Heading back

The metallic shriek from the tunnel behind them grew louder, echoing like a warning through the chamber.

Jordan stepped protectively in front of Lucas, who had already pulled out a metal rod from the emergency pack—more for comfort than combat. Gyan, calm but alert, pressed a hand to the wall behind the pedestal, looking for a second exit.

Victoria, however, didn't move. She stood transfixed, her eyes fixed on the glowing map the necklace projected—lines of gold and blue swirling together in ancient constellation patterns, until the display zoomed in and highlighted a floating ring of land encircled by clouds.

She knew it instantly.

Aerathis.

She could see the narrow transport bridges, the central spire of the Sky Chapel, the high metal arc that crowned the Howard Estate.

It all came rushing back.

---

Six Years Earlier

Aerathis had always seemed more like a dream than a city—suspended between cloud and star, defying gravity and reason. From the polished decks of the noble estates to the humming propulsion systems below the Sky Districts, it was a city built on secrets. Victoria knew this better than anyone.

Adopted into the Howard family as a show of compassion after a political scandal, she was never treated as one of them. The Howards wore their power like armor, and she was the weak spot they refused to acknowledge.

She remembered her room—too perfect, too silent. Guards posted outside her door not to protect her, but to watch her.

It was in the Howard archive vaults that she'd first stumbled on forbidden schematics—images of strange artifacts labeled "Keys to the Depth." One matched the necklace Gyan now carried. At first, she thought it was a coincidence, until she found the mural: seven necklaces surrounding a hovering city and a phrase carved beneath in the Old Tongue.

"To control the skies, awaken what lies below."

She asked questions. Too many. One night, she was dragged from her room and locked in isolation. She escaped through the service shafts, stole a glider, and vanished into the storming world below.

She never spoke of Aerathis again.

---

Back in the present, Gyan stepped beside her, silently studying the same map.

He recognized the floating city too well. Not just its shape, but its layout—the gleaming corridors, the looping lift systems, the cold sterility of its order. He'd escaped it a decade ago, slipping through a drainage conduit beneath the Academy Tower and falling into exile.

His past clawed at him now.

He looked at Victoria. She was staring at Aerathis like someone staring at a grave.

Does she know what that place really is? he wondered.

But he said nothing.

And neither did she.

"Victoria?" Jordan asked.

She blinked, pulling herself from the memory. "That's where we need to go."

Lucas scoffed. "Are you insane? That's a floating fortress. A death trap."

"I've been there," she said carefully. "I know a way in."

Gyan's heart skipped. You know a way in? So do I. But he kept quiet.

Jordan stepped forward. "You've been there? As in—?"

"Yes," she cut him off. "Before I escaped."

Gyan looked at her sharply, hiding the shift in his expression. So she had escaped too. Just like him. And still, neither of them dared to ask the other how, or when, or why.

Victoria turned to Gyan. "You recognized it too, didn't you?"

He hesitated.

"…I've read about it," he said.

A lie.

But necessary.

Victoria nodded. "The Howards will know we're coming. They've probably already seen the projection from the necklace."

Lucas paled. "Great. So now they know we've got an ancient weapon, and they know where we are."

"No," Gyan said quietly. "They only know where we've been."

---

Far above, in the glinting halls of Aerathis, Councilor Marissa Howard stood before a massive screen. A freeze-frame from the station surveillance hovered in front of her—four figures, one of them unmistakably Victoria.

Her lips curled into a cold smile.

"She's alive," she whispered.

Behind her, the council erupted in questions. "How? We searched every level—" "She would have needed help—" "This could ruin us—"

"Silence," Marissa snapped. "We can still control the story. But we must retrieve the artifact. And deal with the girl."

Councilor Drevon leaned forward. "And the others?"

"One of them…" she paused. "He looks familiar."

She tapped Gyan's image and magnified it.

"Run a biometric scan. If he is who I think he is… we have a bigger problem."

---

Back on the surface, the group huddled in a rusted transport van, racing toward a remote airstrip. Gyan sat with arms crossed, the velvet pouch secured in his inner coat pocket. Victoria sat opposite, arms on her knees, eyes locked on the road ahead.

They were silent. But the silence between them now carried weight.

Secrets pressing against skin. Questions neither dared to ask.

"You didn't seem surprised by the floating city," Victoria said at last.

Gyan shrugged. "It's not the kind of thing you forget."

"Yeah." She studied his face. "Almost like you've been there."

He gave a tight smile. "I've seen worse places."

It wasn't a lie. But it wasn't the truth either.

Victoria didn't press further. Part of her didn't want to know. Not yet.

Lucas broke the tension. "So what's the plan? Just waltz into a sky kingdom full of robots and aristocrats and politely ask for the next key?"

Jordan added, "We're not even sure it's up there."

"It is," Victoria said. "The Howards tried to erase all record of the keys. I saw a hidden mural years ago. The key wasn't just decoration. It was power. Control."

Gyan looked at her. "And now we're walking into their territory with the first one."

"No," Victoria said. "We're flying in."

---

At the border airstrip, a worn cargo ship awaited them—its wings patched, hull scarred by weather and war. The pilot, Maz, stepped out with a grin and a cigarette tucked behind her ear.

"Well well. If it isn't Sky Rat herself."

Victoria smirked. "Still flying junk, I see."

"You owe me a glider, by the way," Maz said.

Victoria handed her a small black chip. "This'll cover it."

Maz whistled. "A Core ID? These are gold. Where'd you get it?"

"From the woman who locked me in her basement."

Maz laughed. "You always were dramatic."

She turned to Gyan, Jordan, and Lucas. "You boys ready for a rough ride?"

Gyan stepped forward. "More than ready."

Maz looked him over. "You look familiar."

"Lots of people say that."

Maz shrugged. "Alright. Strap in. We're heading for Aerathis before the sun rises."

As they boarded, Victoria stood in the loading bay, watching the moonlit clouds ahead.

Gyan came to stand beside her.

"If this goes badly," she said softly, "don't let them take the key."

"I won't," Gyan replied. After a pause, he added, "And if you don't make it out?"

Victoria glanced at him, eyes sharp but sad. "Then maybe it's where I belong."

Gyan looked away. So do I.

But neither of them said it.

The ship's engines ignited, lifting them from the ground as storm clouds swirled below.