Garden of Embers: Beneath Devouring Eyes #2

Chapter 17, Part A

"Home? This prison palace you've built of marble and onyx is not my home and never will be. I was born on the night-side. The everlasting dark is in my blood. The Starlit Tower is my home."

--Princeps Worldholder Aura Adurere,
45th year before the Restoration,
from "Holey Holies",
out of A Garden of Fragrant Heresies

*~*~*~*

"No," Valens said when Domi explained his idea.

The word hit the boy like a punch to the gut, and Daedalus's face mirrored his own shocked dismay. "What do you mean, no?"

"This is it," Daedalus urged their aedificans, fists clenched at his side. "This is our chance to solve this. How can you refuse?"

"Because," Valens said, leaning against the nook's pristine wall and shaking his head, "the last time your brother tried fixing a promenia crystal that way, he gave himself a stroke."

"I don't care!" Domi snapped, fury thrumming through him. Why was Valens standing in his way when he was so close to righting this monstrous wrong? "I need to do this! I don't care if I have a stupid stroke. I need to fix the tower now!"

"Well, I care," his horrible aedificans said, amber eyes narrowing. "I forbid you to try this." His gaze shifted to include Daedalus in the stern look. "At least until we have time to train you to do so safely. We can't risk something going wrong.The tower is far more important than a consecturum. And so are you."

"Forbid-- He is the Princeps!" Daedalus snapped. Domi nodded firmly, standing straighter at his twin's side. His brother's voice stuttered. "We are the Princepses," he corrected with an uncertain glance at the silently listening Kaitlyn and Logos. "You overstep your authority, Aedificanti."

Valens offered an infuriating shrug. "I don't care if one of you are the Rex himself, Alumna. You two are not going to just rush off and do this." Domi glared furiously, and his aedificans sighed. "It is not a terrible idea, but we need to approach this with caution." He shook his head as both twins opened their mouths to protest. "Being Princepses doesn't shield you from some horrible brain injury."

"Actually," Aix said, gray eyes thoughtful, "in this case, I believe it does." He held up a hand as Valens turned and glared at him. "I will not stop you from doing what you feel is best, Alumna. They're your charges. But it is important to remember that Domi truly is a Princeps now. Because he held the Trellis, he can easily tolerate lesser workings that would have harmed him before." He nodded at Daedalus. "As can his brother. The bigger issue, however, is skill. That'll take time to develop."

Domi's heart, which had been pounding with renewed hope as Aix spoke, plummeted. "But you just said we have the skill!"

"He said we have the power, Brother," Daedalus said softly. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest. "But power is different than skill. That was why, despite being able to create a lightning storm, I could not have flown us here as Aix and Valens did."

"Still, we can't just do nothing," Domi snapped. "The world is falling apart as we sit here arguing. It's getting colder every day, and the crops will fail soon."

"I didn't say you'll do nothing," Valens said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "But you're not going to mess around with one of the most powerful promenia artifacts in the world until you know what you're doing. We'll start with something smaller. Simpler."

"Simpler?" Domi asked grudgingly.

His aedificans nodded and rose to his feet. "Come with me."

"While you train them," Kaitlyn said, "there is something I need to do."