Between Burning Worlds (System Divine #2) - Jessica Brody Page 0,95

throttle and yanked it back. The engines made a hiccupping noise and then roared to life. Grabbing the contrôleur, he began to steer the ship down toward the great blanket of clouds that encompassed Laterre. As they descended, the ship’s dials and switches wobbled in their plates and the small metal cabinets built into the cockpit’s hull rattled like a mouthful of loose teeth.

Hobbling as fast as she could back to her seat, Chatine quickly buckled her restraints and stared out at the approaching planet. The clouds came closer and closer until, with a slam and judder, the ship was diving into them. Through them. White and gray consumed every window while the engines whinnied and revved under their seats.

And then, in a burst of light and rain, she was back. Back beneath the canopy of clouds and soaring above a vast, dark ocean.

The Secana Sea, Chatine thought, a bubble of nostalgia rising up inside of her.

She’d only been gone from Laterre for two weeks. She couldn’t believe she’d actually missed it, but she had.

Chatine stared out the cockpit window as Etienne guided the ship over swells of choppy water that seemed to go on forever. Morning had just started to push its way through the night, and the ocean was beginning to glimmer and brighten. Before long, Chatine could see land coming into view. She spotted the vast green mass of the Forest Verdure first. A seemingly endless expanse of trees, hugging every hill and mountain, with the lumber town of Bûcheron almost hidden at its center. To the left, she saw the Frets, huddled around each other like a group of rusting beasts at a watering hole. And, off in the distance, Chatine could see Ledôme up on its hill, twinkling and glowing amid the heavy dawn mist.

Vallonay, she thought to herself.

She’d made it.

She grabbed hold of her seat restraints, bracing herself for another sharp turn. But then, a second later, she realized that the ship was not banking. It was not even slowing. Etienne continued to fly over the trees, past the Frets, Ledôme, and the low-lying ferme-lands.

“Where are we going?” Chatine asked warily.

Etienne shook his head. “Sorry. Can’t tell you. Top secret.” He leaned over, opened one of the metal cabinets next to Chatine, and pulled out a long strip of fabric. “Which reminds me, you’ll have to put this blindfold on.”

“What? No.”

“Those are the rules.”

“I thought there was only one rule.”

“Which you’ve already broken, like, three times.”

Chatine let out an exasperated sigh. “Just drop me off in Vallonay, please.”

This made Etienne cackle. “Sure, right, right. Me, a member of a community that the Ministère doesn’t even know exists, I’ll just land my ship, which the Ministère doesn’t know I have, in the middle of Laterre’s capital. Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”

Chatine threw up her hands. “I thought this ship had stealth mode.”

“Yeah, stealth mode. Not stupidity override mode.”

“Well, then just drop me off at the edge of the city. In the Forest Verdure or something. I’ll find my way back.”

“Brilliant plan,” Etienne commended, steering the ship into a sharp left turn. “Now, tell me, will you be walking on that wounded leg of yours? Or crawling? Just wondering.”

Chatine balled her fists, trying to keep her temper under control. “I have to find him!”

“Look,” Etienne said, his voice softening with what sounded like sympathy. “We’re nearly there. As soon as the other ship gets back, you can ask Faustine about your brother, okay?”

Chatine froze, a debilitating shiver running down her spine. “Nearly where?”

“Just put on the blindfold please so I can land.”

“Still don’t trust me, huh?”

“Trust is a two-way street, Gridder.”

With a grunt, Chatine snatched the fabric from Etienne and tied it around the back of her head. She could feel Etienne’s hand waving in front of her face. “I can’t see anything,” she muttered.

A moment later, Chatine felt a familiar tug in her stomach. The pressure building behind her ears, threatening to pop. They were descending.

“Where are you taking me?” Chatine asked.

“To the camp.”

“A Défecteur camp?” she screeched.

The pilote huffed at the word but ignored her.

With the blindfold on, Chatine felt vulnerable and disoriented. She had a hard time tracking the ship’s sharp turns and deceleration. Then, finally, the engine settled into a low hum and Etienne removed the fabric from her eyes.

Desperately, Chatine searched the horizon for any sign of civilization, but there was nothing in front of them, behind them, or to either side of them except vast stretches of ice and