Warrior's Mind (Book 2 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 40

"Oh come, that can't be right." Leyla said feeling frustrated. "In all of these rooms full of science, there has to be something that will unfreeze the rose ingot?"

Adam shook his head from side to side, looking troubled. "The Prorex is the only one who can remove it. But, Teacher. I mean, Consort. Why do you want to remove your eternity bangle? High Thinkers give them to their loved ones, hoping that it will never be removed." He scratched his head, frowning. "Although this one is a lot thicker than any I've seen before, and the metals on it are so complex..."

Leyla put her arm down, unwilling to indulge the alchemists sparked interest. "I better head back now. It was nice to meet you, Adam."

"The pleasure was mine, Consort." He bowed low, touching his fingers to his forehead while she headed for the nearest arched doorway. Once outside, Leyla walked onto the arched bridge that led to the Crystal Dome gardens and stopped mid-way. She looked down at the water moving ever so slowly beneath her, catching the glint of a silver fish somewhere in the depths.

Judging by the security measures she had seen so far, running away without removing the bracelet was not going to be difficult. But she couldn't be hasty, not without understanding Light Lander technology. If she didn't have the option of crossing to Asch, then surviving without getting caught by the Land of Light spies was going to be difficult. She had to stay a little longer to gather more information and in the meantime, if she could somehow get Raphael to remove the bracelet, her chances of survival would increase.

But how could she convince Raphael? Leyla replayed the last conversation they had, looking for a clue. As Prorex, it is my duty to put the good of my Kingdom first and you, Lieutenant, are good for my Kingdom.

Suddenly, Leyla had an idea. Raphael had only given up trying to end their engagement because he had somehow convinced himself that she was good for his Kingdom. So, if she proved that she was bad news for his precious Kingdom, then he might willingly let her escape.

That was it, the best possible plan yet. She had to do something that wasn't bad enough to get her in trouble with Light laws, but something that was bad enough to destroy his opinion of her. She had to do something...but what?

"La-la!" The familiar call came from somewhere behind her. She turned quickly, a warmth spreading across her chest as she watched Michael waving madly from inside an approaching vessel. "I've been looking for you everywhere! I missed you!" He called through cupped hands.

"You fool," She smiled, continuing down the bridge to meet him as his boat drew alongside the Crystal Dome gardens.

Jumping gracelessly to land, Michael lifted a wobbly hand to thank the oarsmen.

"You don't look good," Leyla frowned when he came to stand in front of her. "Why are you so unsteady? Come and lean on me."

"Stop treating me like I'm drunk," Michael gave her an insulted look. "I just don't like being on water. The constant tipping this way and that is so irritating! If it wasn't such a long distance to the White Gardens, I would have preferred to swim."

Leyla barely heard what he was saying as an idea popped into her head. Drunk. Michael might not be drunk, but perhaps she should be. She was willing to bet Raphael would not consider someone who imbibed as a good candidate for the position of Teacher.

"La-la, you don't look so great yourself," Michael's concerned voice interrupted her thoughts. Then he suddenly threw his arms around her and held fast. "My brother wouldn't tell me any details, even when I asked a million times. If I didn't love him, I might have throttled him, I swear. But I'm so glad you've come back unharmed. And I'm sorry I wasn't there with you."

Leyla's heart clenched at the sadness in his voice. She had missed his warmth, his kindness...his smile. She didn't have the heart to tell him that his brother was a disloyal bastard, not when it would only hurt him to hear it. "Enough already," she set him gently from her, then gave him a smile. "It's not like you to harbour idiotic thoughts. You know you would have been more of a nuisance than help, had you been with me."

"How dare you!" Michael gave a mock gasp of outrage. Then he was sadly shaking his head, "If I had been there, I would have thrashed the Green King, given that Warrior Queen a dark eye to match her heart and brought you home."

Leyla crossed her arms over her chest and raised a sceptical brow.

"Fine," Michael sighed dramatically. "You think I'm useless, don't you?"

Michael spoke more languages that most people knew existed, had more knowledge in his mind than all the archives in Gaia combined and would soon be the next Book Keeper of the Land of Light; there was no way she was buying this act of self pity.

"You're not utterly useless," Leyla replied simply. "For example, I'm sure you must know where I can get some wine."

Michael dropped his act, his brows drawing together in a confused frown. "But, you don't drink. You think drinking is for fools. What are you going to do with wine?"

"People can change their minds," Leyla shrugged. Then she motioned for him to get moving, "Lead on, I'm sure there is a lot you want to say and I'm not listening to another word without a drink."