Zuri found Aldric in the train's snack car, eating sullenly out of a small dish of bar nuts.
She smacked his hand away automatically, without thinking about it. His gaze trailed up to hers in surprise. "Zuri?"
Zuri sighed and drew her hand back. So much for easing into the conversation, she supposed. "Everyone knows you're not supposed to eat those. Didn't you know you're not supposed to eat those?"
"Well, I was hungry, and they were available," Aldric grumbled, and swiveled the stool on which he sat, so that his back was to her. A beat of silence stretched between them, only interrupted by the faint rumble of the train's wheels against its tracks. The ground swayed beneath Zuri's feet.
"Zuri," Aldric said again, his voice quieter this time. "Why did you come looking for me, exactly?"
"To talk to you," she said. "Obviously."
"About what?"
Zuri pursed her lips, and turned, casting a brief glance over her shoulder. Through the window in the train car door she could just vaguely see where the other Celestials sat, only Kalindi's face visible from this direction. She hadn't realized it until later, until now, really, but Zuri had been expecting meeting the other Celestials to be like discovering a new family, almost. After all, they had more similarities than they did differences—the meteor had made sure of that.
When it came down to it, Zuri had wanted it to be easy. And it was far from easy.
Zuri slid onto the seat beside Aldric's, her back resting against the counter, elbows propped up. "I'm sorry."
Aldric said nothing, but he looked at her, his blue eyes bright with interest.
"Back when we visited you at the jail," Zuri explained, "and I looked into your mind. I know it's not the most pleasant experience, having someone pry into your memories like that, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."
"You're right," Aldric muttered. "It wasn't pleasant. Far from it. But at the same time, I'm not sure I would have listened to you if you hadn't."
Zuri blinked. It was a weird answer, she thought. She didn't quite know how to make sense of it. Had she been forgiven, or not? She searched for evidence in his face, but there was none. His expression was still, only a faint but characteristic furrow to his brow, as if he were constantly on the brink of frowning. It was like attempting to read a blank wall.
"I should tell you this," Zuri began, easing off the counter, folding her hands neatly in her lap instead. She stared at where her fingers pressed wrinkles into the fabric of her skirts, ignoring the blare of the train's horn, the world zipping by outside in blurs of green and blue. "Even if Princess Kalindi can't seem to acknowledge you're anything but an assassin, it's simply because she didn't see what I saw."
Aldric scoffed, but Zuri wasn't finished. She told him, holding his gaze, "You may have done bad things in the past, Aldric. But that doesn't make you a bad person."
She'd breached the wall, if only for a second. His lips snuck up into a smile. "Do you mean that," he asked, "or are you just trying to get me to stop sulking and eating bar nuts?"
Zuri lifted her chin. "I both mean it and want you to stop eating bar nuts."
He let out the barest cough of laughter and nudged the tin of nuts away. They both watched it slide down the counter, nearly striking its end. The bartender gave the two of them a strange look.
"You know, to be completely honest," Aldric began, tapping his fingers across the varnished wood. As he did, the barest bristles of ice spread from his fingertips, tiny snowflakes disappearing and blooming again in rhythm. "I can't ever see myself getting along with that princess. She's too—" He scrunched his nose. "Stuffy."
"She's lived her whole life as royalty," Zuri said, amused. "Do you expect her to be the most selfless person on the planet?"
"No," Aldric said, "but I do expect her to have at least a modicum of respect for other people."
That was a fair expectation. Zuri couldn't argue with that one. "Well," she said, "so long as she's on this mission she doesn't have everyone doing everything for her anymore. She'll learn. She has to."
Aldric paused a moment, ceasing his tapping. He asked, his tone precarious, "Why is she here, anyway?"
"What do you mean?"
"She's the Queen's only child," Aldric explained, raising his eyebrows, "and a Celestial, to boot. The Queen should be wanting to keep her close. So why did she send her to a foreign place with a group of total strangers? That doesn't concern you?"
Unease filled Zuri's veins; she felt it, like a cold, cold river flowing beneath her skin. She could not fight a shudder.
"It didn't," she told Aldric, "but now that you've pointed it out, it's beginning to."
