Sorrel outstretched her hand to the sky to let the snowflakes dance on her fingertips, just above her gloved palm. It almost felt like being home again, standing outside of the Otsoan spaceport. The winds blew harsher here, even within the walls of Otso''s cloistered cities. But the cold was something familiar and the taste of snow on Sorrel''s tongue was just the same bittersweet as Perrault.
They''d arrived on Otso with far less trouble after the pirates than they''d received before that point. And while they''d had coats and boots enough to make a trek out into the cold, the first order of business was to get clothes that could stand up to the cold of the world of fjords and mountains.
After all, it was in the mountains to the north, according to Delphine, where they would need to go in order to find the witches.
Delphine now was huddled in a thick coat, a hood over her face, and layered scarves over her shoulders and around her hips.
"I hate the cold," she declared. "There''s a reason I left this desolate place."
Desolate was the last word that Sorrel would have used to describe Otso, and the capitol of Thule where the spaceport was located.
The city was not so grimy or run-down as Hoffman. Nor was it so open and spread out as Avalon. It was clean, from the stone walls and streets to the looming buildings with candy-colored domes on top dusted with sugar-sweet snow. The people bustled around, most with hair that faded from the typical human colors to bright leaf-green, and a few that swapped the green for a silvery-blue like frost on the window.
This was a city of luxury, a city of comfort.
Coppelius approached the group with a tray of paper mugs with steaming hot drinks that smelled of chocolate and cinnamon.
"It''s going to be a while before the next train to Bodhizara." He pressed one into Sorrel''s hands. "We might as well wait here."
"What if we just struck out on our own and walked? Or docked at the spaceport there?" Sorrel asked.
Delphine shook her head and took her cup from Coppelius''s tray. "Doesn''t work that way, I''m afraid. There''s no venturing outside of the walls outside of the trains. It''s completely wild outside the cities. And there''s no other spaceports on the planet. You have to come through Otso first. Otherwise you call on the wrath of the Otsoan guards."
"It''s how they''ve protected trade here for so long," Akira added as he fiddled with his scarf. "The Jade Fleet could never infiltrate here, so if they wanted to attack Otsoan trade ships they had to do it deeper in space."
"So we''ll have to wait, but I thought these would help." Having finished distributing the drinks, Coppelius finally picked up his own and placed the disposable tray in the waste bin by the bench. He glanced at Sorrel. "The spell''s still holding up?"
"Yes." He''d expanded the pocket of her jumpsuit to hold the crystal sword, and she''d further wrapped a scarf around where the hilt was.
"Good." Coppelius nodded. He tugged at the chain of his amulet, now hidden beneath his shirt. His voice dropped. "Magic is prohibited here. It''s only for the Royal Family and the approved Order of Scholars."
"The Royal Institute is here, isn''t it?" Sorrel stared off at the spires, wondering which one was which—and which one was the palace where the Queen of Otso lived. She knew that the Order of Scholars recruited from the Royal Institute, one of the most prestigious schools in all the system.
"Yeah, right in Thule." Delphine frowned. "Why? Did you want to attend?"
"Once, when I was younger." Sorrel took a sip of the drink. It seared at her throat—but it also felt good, given the cold outside. "But we could never afford it. Both the tuition and me not working at home."
"But that''s not why you were asking." Gwynn looked to her knowingly. "You wanted to know if we could see—"
She trailed off, her dark eyes fixed on something in the distance. Sorrel found what Gwynn had, and she nearly dropped her drink.
"No way."
Then she got up from the bench and started running, weaving between people to see—
"Katherine!" Sorrel cried as she outstretched her arms.
"Sorrel, Gwynn!" The girl rushed to greet them, as they fell into a shared hug between the three of them. "I didn''t know you guys were coming here!"
They parted just as the rest of the party caught up to the Marchand sisters.
"How are you?" Sorrel asked. "I thought today was a school day—"
Katherine laughed and shook her head. "Oh, no, we''re actually on break for another month."
She paused and sobered. "I heard about what happened to Perrault. Do you know if Papa made it out?"
Sorrel''s throat hitched and she couldn''t speak.
"No." Gwynn''s voice was as soft as falling snow. "I''m so sorry."
"It''s alright." Katherine managed a smile. "I''m just happy that the two of you are safe. Is your mother alright?"
Gwynn nodded. "Yes, she''s fine, she''s on Lemuria with the other refugees."
"That''s good to hear." Katherine looked to Sorrel. "You''re here though—I suspect there''s a story. And it''s not because of me, or you would have told me you were coming."This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
She then looked behind Sorrel, and something changed about her hazel eyes. There was a little glimmer of recognition and something else, something that Sorrel could not decipher. It was gone before she even could try to understand.
"You don''t want to stick around in the cold like this," Katherine declared. "Come on, I''ve got some friends you might want to meet at the Institute!"
"We''d love to." Sorrel bit her lip. "But we have a train to Bodhizara we need to catch—"
Katherine dismissed the concern with a wave of her hand. "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure you get where you need to be exactly when you need to!"
"Say ''yes'' so we can get out of the cold," Delphine grumbled.
"Yes, then." Sorrel smiled. She could pretend for just a moment that this was just a fun trip, meeting an old friend, seeing the sights she at one time never thought she could.
And a look at Gwynn told her that this was what her twin, her best friend, needed.
"Excellent!" Katherine bounced onto the tips of her toes. "Follow me, then!"
<hr>
There had been a time when Sorrel had dreamed of going to the Royal Institute. This was back when she and Katherine and Gwynn were still in school, staring at the clock on the wall and doodling in their notebooks as their teachers droned on and on about things that didn''t really matter. Not if you wanted to be a pilot, or learn magic, or even to be a mechanic or scrapper.
