Page 3 of Fly to Fury
Right. Face-planting into a tree did that. Good thing there was always an elven healer a short trip into Aldon away.
“There are times I’m surprised you survived childhood.” Pip shook her head before she turned to Merrik and gestured at the wire. “I’m trying to rig a way to use Fieran’s magic to better protect the squadron. I can’t seem to get it to work hooked up through the magical power cell, but Fieran thinks he might be able to actively wield his magic along the wires.”
“But it will take some testing.” Merrik gave a decisivenod that was agreement to the testing plan as much as it was a general agreement with the idea.
Fieran worked to keep his smirk hidden as he regarded Pip. “I’m sure my dacha would be very impressed with the idea.”
Pip’s face washed pale beneath her light brown skin, her eyes widening.
Merrik’s grin took on a mischievous glint as well. “Uncle Farrendel would probably want a demonstration.”
At the mention of Dacha’s name, Pip’s whole body went rigid. She might have even stopped breathing.
He wasn’t sure if teasing Pip about her hero worship of his dacha was a touch mean or a necessary tool to help her work through her paralysis before they arrived at Fort Defense, and she came face-to-face with her hero.
“Breathe, Pip.” Fieran gripped her shoulders, giving her a slight shake.
Pip shuddered as she dragged in a breath. Then she covered her face with her hands. “I can’t believe we’re going to be stationed at the same military base as your father.” She peeked through her fingers at him, her voice almost desperately hopeful. “It’s a large defensive fort. Maybe I won’t even see him?”
“I’m his son. If you’re near me, I doubt you’ll be able to avoid running into him a time or two.” Fieran rubbed his thumbs over the tops of her shoulders, the canvas of her coveralls rough beneath his skin. He shouldn’t appreciate the strength of her muscles or think of how right it felt offering her comfort. They weren’t in a relationship—because of him—and this moment was supposed to be about comforting her, not about his attraction to her. “Besides, is avoiding him really what you want?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Pip’s voice rose on the last wordas she dropped her head into her hands again. “Ugh. I’m going to make such a fool of myself in front of him.”
“It’ll be fine. You’ll see.” Fieran forced himself to drop his hands to his sides. “I’ll make sure I’m with you when you meet him.”
He could keep that promise easily enough. Besides, Dacha would be just as tongue-tied as Pip. Fieran needed to be present for both of their sakes.
It would be good to see his dacha again. Not to mention once again have access to telephone calls home to actually speak with his mama and siblings.
A pang shot through him at having to leave Dar Goranth. He hadn’t expected he’d come to love this rugged northern island as much as he did.
Yet he had no one left to say farewell to here. Aunt Melantha and Sontar had returned to Kostaria along with the first ships filled with the wounded from the Battle for Dar Goranth. Both Rokyd and Lucien had healed from their wounds and shipped out on their new assignments a few days ago. Sathrah’s airship had returned to its patrol along the coast. Uncle Julien and Aunt Vriska had also left, though Fieran would likely see them again at Fort Defense.
Time for Fieran to ship out as well. He would miss Dar Goranth’s windswept shores and restless seas. But he was ready to return home to Escarland to fight at his dacha’s side. Well, over his dacha’s head.
Chapter
Two
Fieran circled his aeroplane over the sprawl of Fort Defense. While the whole base was called Fort Defense, it was really a large defensive complex spreading from the bank of the Hydalla River, across the river valley, along the Chibo River, and into the foothills of the Whitehurst Mountains that divided Escarland from the Mongavarian Empire.
In the distance, right up against the blue of the Wall, the spindly forms of watch towers jutted toward the sky. Those towers would be manned night and day as watchers armed with binoculars would watch for raids coming by air.
The Wall—a powerful crackle of blue magic shot with green and icy gray—rose into the sky and bisected the mountains for as far as Fieran could see, even from the sky. At the foothills, the Wall followed the Chibo River, a tributary that flowed into the larger Hydalla River. There, the Wall turned east to continue along the Hydalla seaway where it disappeared into the horizon, headed for the ocean. Fieran had seen the Wall before, but a chill still shivereddown his spine at seeing such a display of his dacha’s power.
When he’d been young, the Wall had mostly rested within the ground, dormant until needed. In the past few years, however, as Mongavaria had been amassing troops and building fortifications near the border, the Wall had gone up and simply never come down as the threat hadn’t gone away.
Along the smaller Chibo River, stones had been dumped into the river on the Escarlish side of the Wall, and clusters of shallow-bottomed boats stacked with wood waited next to them. Between the elves and trolls, these supplies could be quickly formed into bridges across the river so that the Alliance could conduct raids into Mongavaria before retreating to safety behind the Wall.
On the Escarlish side of the seaway, large gun emplacements pointed out over the water behind fortified brick walls, a relic from the time when Tarenhiel and Escarland had been at war, although the guns had been upgraded to the latest models and aimed downriver instead of toward Tarenhiel.
Up the river from the gun emplacements, docks jutted into the river. A few of the small riverine warships rocked at anchor next to the deepwater wharves.
Inland from the docks lay a sprawling trainyard, complete with multiple turntables and roundhouses. Large warehouses lined the area between the docks and the trains for storing all the war material and supplies that a major war effort demanded.
More large buildings dotted the landscape, both on the high bluffs overlooking the river and below on the flat valley land. This high in the sky, Fieran couldn’t tell what they were for.
On the highlands above the rest of the fort, a large hangar stretched in a massive edifice of ribbed steel roof and metal siding. Airships floated along one side of the hangar while an airfield lay to the other side.