"Is Sinje as abysmally hot as everyone says it is?" asked Kalindi, her brows knitted with genuine interest. "I packed a lot of warm weather garments. So I'd just like to know."
The tailor seated across from her took a moment to answer. The word that first came to Kalindi's mind when she saw Chike was this: simple.
He was a simple man. There was nothing extravagant about his appearance; his close-cropped hair and the nondescript, earthy hues of his clothes suggested he didn't prioritize luxury. His eyes were large and childlike, an unremarkable shade of brown, but warm with intelligence. A row of slightly crooked teeth showed each time his lips parted, and even the way he spoke was simple, to the point.
It wasn't that people like Chike were beneath Kalindi, exactly. There were just some people who were born for greater things, and some who were not. It was the way of the world. Quite simple.
Chike thought about it for a moment, then said, his finger still poised upon his chin, "I don't think I would say it's abysmal. A river runs right through the center of it all, anyway, so you can always cool off somewhere. And in the winter sometimes the temperature will dip enough where you can wear long socks without sweating too badly."
"Long socks!" Jem exclaimed with mock enthusiasm. "Oh, boy."
The actress's daughter was another anomaly. Her outspokenness had peeved Kalindi at first, like the voice of someone in a crowd who was speaking just a bit too loudly. But people like Jem had always lived in the spotlight, Kalindi supposed, more accessible to the public in a way the royals weren't. She was used to attention, and lots of it.
"I'm just answering honestly," Chike said. "You're the one who signed up for this."
"The other option was die, more or less, so no, not really."
Her attention drifted from the conversation for a moment; instead, Kalindi found her gaze lifting towards the door out of which the assassin had just vanished, followed shortly after by the mindreader. The assassin was just that—an assassin. If not for her mother's request he surely would have perished alone in a jail cell. The other one, Zuri, was the one Kalindi couldn't quite pin yet. She was elusive, like a colorful, fluttering insect one catches only a glimpse of in a garden. But was the color indicative of beauty, or danger?
Kalindi wasn't sure yet.
"You know what I don't get?" Jem was saying. Without waiting for acknowledgment, she continued: "The Queen has a fully functioning Royal Militia. Why not send them after this Vernon Schmitt person?"
"Costly, for one," interjected Kalindi. "And secondly, the militia doesn't have the training or the skills to deal with a powerful Celestial like we do."
"I'd hardly say I'm trained for much of anything," Chike grumbled, leaning his chin into his palm. "I'm just a tailor. Or at least that's all I'm trying to be."
A strange look passed Jem's face then. To Kalindi, it looked a lot like sympathy. "Well," she said quietly. "A space rock, and also Her Majesty, had different plans for us, it seems."
Chike reclined in his seat, his eyes shutting for a moment. When he spoke next, it was more exhale than words: "So it seems."
An uncomfortable silence settled between the Celestials, but the lull was abruptly cut short by an anxious cry from somewhere near them. The three of them all jumped to alert, their spines going straight, eyes roving the narrow train car for the source of the commotion.
Kalindi found it soon enough. Near the back of the car stood a burly man, his lightweight clothes suggesting he was from Sinje rather than Naino. In one arm he hooked a young child close to his chest, and with the other, he held a knife to the child's throat.
"Oh dear Kiro," Chike whispered. "What the hell's going on?"
But the man wasn't alone. Two others, dressed similarly, got to their feet, grabbing another child and a woman even as the hostages squealed to be let free. The air in the car was suddenly tense; a raucous symphony of shrieks rang out as travelers abandoned their bags and ran for the adjacent car.
A man in business attire reached the door first. He jiggled the knob, kicked the door with his foot, but it wouldn't budge. They were locked in.
"Settle down now," croaked the first man. He smiled, revealing several tooth-shaped gaps. "No one has to get hurt. We're only here for one thing."
Chike and Jem shared an apprehensive glance, then looked to Kalindi, expectant. Kalindi only shook her head at them. They weren't fighting them. The space was too narrow; if Kalindi used her power here she'd have no way of ensuring damage control.
Besides. It wouldn't be a very auspicious start to their mission.