Katherine had asked her once why she''d even wanted to go.
"It''s not like you even like school here," she pointed out.
"It would at least be someplace better than here."
And that really was the crux of it, wasn''t it?'' She''d wanted so desperately to be somewhere that wasn''t the end of the Society of Worlds, the place where all things from space came to die. And now she''d gotten her wish and everything had changed.
Seeing the Royal Institute now was a reminder of the wish that had come true in the worst way possible.
The Royal Institute was a small palace in its own right, with Otsoan roses planted outside in the hedges surrounding the mix of old stone and new glass and steel. It kept to the structures of Otsoan architecture, with domed tops and round doors, but otherwise a play on straight lines and sharp angles.
Now that she was here, Sorrel could understand the doubts Katherine had expressed when they both were still kids. Katherine was the kind of girl who belonged to an old, scholarly location like this. After all, she was the kind of girl who was always writing diaries with the idea of "making it easier for historians."
She wasn''t Sorrel, who was constantly restless and dreaming.
The hallways of the Institute were empty, only a few faculty and a handful of students remaining over the break darting in and out. It was a sleek, modern place on the inside, with screens plastered on the insides and minimal decoration.
As Katherine guided them through the hallways, Sorrel couldn''t help but steal glances at Coppelius—and recall the legend behind this place.
It wasn''t named the Royal Institute for the Royal Family of Otso—it was named so for the legends of a royal family that had once ruled over the star of Ondrina. It was once founded by that family to gather the brightest advisors and inventors and all of those enlightened types that would make a better empire, a better kingdom. At least, that was the story told.
She wondered if Coppelius or Delphine or Akira might know the truth about this. More probably Coppelius or Delphine than Akira, she supposed.
"And this is the library." Katherine paused in front of a large circular door made of frosted glass. She turned around and looked the group up and down. She smiled, as if she were in on some kind of fantastic joke—but Sorrel did not know the punchline yet. "I''ve got some friends inside that I think you''d like to meet."
Then she pressed a button to open the door, and strode in with a self-assuredness that reminded Sorrel of Delphine or Kiana. Had Katherine always been so confident, so regal? Maybe the two years at the Institute already done so much to change her.
Despite the sleek reflective floors and all-glass walls and ceiling, the inside of the library of the Royal Institute felt older, more cozy. Tall and dark wooden shelves that appeared to be carefully crafted were stacked on top of one each other and created a labyrinth throughout the main floor. Handsome tables and cozy armchairs with faded plush cushions were scattered about.
Katherine led them to a glass elevator to the second floor, where the shelves were now confined to the walls themselves, and there were more tables and chairs there, and a few potted plants now too added to the mix.
Sitting by a space of open glass wall was a small group of individuals sharing a table—a curiosity, given how empty the library and the Institute in general was. One seat was left open, with a leather satchel and a set of books left at her place.
Next to that seat was a petite girl dressed all in black with brown skin and deep purple waves falling around a set of curling black horns, deep in concentration with a book. On the end of the table was a tall boy with dark hair fading into silver who was writing in a notebook.
To his right, on the other side, were a boy and a girl, both with shining white hair.
The girl had streaks of lilac and light brown skin, and the boy had green tips like the first shoots of spring and white markings on his pale arms where he''d rolled back his sleeves. Both had the same starry blue eyes Sorrel had come to know so well.
And when they looked up, they knew.
Katherine clasped her hands together. "Everyone, my old friends Sorrel and Gwynn Marchand came to visit, I told you about them from my hometown in Perrault, remember?"
The Otsoan boy shut his notebook and sat up straighter. "They brought friends with them."
"Oh, Kai, you''ll love this, they''re going to Bodhizara in a few hours, maybe you could give them some tips?" Katherine bounced on her toes again.
"Maybe." He clearly didn''t trust them, with the way his eyes were the same ominous gray as a snow-bound sky.
"Oh, right, this is Ellowyn Khmer, then Kai Speila—"
"Nikolai to you," he grumbled.
"Nikolai," Katherine corrected smoothly, as if she''d come to expect this. "And then Layla and Pirlipat Elara."
Pirlipat folded his hands and narrowed his eyes through large circular frames. "You''ve brought some interesting friends. You''ll be staying for dinner, I''m presuming."
"We''ll have to see." Sorrel glanced at Coppelius, whose expression was unreadable at the moment. She wondered if he was just trying to hide the shock. She could only imagine, given that a week ago he''d thought he and Versailles and the Spider-Queen were the only ones of his kind left.
It was interesting, how they all seemed to be converging at once after hundreds of years.
"What Sorrel means is that we do have a train to catch," Gwynn added hastily.
"No you don''t." Nikolai slumped back into his chair. "Just got an alert on the school''s system—all the train cars got recalled. Storm is picking up."
"What?" Coppelius blinked. "I don''t understand—"
"It''s alright, I''m sure it will all clear up after dinner!" Katherine''s cheer faltered for a second. "Besides, I think some of you guys might want to talk to each other."
She then looked to Nikolai. "I was wondering if you and Ellowyn might help me with something in my dorm."
"Now?" Ellowyn looked over her shoulder. "Are you sure it can''t wait?"
"Positive." Katherine beamed, crossing her arms over her shoulder.
Nikolai raised an eyebrow, but got up all the same. "Fine. I know better than to go against one of your schemes."
"Great, thank you!" Katherine looked to Sorrel. "Sorry to cut things short, but I promise we''ll talk more during and after dinner!"
She then beckoned for her friends to follow her.
"Enjoy!" She shouted, and then she looked over her shoulder to wink at Sorrel.
Which she had no idea what to do with, but she was also not about to look at a gift land speeder under the hood.
For when the library doors shut again, she knew that now was their chance to talk to yet more scions of the Ondrina dynasty.