The engine under our feet splutters, and the board wavers from left to right. One of Vitelotte’s arms stretches out for balance, but the other is trapped within my side-ways embrace.
We both freeze, waiting for the glider to give out under our combined weight. Even the wind stills and the only sounds are the rapid beat of my pulse combined with the drone’s slicing blades.
Emmera disappears from our line of sight. She’s probably halfway to the forest below, but I can’t think of that right now. After what feels like an eternity, the engine beneath us restores to a steady rumble.
“What do you think?” asks Vitelotte.
I don’t want an ounce of fear to affect the girl who will maneuver us to safety, so I say in the gentle tone I use on injured birds, “Let’s see what happens when you raise your big toe.”
Moments later, the board drifts down.
We both exhale identical breaths. Vitelotte says the mechanism must be sensitive, and slight movements are enough for it to understand our commands. It takes several minutes for me to gather the courage to look down. When I do, we’re drifting a hundred feet over a fast-moving river.
Its banks are stretches of gray rock that give way to a thick forest of pines, their tips as sharp as umbrella points. I can’t tell in the fading light if the river is deep, but the water flows around jagged rocks in its middle, which suggests that it is not.
“Vitelotte,” I whisper into her ear.
“Lotte,” she says.
“We need to move to the left.”
“I don’t know how to do that,” she replies.
As we continue to drift down, the crashing of water against the rocks drowns out the drones’ blades. I glance down and sport a dark mass swimming beneath us. It’s long with a thick tail and stubby legs that jut out from each side of its rounded belly.
I don’t know the difference between a crocodile and an alligator, but when it rises and opens its jaws, I shake Vitelotte.
“What?” she says.
“Rise.” The pitch of my voice elevates. When the glider continues drifting down, I shout, “Go up.”
“The right pedal doesn’t work.” She leans down and chokes. “What’s in the water?”
Nausea ripples through my insides. Whoever deactivated the glider assigned to me is now tampering with Vitelotte’s board. As we continue toward the river, more of the giant reptiles gather.
I say, “Just—”
Something hard hits my left arm. I flinch, and a breath hisses through my teeth.
“What now?” she says between ragged breaths.
My gaze darts toward the bank. I can’t see anyone hiding within the trees, but that’s the whole point of the camouflage. “I don’t—”
Another hard shot hits my temple, and pain radiates through my skull. “Ouch.”
Vitelotte flinches. “Ouch.”
“Someone’s shooting at us.” I tap her shoulder. “Go higher.”
As she rises, one of the missiles lands on the side of my legs, making me wince. It can’t be silk bullets, as those penetrate the skin, so maybe these shots are coming from an air rifle. I glance down and find dark figures running along the riverbank.
“They were trying to make us fall into the water,” I snarl.
“The Nobles and Guardians are teaming up to eliminate you.” Vitelotte explains that Ingrid has offered any girl who kills me the chance to become her lady-at-arms. It’s no surprise as she made that offer to Berta, who nearly killed me. “That Constance girl with the ringlets offered me a crate of vodka if I would push you out of a window.”
My heart sinks. “Oh.”
Vitelotte turns her head and meets my eye. “I refused, of course.”
“I know.” Our harrowing aerial adventure is proof that she has no intention to kill me or let me die.
“They’re all making alliances.” She shakes her head. “As if scheming could win them the heart of a prince.”
My gaze rises to the drone following our every move. Scheming worked for Queen Damascena and Lady Circi. Something bangs against the underside of our glider, and my heart leaps.
Vitelotte stiffens. “They’re trying to knock out its engine.”
Without being prompted, we rise further away from the river. It bends, and we drift away from the swimming reptiles, and over the forest.
“Let’s find somewhere safe,” I say. “If we split up, they’ll leave you alone, and—”
“No,” she says. “You’re safer with me watching your back.”
I shake my head. It’s not like Vitelotte and I were friends in Rugosa, and she knows how much risk she’s taking on by staying at my side. It’s madness for her to get hurt when everyone has overlooked her until now.
Silence stretches out between us. I don’t know how to ask why she would go so far to help a stranger when others like Emmera would band against me for personal gain.
Vitelotte exhales a long breath. “I’ve seen what your family does around Rugosa. The Calicos might be quiet, but you’re good people. When Mom died and left us with two newborns, your mother brought enough cactus fruit to keep us going until the Guardians approved the transfer of Grandma’s water rations. Consider this our thanks.”
A lump forms in my throat. “I didn’t know.”
“Your parents don’t like to brag about all the good they do, but some of us notice,” she says in a pointed tone.
The beginnings of tears sting my eyes. Her words have reached my heart, but the thought that my actions have put Mom, Dad, and the twins in danger makes it shatter.
Another pellet hits the underside of the glider but misses the engine. We’re floating over a clearing, and four attackers run through the trees. Three guardians joined forces with one Noble. They probably laid in wait for the only girl without a glider.
The shooting becomes frantic, and the girls take down two of the drones following us. A