The man whipped the knife away from the child's neck, leveling it instead right at Kalindi.
Kalindi froze.
"You," he said. "You're the Crown Princess of Naino, are you not? We knew you'd be here."
A sea of eyes swiveled in Kalindi's direction, a faint, whispered hubbub humming in her ears. She tried to still her nerves, but her heart was already thundering within her chest. How? That was what she wanted to know most. The Royal Guard had been so stringent about the travel plans. Besides shedding her hair, she'd also shed all her royal garb to ensure she blended in. So how could they have known?
"So I am," said Kalindi, standing, stretching to her full height. "Who are you, and what is it you want with me?"
"Kalindi," Jem hissed. She was crouched on the floor, hidden behind her seat. "What are you—"
Kalindi shook her head again. She mouthed, quickly, Shh.
"It doesn't matter who we are," said the assailant. The child squirmed in his arms, crying out for her mother, but went silent once the man tightened his grip. "All you need to know is that we have Sinje's best interests at heart. We'll do anything to ensure our land's prosperity; we will defeat any enemy—"
Kalindi scowled. "Naino is not your enemy."
The assailant paused to flash a devious smile. "It certainly doesn't have to be, if you come with us. We take the princess and they'll be clamoring to do whatever we ask. They'll hand over the Bisagi territory without hesitation."
Kalindi's eye twitched. She should have guessed it was some foolish, borderline terroristic ploy of some sort. The Bisagi territory, a lush agricultural sect just across the canal, was located right between Sinje's and Naino's dividing lines. There was much discussion over who it rightfully belonged to, and some, like the men before her, would go to extreme lengths to prove themselves correct.
It seemed the conflict was worsening quicker than the Queen had thought.
"I go with you," Kalindi began, "and you let these women and children free?"
Now Chike and Jem were both gawking at her, as were the car's other patrons. Kalindi ignored them all. She forcefully narrowed her vision, drowned out the excess noise. It was only her, her and these attackers.
"Exactly," the man said, nodding his head toward her. "Now what do you say? I promise. No one has to get hurt."
Kalindi paused in mock consideration, interlacing her fingers behind her back. She opened her mouth to reply, but stopped, her eyes flying wide instead. Jem had appeared behind the main attacker, a devilish smile on her face as she kicked in his knees and sent him toppling to the floor.
What was once a stand-still bloomed into a flurry of motion. The little girl wriggled herself from the man's grip as he fell, running into her mother's waiting arms. The other attackers gaped, but squeezed their hostages tighter, ignoring the screams of protest.
As the main attacker hit the ground, the knife skittered out of his hands, a flash of silver in the sunlight. Jem reached for it, but Kalindi gritted her teeth, stretching her hands in front of her. The knife floated up from the ground, shivering in mid-air as though carried by sound waves.
"Chike!" Kalindi called over her shoulder.
"Yes?"
"Get everyone on the far end of the train," Kalindi ordered with a grimace. "I have a bad feeling this is about to get messy."
The knife surged forward in a grayish blur, guided by Kalindi's force. Jem shrieked and ducked to the ground as it swung around, slicing one attacker's neck, then the other. The men hit the ground with a thud, and the hostages stood where they were, blood-spattered and stunned, but unharmed.
"Knives," Kalindi hissed at Jem, and to Jem's credit, she didn't have to explain further. Jem merely nodded and squatted to the ground, dragging the knives from the attacker's hands.
Jem stepped over the immobile lump that was their leader—only to discover he wasn't very immobile at all. There was a shout and a loud thump as he kicked Jem's legs out from under her, sending her plummeting to the ground, fast and hard. Kalindi sucked in a harsh breath. "Jem!"
"Wrong move, Princess," hissed the burly man, plucking one knife from Jem's trembling hand. He delivered a harsh kick to her side; Jem crumpled, wheezing.
"I said no one had to get hurt," the man went on. "And now you've made me break a promise. How unfortunate for you."
He twirled the knife in his fingers, dropping into a sturdy battle stance. Kalindi inhaled, exhaled, lifted her hands.
There was no other option. No other option but to win.
