a sense of self-preservation after all. If only it activated every time.

  “Where did all these people come from?” I asked. “They weren’t there when I first reached the energy center.”

  That had to be one of the rgest crowds I’d seen outside Vorsa. And far too quiet for its size; it unnerved me.

  “When I left the Big Project just a moment ago,” Azul said, “the streets were just as clogged with people. They wouldn’t even run from Tipilej Awki, so it stands to reason a summer shower wouldn’t be a big deal for them. See, the rain’s stopping.”

  That was true, but the wind was still strong—unpleasantly strong for such a damp, chill evening. I cradled him in my arms and he nestled in closer, basking in my body heat.

  Truly, I could’ve stayed like that all day.

  “Nina said she’d bring along anybody who wanted to come,” I said. “I certainly didn’t expect this.”

  “They were waiting for the world to change.” Before I could ask what exactly that meant, Azul turned to our right. “Look.”

  We weren’t alone on top of the steps. A dozen people had just made their borious way through the crowd to join us there. Four or five of them had to be strikers in waterlogged and crumpled work clothes; the others wore long, colorful, sleeveless tunics, some belted at the waist and some not.

  “I haven’t seen these people before,” Azul went on. “Though some of the Snakes are dressed like that. They must be from the area.”

  “Nina seems to have recruited the jungle people to her cause.” Azul looked at me with curiosity. “All I know is that they live in the jungle and exist right outside the Protectorate’s reach, no more.”

  “Oh! Of course! That’s how they got their supplies!”

  “Why don’t you keep your mouth shut?” That was one of the Snakes, gring at Azul.

  The tall one cmped a rge hand on that one’s shoulder. “Not now, Willka. This is a day to celebrate!”

  Willka opened his mouth to continue, no doubt, arguing, but shrugged and went to join the others without further argument. It must’ve been a joyous day indeed.

  Thankfully, Nina had started talking again, and everyone turned to her.

  “Governor Cassel is dead,” she said. “Tipilej Awki has been pacified. As long as you remain inside the city borders, you’ll be free from the Megarchon’s tyranny and her retaliation both.” A pause, to let that sink in. “As soon as you step outside, though, you’ll be vulnerable to the Imperium.”

  “How many of these people are pleased to have been liberated in such conditions, do you think?”

  Azul squeezed my hand. I’d spoken very low and directly in his ear, and I don’t think anybody else heard me, not even Sargeant Vargas.

  “If you don’t want to die,” Nina said, “you should deal with the I?í people. Without their help, the movement against Cassel would’ve ended early on. They wish to be given their ancestral nds, which rgely comprise the jungle west of the Mericto. Because they haven’t sworn fealty to the Megarchon, they can oppose her without becoming oathbreakers. They can bring you supplies. This alliance is up to you, though.”

  From what I could see from my vantage position--which admittedly wasn't much--the people of High Tomenedra didn't quite know what to make of her words. It wasn't the right time for appuse, yet nobody could think of an alternative other than standing quietly.

  “In fact, from now on everything’s up to you. Your government. Your ws. It doesn’t matter whatever the Megarchon says.”

  “Can you believe that?” Azul asked. “I don’t think they can. Even I can’t believe it yet.”

  “Of course,” Nina said, “you can ignore everything I said, too. But you shouldn’t. This is what I think you should do: anybody who wishes to leave the city should be allowed to do so. At least for the next forty-eight hours. All remaining aircrafts should be allowed to leave on schedule. Any newly arrived aircrafts should be allowed to leave immediately, if they so wish.”

  I caught Sergeant Vargas’s eye. He seemed to be a bit more relieved, though still on edge.

  “Lastly, this city should be renamed to New Tomenedra. That is all.”

  Nina flickered the fme hood over her head and turned on her heel, vanishing through the doors of the energy center before anybody had time to clear their throat. Whether she had unfinished business there, or whether she simply didn't want to bother dealing with the crowd anymore, it was anybody's guess.

  For a few instants, nobody made any noise other than the occassional cough. Soon, though, it became clear Nina wasn't coming back.

  “I don’t think this is what they were hoping for,” Azul said.

  I squeezed his hand. If anybody had been hoping for anything specific, I couldn’t tell you what, but this was unlikely to be it. The rain had stopped, everyone was wet, they’d seen the long-dormant mountain god go on a rampage, and they'd better start ruling themselves soon enough because the Megarchon would only destroy them just like the old Tomenedra had been destroyed.

