Page 11 of Fly to Fury
“I stole all the height in the family.” Mak leaned his arm on the top of her head. “Didn’t leave anything for my little sis.”
Pip elbowed him in the stomach and stepped out from under his arm. “Always such a hog, big brother. All the food. All the height. So inconsiderate.”
Mak smirked before he turned back to the flyboys. “I was going to show Pip around tonight. Want to join us?”
Pip found herself swaying forward, eager for a night out exploring Little Aldon with her flyboys and her brother together. Her chest squeezed at how important it felt that her brother and Fieran—well, all the flyboys—got along.
Fieran shook his head and jabbed a finger at Merrik. “The two of us have supper with our dachas tonight. But the others are free.”
Oh, right. How had she forgotten about that? Then again, her ears had been buzzing so loudly with her hero-worship panic that she’d barely heard a word of what Prince Farrendel said.
Pip tried to suppress the way her heart fell. She liked the other flyboys, but things wouldn’t be the same if Fieran and Merrik weren’t along.
“Then maybe we can wait on a tour until tomorrow night? Unless you’re on duty?” Mak swept a glance around the group.
“No, we won’t be on duty.” Fieran grinned, his gaze flicking to her for a moment. Perhaps he, too, had been disappointed at missing out.
“It’s a plan, then.” Mak nudged Pip with his elbow.
A far better plan, actually. Even beyond missing Fieran and Merrik, Pip looked forward to a night with just her brother, getting caught up on everything that had happened to the two of them since she’d left home months ago.
Chapter
Four
Pip perched on one of the dirty metal seats on the tram while Mak gripped a leather strap hanging from the ceiling. As the tram nosed downward toward the lower region of the military base, Pip planted her palms on the back of the seat in front of her. She was too short for her feet to fully reach the floor. But as her butt slid forward on the slippery metal bench, she braced herself on her tiptoes on the floor.
The tram leveled out and shook as it came to a halt beside the platform.
As the others—mostly men—clambered to their feet and crowded the aisle, Pip stuck close to Mak’s back, letting him lead the charge through the crowd. How she loved having big, tall people to wade into the fray and create a path for her. She had to dodge far fewer elbows to the face that way.
Outside the tram, the crowd scattered, though the bulk of the men headed for the long buildings that Lt. Busher had indicated were the various mess buildings.
“This way.” Mak turned in the same direction as a few of the other men she recognized as mechanics.
He bypassed the first two mess buildings and entered the third. As Pip followed him inside, the echoing hubbub of voices, clanging of plates on metal tables, and clink of silverware rang against her ears.
She and Mak joined the line, quickly getting their food. As they turned away to find a table, she spotted a few of the elven mechanics for Flight A gathered at a table with other elves. Probably mechanics for the elven airships. Her human mechanics had joined some of the mechanics for the other squadrons.
She shouldn’t be hurt that her little group was scattering the moment they reached Fort Defense. After Dar Goranth, where they were so alone, she couldn’t blame them for seeking larger groups of companionship.
Mak navigated through the long rows of tables until he reached the back corner. He sat down with his back to the wall, and Pip sank onto the bench across from him. Here, it was relatively quiet. Much better for talking.
“So.” Mak waved his fork at her. “Tell me everything that you couldn’t include in your letters.”
Between bites of her food—some kind of mystery meat, mashed potatoes, and rather overcooked green beans—Pip told him about training, the Battle over Bridgetown, the transfer to Dar Goranth, and the Battle for Dar Goranth. She downplayed the amount of danger she had been in, though by the furrow to her brother’s brow he could read between the lines.
She also didn’t mention anything regarding her non-romance with Fieran. Hopefully her brother couldn’t read betweenthoselines. She really didn’t want to talk aboutthatwith anyone, much less her brother.
“And what about you? What happened at home after I left?” Pip had done so much talking that her food wasgrowing cold. Mak was nearly finished, even though he’d taken a larger portion.
“Things got more tense once war was declared, and trains have been running around the clock.” Mak shrugged as he set down his fork. “But nothing much changed. The western rail terminal is so far from the border that it isn’t in danger.”
“Were you still at home when Mongavaria bombed Tarenhiel’s eastern forests?” Pip stirred her food around her plate. She’d seen some of the blackened sections of forests as the airship passed over them on the way to Fort Defense.
“Yes. I was called up for service right after that, and that’s when the king asked Dacha and Muka to negotiate with the dwarven kingdoms.” Mak gave a shrug that was as casual as hers had been when talking about the battles she’d experienced. He still wasn’t looking at her. “I was sent straight here. No special training or anything. We’ve had a few bombings, but I haven’t been in too much danger.”
Pip nodded, chewing the last of her mystery meat, and swallowed. Likely because Prince Farrendel was here, protecting the fort the way Fieran had protected Fort Linder during the bombing there.
