Tethered (Novella) - By Meljean Brook Page 0,55

too, but attempting to outrun the flyers wasn’t simply an act of arrogance; it was also an act of faith. Faith in his ship, that she would be swift. Faith in his crew, that they would be capable. He would have believed in them all, or he’d never have taken such a chance.

Yasmeen might have taken that chance, too. As they flew, she studied the flyers’ patterns, their positions. She had no doubt that her crew could destroy them…but that wasn’t the plan. Lady Nergüi would be tethered to the floating city, they’d destroy the flyers there, and make their escape.

Until she saw New Eden, knowing that plan was enough. But when the moonlight picked out the cluster of balloons in the distance, the dark shape moving across the horizon, she wasn’t prepared for her reaction.

She should have been. Oh, she should have known. Simply allowing her leg to be tied to a desk had taken a concentrated battle of will over instinct, even though the knot had been tied by someone she loved and trusted beyond any other, because the bonds might have prevented her from protecting him.

It wasn’t just Archimedes now, but also her crew. And she had to allow her lady to be tied, the ship that protected them all.

She could barely conceal the shaking that started then. Even knowing that this was the right course, even knowing that their plan was solid and that her crew was capable, her instincts clamored with a desperate urge to rip free and fight.

And unlike when Archimedes had tied her, there was no thrill here. No excitement. Only terror and rage and dread.

She couldn’t reveal them, though they howled within her. Outwardly calm, she stood on the quarterdeck with Archimedes, sharing a cigarillo. Then another. When she lit the third, he studied her face, and she knew by the tensing of his shoulders that he’d realized what was happening to her.

“Let me help,” he said softly.

There was nothing to be done that he wasn’t already doing, simply by standing at her side. “You’re here,” she said. Where he’d always promised to be. “That’s all I need.”

She would be glad when it was done, however. By the time Lady Nergüi reached the city, her control wavered on a thin thread. Though she hadn’t expended any effort during the flight, her body trembled not just from the need to fight, but the ordeal of holding herself back.

Despite that maelstrom of emotion, both instinct and deadly intent kept her mind sharp. Scouting out strongholds, cataloguing their weaknesses and strengths had served her well during the war and in the years since. This was no different.

They approached New Eden at a slightly lower altitude than the city. Yasmeen studied the level beneath before passing the spyglass to Archimedes. “Can you make it out?”

He made a sound of frustration. “Too many shadows.”

“All right.” Her eyes were better in the dark, and the reflected moonlight on the water illuminated the underside enough for her to see. “The framework is just as Scarsdale described. Cables tether the airships to the beams, but much of it is open. The engines look to be made up of eight turbines. They’re off center and starboard, with the boilers and furnace to port and the pipes running between. Suspended walkways connect them and the stokers’ quarters.”

“And the hangar shed?”

“Is farther forward. Another walkway from the stokers’ quarters leads to it.” This would be key. To escape the city, they’d have to destroy the flyers…if any pilots were left to man them. “There’s also access from Bushke’s quarters, and another suspended walkway. Scarsdale and Trahaearn planned to use it to kill him before they lost the opportunity. He said the hangar is guarded at both points.”

Archimedes nodded, lifting the spyglass again. After a long moment he said, “It’s bigger than I expected.”

Bigger than she had, too, even with Scarsdale’s warning. “Almost two hundred airships,” Yasmeen estimated.

But not all of the ships still tethered to their balloons—or the balloons had been removed and tethered directly to the framework. Closer now and rising in altitude, she saw that more balloons crowded the outside rings of ships, with fewer in the center—most likely to let in the sunlight over the gardens.

Approaching the city, all but two of the flyers veered off toward the hanger. Lady Nergüi flew up over the outside ring of balloons. Yasmeen drew in a sharp breath. Beside her, Archimedes’ eyes widened. She heard the surprised murmurs of the crew, many of