Somehow, incredibly, Theo did manage to fall asleep. The next time he opened his eyes, pale sunlight was streaming through the porthole across his bunk. He couldn't even remember any dreams.
Small blessings, he supposed. Yawning, he stretched and gazed out the porthole. The sight that greeted him stole his breath away: a sky streaked pink with dawn, clouds tinged gold by the rising sun.
An indescribable ache welled in his chest. It was like he'd slipped into one of his dreams; some part of him almost expected to glimpse a crystal city floating beyond the clouds.
But of course, nothing was there but more clouds. And this wasn't a dream – this was really Tielos.
A knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts. "Yes?" he called.
Zenith's voice came through the metal. "Are you awake, Theo? Breakfast is ready."
Hopefully that meant Cay had gotten enough sleep to do his work. Theo swallowed hard, trying to will down the memories that crowded his head. Cay's soft plea to Eulyn. His bitter words to Amaro. Amaro's hand in his hair, careful and delicate as if he was afraid he might break Cay if he used the slightest more pressure.
Heat bloomed in Theo's cheeks. Yeah, he really should not have seen any of that.
Nothing he could do about it now, though, except try to put it out of his mind. Even so, now that he was awake a thousand questions clamored inside him. As he followed Zenith out of the room, he wondered if he could ask him about it. After all, Zenith had known Amaro and Cay for way longer than Theo.
But even as he thought it, Theo knew he couldn't. What happened between them clearly had been private, and somehow he doubted Zenith could tell him much about their emotional dynamic anyway. Not when he was so obtuse about his own feelings.
'Or mine,' but Theo viciously shoved the thought aside.
Well...even if he couldn't get answers about Cay and Amaro's relationship, he might still be able to ask about other things. "Um, Zenith," he made himself say before the courage deserted him. "Do you think you could tell me a little more about Eulyn?"
"Hm?" When Zenith blinked at him, Theo wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut after all. "Why do you ask?"
"I just, um…." Theo rubbed the back of his head, hoping his blush didn't show too much. "I was just curious, I guess. Since, um, I don't really know much about symbionts?"
It was true, actually. Maybe learning what it actually meant to be a symbiont might help him make some sense out of what he'd seen. Amaro had said Eulyn wasn't dead, but Cay had retorted that he might as well have killed her. As far as Theo could tell, it seemed like Eulyn spent all her time asleep in Blue's tentacles.
"Ah, of course," Zenith said. "The role of the symbiont is to provide Levia to the medusid. Without this extra Levia, the medusid is incapable of carrying heavy loads or traveling at high speeds. Their lifespans are also much shorter. It's possible for a skycraft to function without a symbiont, but as you can imagine, having one makes things much easier."
"I see." Theo nodded. "So, um, what happens to the symbiont?"
"I believe the symbiont melds not just their Levia, but their entire consciousness with that of the medusid. Essentially, they lose their sense of self. They will never move again or open their eyes, let alone speak."
"That sounds rough." Theo shuddered. No wonder Cay had accused Amaro of killing Eulyn. "Why would anyone want to do it?"
Zenith frowned a little, tilting his head. "I couldn't say myself. But in many cases, symbionts don't choose their fate. Unscrupulous skycraft often abduct people with large Levia reserves and force them into service."
"What, really? Then Eulyn – " Theo blurted. But Amaro had said Eulyn had chosen to go with him….
Zenith looked taken aback. "Of course she chose it. My liege would never have agreed to join the crew of a skycraft that employed such cowardly methods."
A familiar passion filled his voice, making Theo's guts twist in embarrassment. He should've known not to spout off like that.
"Yeah, you're right…." Coughing, he turned away. "Er, do you know why Eulyn decided to become a symbiont?"
Maybe he shouldn't have asked that – talking about symbionts in a general sense was just fine, but this might end up digging too deep into personal matters, the reason for the tension between Cay and Amaro.
