Renegades (Hotbloods #3)

“Take a long sip,” Navan said. “It needs to last longer than the first time.”

Letting out a breath, I placed the vial to my lips, tipping the liquid onto my tongue. I swallowed quickly, letting the viscous liquid get to work. This time, knowing what to expect, I sat down on the frost-tipped grass and waited for the pain to come. It did a moment later, ripping through my body like a blazing tornado. Clutching my stomach, I felt the familiar razorblade sensation of the wings pushing through my skin. I gritted my teeth against the searing agony, knowing it would pass.

As my wings spread out behind me, tearing through the fabric of my shirt, the pain ebbed, leaving me with the strange, weighted sensation. I got to my feet, feeling a little unsteady. Navan stepped up beside me, putting his arm around my waist, letting me lean against him until I felt balanced again.

“I think Brisha’s going to need to buy me a whole load of new shirts,” I chuckled. This was the second one I’d ruined with my wings.

“You’ll have to ask her for some like mine,” he replied with a smile, turning to show me the flexible gaps in his shirt fabric, which opened to allow his wings through, causing no harm to the shirt itself. “Now, before thoughts of ripping your shirt off distract me entirely, might I take you on a quick date, you beautiful creature?” Navan teased, turning back around and bending his head so he could kiss my shoulder blades.

I laughed. “I’d be delighted, you handsome devil.”

With that, we took to the skies, the Vysanthean night rushing past me, its icy fingers in my hair, twisting through my wings, filling my lungs with its bitter freshness. A grin spread across my face despite the dangers to come. With Navan by my side, the wind beneath my wings, and the world stretching out ahead of me with its endless possibilities, I knew I could get used to this.





Chapter Seven





“Down there,” Navan said, pointing to a peculiar structure in the distance.

I frowned, squinting at it. The place didn’t look like any city square I had ever seen. It stood next to a curved building with golden spires that I presumed to be the old university Navan had mentioned. A high stone wall formed the square, a crosshatched net of tangled bronze rods rising above and across it, like spun sugar cupped over a dessert in a fancy restaurant. Lights glowed through the strange domed roof of bronze branches, reminding me of stars seen through a canopy of trees.

As we landed, the hubbub of voices rose from within the covered piazza. It was a comforting sound, filled with chatter and laughter, and the telltale bark of bartering stall-owners. I threaded my fingers through Navan’s, smiling up at him. We had never been on a real date before, and if this was the closest to one we were going to get, I was more than happy to take it.

A gateway was embedded in the high stone wall of the square, though the two heavy metal doors were swung wide, allowing the public to pass in and out of the piazza with ease. As we stepped through, joining the steady stream of coldbloods entering the market, my eyes went wide with awe.

Flickering candles and glowing string lights twinkled all around, draping from the fronds of willow-like trees. Stalls lined the square, selling all manner of unusual wares. At the center, a band was playing a lively tune on instruments I had never seen before, though some looked vaguely drum-like, and others resembled violins, but these were made from dark metals that glinted in the low light. They still sounded like their Earthen counterparts, making me feel like I was at an Irish jig. As the music enveloped us, I almost felt tempted to take to the floor and lose myself in the melody.

There were other people dancing, a few young couples swinging each other around, but I couldn’t see Navan indulging me in a dance or two. I flashed him a look all the same, nodding in the direction of the music.

He shook his head. “No way,” he said, smirking. “I’ve told you before, I’m a terrible dancer. You’d run away from sheer embarrassment.”

“I’ll get a dance out of you before the night is out,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him, though of course it was an empty threat. As much as I wished we had longer to peruse the stalls and enjoy the atmosphere, I knew we couldn’t spend much time at the market. For one thing, we didn’t know how long it would take to find the poroporo fruit, and we were going to need as much time in the Fazar Mountains as possible to seek it out. Because if we didn’t manage to find the fruit, then we’d have to choose a different method of getting answers about the immortality elixir from Yorrek, a method that probably wouldn’t leave us with clean hands or a clean conscience… I shook the thought from my mind.

Hand in hand, listening to the music drifting through the square, we walked along the outer edges, peering at all the wondrous stalls. Everything was new and exciting to my human eyes. The stalls held everything from strange Vysanthean technologies, to handmade arts and crafts, to curious vials containing rare blood. I wasn’t as interested in the latter type of shop, but the rest had me enraptured.

“This is beautiful,” I murmured, peering down at a dark metal bracelet with a pale gray gem in the center that seemed to be calling my name.

Navan frowned. “You like that?” he asked, pointing at the bracelet that had caught my eye.

I nodded. “Gorgeous.”

“The lady has fine taste,” the shopkeeper purred, picking up the bracelet and lifting it toward me. I held out my wrist to receive it, almost on impulse, my blood rushing in my ears, my pulse racing in anticipation. The ashen-faced woman was about to place it on my welcoming wrist, when Navan snatched my arm away.

“Not today, thank you,” he said sharply as the shopkeeper flashed her fangs at him.

“It would seem your lover doesn’t care for your desires, beautiful mistress,” she snarled, clutching the bracelet to her breast. “A shame. A real shame.”

I frowned as Navan pulled me away from the jewelry stand and pressed me on along the avenue of stalls. I could still feel the almost magnetic pull of the bracelet calling me back, though I couldn’t explain why.

“What was that bracelet?” I asked, still sensing the way my blood had longed for it. “It made me feel all funny.”

Navan glanced around at the stalls. “Some Vysanthean stones hold that power. It’s believed that only certain types of stones work on certain types of people. The way a body responds to that power depends on who, and what, you are,” he explained. “Arcadium is particularly strong to most people, but I’ve never seen anyone respond quite as quickly to its pull before.”