  I suppose someone who could face an angry god didn't have much to fear from a merely human crowd. For anybody other than Nina, though, this particur crowd was intimidatingly huge.

  Nevertheless, we had to get through it.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said.

  Azul turned to me. “Shouldn't we ask Nina's help?”

  “I think she’s helped us as much as she will. And if most people here are willing to do follow her requests, that should be enough.”

  “I see.” He kicked the ground, nervous, but under control. I could even believe he relied on me. “How about we go to the hotel? It's next to the airport. There's clean water and beds there. Maybe even food.”

  “Good. Sergeant Vargas, your borrowed motorcycle.”

  He bowed and ducked into the energy center. The strikers were discussing something with the I?í representatives; a few people gnced at us now and then, but we were the most boring thing on top of the steps, and they couldn’t sustain much interest in us. Much better to leave before anybody changed their mind.

  “Look straight ahead and walk purposefully,” I said.

  I went down the steps, trusting Azul to follow me; however, the sidewalk was crowded and nobody would step aside to let us through.

  “Move aside,” I said. Unsurprisingly, nobody did.

  Azul held my arm. I think he guessed I was going to throw a spell at the crowd—specifically, an earth spell beneath them. Tipilej Awki had been calmed, so its effect would probably be muted. It was the spirit of the thing, I supposed, that these people wouldn’t appreciate. Sergeant Vargas was coming right behind us, though, and I still didn’t want to linger.

  “Any ideas?” I asked Azul.

  He cleared his throat. “Excuse us, can you please step aside?”

  It’s the kind of thing that makes one feel stupid—though to be fair, everyone had stepped aside for me in the st decade. Most people surrounding us attempted to do so, but they were packed too tigtly to maneuver easily. I held Azul’s hand and trusted Sergeant Vargas wouldn’t drift away from us.

  We advanced for two blocks before we had enough room to drive.

  I presented Sergeant Vargas my hand, expecting he’d give me the motorcycle keys.

  “I’m sorry, Your Illustrious Highness, but these can only be operated by a guard.”

  “I see. You haven’t slept since Saturday night either, have you?”

  “I can manage this short trip.”

  That wasn’t reassuring, certainly not in these busy streets, where anybody could get in our way without warning; there should be traffic guards in High Tomenedra, but they seemed to have run away. Who knew if New Tomenedra would have any. I didn’t think there were any better options, though. All trolleys had stopped in their tracks, abandoned with their doors open and the occassional handbag or hat left discarded on the floor; every carriage, whether private or for hire, had simply vanished off of the streets.

  In these conditions, it’s not surprising it took us longer than usual to find the hotel. A few streets were blocked, so I wouldn’t count it against Sergeant Vargas that he got lost and had to backtrack the st block.

  Meanwhile, almost every single person in the city seemed to have taken to the streets, as peacefully as in any other Monday evening—perhaps more peacefully. Quite a few of the faces I saw had a numb look to them, as if their owners couldn’t do anything more than walking aimlessly as they awaited for life to start making sense again. Can’t say I saw any white-and-gold uniforms, though. Sergant Vargas had certainly had the right idea.

  “Look at our left,” Azul said.

  At first, I couldn’t see anything. Then, I glimpsed a rising thread of smoke, barely visible against the grey sky and grey brick.

  “A bonfire,” Azul said.

  “Right after the rain?”

  “Look what they’re throwing in.”

  Looked like torn rags and pieces of wood, nothing special. But, as people kept coming to feed the bonfire, I saw it: they were throwing in anything with the Megarchon’s winged tiger on it.

  It wasn’t the only bonfire, not by a long shot. Some of them were surrounded only by quiet, solemn people, but a few blocks ter, a small group had linked arms around the fire and chanted a tuneless chant as they hopped in pce.

  “She’s gone, she’s gone, the Megarchon’s gone. She’s left us alone, the Megarchon’s gone.”

  Though not the most creative lyrics, it was amazing that they dared to express this sentiment out loud, in the middle of the streets. It was, too, an extremely optimistic sentiment, not to mention far ahead of schedule. The Megarchon hadn’t even noticed them.

  It was too early to imagine what would happen when she did—but she would, soon enough.

  broccolifloret