Zenith's deer-in-the-headlights expression did not help. After a few blinks, he said, "I don't know the reason myself. When my liege and I joined the crew, Eulyn had already been the symbiont for several years. I suppose I've never thought to ask…."
"Ah, it's okay. Maybe I'm getting a little too nosy." Theo rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I'm just curious. Since she's always there but I don't really know anything about her."
He was babbling nonsense, but as always Zenith took it in stride. "That's understandable. From what I can gather, it seems Eulyn was a sage at Mount Neym alongside Cayelci. So they likely joined the crew together."
Also a sage. Theo's skin prickled as he remembered Cay accusing Amaro of seducing her, insisting he wanted to bring her back to the temple with him.
Had they joined the crew together? You'd think in that case Cay would have accepted her decision better, wouldn't he?
Well, Theo wouldn't know, and it was none of his business. "Got it," he said to Zenith. "Thanks for explaining."
"Of course. Feel free to ask if you have any other questions. Ah, good morning, Sam."
Sure enough Sam came bounding out of her room, followed closely by Ryllis and Jin. Fia burst into the corridor shortly after, dive-bomb tackling Sam into a hug, while a sleepy Ryan stumbled around grumbling and rubbing his eyes. As Zenith exchanged greetings with everyone, a warm spark lodged in Theo's chest.
This whole thing with Cay and Amaro and Eulyn might be a tangled mess, but he couldn't deny that he'd already found a new home among this crew.
~*~
Up on the deck, Theo stared in awe at the snow-capped mountains towering around the Blue Sky. They had long left behind the burning Traps; here, the air was so cold it stung his face.
Thank everything for his jacket, as well as the warm breakfast in his belly. Which came courtesy not just Cay but Lodo too. Seemed Lodo had insisted on helping out, and even Cay couldn't object.
"We should be arriving at Mount Neym shortly," Darian called above the steady chop-chop of the propellers. As if on cue the Blue Sky descended another few meters, making Theo's stomach lurch.
By now, the wall of the nearest mountain loomed so close Theo felt like he might be able to reach out and run his hand along the rugged stone. But Amaro skillfully steered them around it without even scraping the skycraft's side, and when they cleared the mountain, a deep valley stretched beneath them.
At the far end of the valley, another mountain loomed like a sentinel. While far from the tallest peak around, for some reason Theo just couldn't take his eyes off it.
Because of its Levia, he realized as they came closer. A power that resonated in his bones, pulsing so slowly he almost hadn't even noticed it was there. Somehow he felt this was only the tiniest fraction of its Levia; the rest lay beyond his ability to sense, just like how his eyes couldn't see into the ultraviolet spectrum.
It wasn't just the mountain's Levia he was feeling. The Blue Sky's Levia deepened too, enveloping him like a warm blanket. Something about it felt strangely tender, almost affectionate.
Maybe...could these be Eulyn's feelings?
Theo swallowed, pressing his hand over the Star of Miriel shard in his pocket. It too had started pulsing with power, sending sparks through his own Levia. If this kept up, he almost felt like he might burst.
Everyone else must be sensing the same thing. No one said a word, not even Sam or Fia, as the mountain grew steadily larger.
Before he could stop himself, Theo glanced back at Cay, who was leaning against the cabin. The sage held his shoulders stiffly, arms wrapped tight around his torso.
Theo's heart twisted, and he made himself look away.
By now, he saw signs of habitation on the mountain: carved stairways, winding paths, even – he blinked hard – terraced gardens carpeted with greenery. Yet there wasn't a building in sight, certainly nothing as dramatic as a temple. The paths all seemed to end at inconspicuous cave entrances.
Wait – a giant ledge jutted from the center of the mountain, large enough to fit several skycraft, and the entrance carved into the wall behind it was larger than the others, bordered with tiles of glassy black stone. Flanking it were two people wearing white robes just like Cay's.
"Well, here we are," Amaro said as he brought the Blue Sky toward the ledge. "Mount Neym."