The man charged ahead at the speed of an angry bull, raising his weaponed hand. As the knife arced down towards her, Kalindi caught his arm, squeezing his wrist in her grip. She was so dizzy with pride at her success that she did not notice the poisonous grin spreading across the attacker's face, or the knife in his other hand, arcing up towards her open side.
A forceful hand caught the back of her dress and dragged her, flailing, backwards. The next she heard was a low schwip of fast-moving air, then a grunt that sounded a lot like Chike's voice.
When her vision cleared, she saw him standing where she had been a moment before, the hilt of a knife sticking out from the side of his ribs. He staggered, but didn't stop, jabbing his knee up into the man's elbow with such force that a deafening crack split the air. The man screamed, stumbling backwards, and further backwards, right into Jem's waiting grip.
She was breathing hard, her face twisted with pain, but she brought her arms up, locking them around the man's neck. "You should know better than to kick someone when they're down," she hissed, then bugged her eyes at Chike and Kalindi. "Now one of you finish him, would you? I can't—hold him for much longer. He weighs as much as a boulder with a block of steel on top of it."
"Jem," Kalindi gasped, dragging herself back to her feet. Panicked onlookers shrank back as she met Chike in the center of the car, mopping beads of sweat from her forehead.
She patted the tailor's shoulder. "Let me."
The look he gave her was of pure relief. He folded the knife into her hands.
Kalindi smiled, weighing it in her palm for a moment, before she tossed it up like she would a small coin. It hovered there above her fingers, spinning slowly in one direction and then the other, like the trembling needle of a compass.
Terror brimmed in the man's eyes. He struggled, but Jem, a grimace on her face, tightened her grip. "Please!" he cried, his voice straining. "Wait, don't—"
Kalindi shot the knife forward at the speed of a bullet as the others in the car turned their faces away. The attacker himself closed his eyes.
And opened them again, slowly, to find the knife hovering barely a centimeter from his neck. When he swallowed, his skin nudged the blade's tip.
"Get off at the next train station," Kalindi said, glaring at him. "Tell no one you saw me here, and never bother me again. If you do, I won't hesitate to separate your head from the rest of your body. Now nod if you understand."
He nodded, quickly.
Kalindi relaxed, and the knife clattered to the ground. She waved Jem off, and Jem released the man, stepping around him as he crouched to examine his fallen comrades.
"I don't understand," Kalindi demanded, her hands going to her hips. "How did you get over there? I could've sworn you were behind me—"
"I crawled under the seats," Jem said with a shrug. "I don't know. It just looked like you needed some help."
Kalindi's mouth parted in blatant surprise. "I—" She stopped, frowning. "I definitely had it under control."
Chike laughed, and on instinct Kalindi's eyes zipped to his side, but the knife was no longer there, his shirt free of blood. "Quite an odd way to say thank you, Princess."
"Kalindi," she said.
Jem and Chike both went quiet, looking at each other, then at her. "What?"
Kalindi rolled her eyes. "Don't call me Princess. Just call me Kalindi."
There was a minute delay, as if the words still didn't quite make sense to them. Then Jem was laughing, tossing an arm around Kalindi's shoulders, making Kalindi jump. "Kalindi!" she echoed. "Kalindi, my friend! Kali! Lin! Kay, maybe?"
Kalindi started, "Now, I didn't say—"
An icy blast of wind startled them all, accompanied by a loud crash as the train car's door swung open. Shivering, the three Celestials whirled to find Aldric and Zuri standing at the aisle's mouth, the wind tossing their hair into their faces, Aldric's fingers decorated with frost.
"Sorry," Aldric said meekly, his eyes cast at the ground. "It's quite a complex lock, actually. Once we heard all the noise, it took us a second to get through."
Zuri stepped forward, the mussed curls of her hair settling back upon her shoulders as Aldric swung the door shut behind them. "Is everyone okay?"
"Sure," said Jem, then pointed to the crumpled attackers at the car's other end. "If you don't count those guys."
Zuri stared in silence for a moment, then looked back at all of them, her face suffused with a mix of exhaustion and shock.
"Well," she said with a huff. "Isn't this mission just going to be the time of our lives?"