Scars of Gold

Chapter Seven

"Delassey, what's going on?" The newcomer was only a few years older than I was, possibly the same age as the twins. But unlike the twins, he was well-fed and muscular, with glossy dark hair that he'd pulled back into a low bun at the nape of his neck.

"The volcano is on the verge of erupting." Evanthe was fuming.

"What about the Etealians?"

She gestured to the crowd pouring down the mountainside. "It would appear that they've managed to evacuate themselves." A wry smile I couldn't understand was spread across her face.

"What can I do?"

"To help here? Nothing. I'll see to whomever had the bright idea to seal them inside the mountain. We'll wait and see what happens to the city, then round up as many as we can. Hungry and without supplies, they won't get far. I'll stay here for the time being to stop these imbeciles causing more damage.

"Send Ilarianna over once you return and she can reprieve me. I'm not leaving Etealian soil without someone I can trust in charge. In the meantime, the king is expecting the Etealian altora. See that she gets there in one piece."

Evanthe gestured in my direction and the altora shifted his attention to me for the first time. His eyes swept over me with the briefest of glances. He looked bored and utterly disinterested in the task Evanthe had set him.

"How?" I asked, directing the question at Evanthe. The boy had appeared out of nowhere beside us, I couldn't see any form of transport.

He laughed, smiling for the first time. Even his teeth were a perfect, pearly white. I ran my tongue over my own, less shiny set. "We're flying, of course."

"Flying?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I guess you've never seen volito in action. This is going to be... an experience."

A volito - someone who could manipulate the way their body interacted with the world, rendering things like gravity and air-resistance inconsequential.

Speed, stealth and flight. After what I'd witnessed during his fight with Evanthe, I was certain the smooth twin was one too.

Well, at least the Lathrians were making more effort with my pre-death transport than they had with my last meal.

"Dante Remy," he said with a mock bow. "I'll be your pilot for this morning's trip.

"Commander Delassey," he added, turning to Evanthe. "I'll send Ilarianna as soon as I return."

She nodded to him and rejoined the fray.

Dante moved behind me and gripped my waist, pulling me uncomfortably close.

"Eugh!" he said, finding the proximity as unappealing as I did. "Have you ever heard of a bath?" Said an altora who probably lived in the palace and bathed in champagne every evening. Or possibly a vat of herbs, judging by the much more pleasant smell emanating from him. I stepped backwards, stamping my foot onto his as hard as I could.

"Oops," I said as he grunted in pain.

"Stay still and don't throw up on me," he barked, before launching into the air without warning.

My stomach dropped through my toes, lost somewhere on the ground below me. I shut my eyes, which were streaming with water from the force of the sudden acceleration.

Behind me, I felt rather than heard Dante laugh. He was enjoying trying to terrify me.

It took a few more minutes and our upward rise easing off before I could force my eyes open. The sight that met me made me want to close them again. I had no idea how high we were, but Volcaria - the giant mountain that had filled my vision for every day of my life - was now the size of my fist.