They spent the train ride back to the Lower City in silence.
Devvyn rolled the broken pieces of the Locator in his palms. He would try fixing it if he had a screwdriver and some bolts and nuts, but it wouldn't make a difference. He flicked a piece of gemstone. The gemstones were crushed, and they were the most expensive piece of the Locator. He couldn't afford to replace them, and Maelis would notice if he took from her current stash. That's if she hadn't already figured he stole the Locator. He thought.
He groaned in defeat and rested his head against the window. No way he wanted to put it, Maelis was going to skin him alive.
Outside the window, Eternis went by, fast. The train ran on tracks along a hillside overlooking the city, offering Devvyn a sweeping view of its beauty. Cobbled streets wound between vibrant marketplaces. Tall houses with spires of glass and steel touched the evening clouds. Towering cedar trees with golden leaves swayed in the breeze, and fields of wildflowers stretched out in waves. Devvyn would give anything to live down there. The Lower City didn't have a quarter of Sinai's lush.
A golden hue fell over the city as it got darker.
"I wish we had that," Aela said, quiet as a mouse.
Devvyn followed her gaze. She was staring at Eternis's main grid—its large crystal was lit up, pulsing with golden electricity. During the day, all of Sinai was powered by the sun, but once the sun went down, the train stations, Eternis, and the Golden Fields shifted to their mana-powered grid while the Lower relied on rechargeable bulbs, lanterns, and torches.
"We will. One day." Devvyn said. But he wasn't sure. He was no longer sure about anything. It was as though Sinai wanted him and his friends to remain in its lowest depths. He was trying his best to swim against the waves, but the current kept pulling him back and pulling. Sometimes, Devvyn wanted to give in. Maybe a job in the crystal mines wouldn't be so bad.
Eternis disappeared as the train barreled forward into a yawning underground tunnel leading to the Lower City. The world outside plunged into darkness, the glass reflecting only the dim glow of the carriage lamps and Devvyn's tired face.
In the darkness, Devvyn listened to everyone in the cabin breathing and snoring. Jelric's was the loudest. He was in the seat opposite, his leg propped up on a bag someone had kindly volunteered. His pain had gotten unbearable after they had walked all the way to the train station. He slept off immediately after the train moved.
Devvyn felt the train's smooth movement lulling him to sleep, too, but his brain was too awake, flooded with thoughts. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and the worn leather poked him in multiple places. He was sure what exactly was bothering him. The Locator? The competition? He had to let that go. He would apologize to Maelis, fix the Locator himself, somehow, and find another way to get the Echo.
He couldn't give up now, not when the dreams in his head were grander than anything the Lower City had to offer. "I'll figure this out." He whispered to himself.
Aela heard. "What?" She asked.
"Nothing. Just thinking out loud."
"You should rest, Devvyn. Your leg might not be busted up like Jelric's, but I saw your wrist. It's swollen." Aela yawned, her voice sleepy.
Devvyn raised his right hand and put it down. It was still dark on the train. Now that Aela mentioned it, he realized his wrist hurt. He touched it and winced. He faintly remembered hitting it on the cobblestone when the guard tripped him. "I'll take care of it at home."
"Hmm. Okay." Aela yawned again. "Wake me up when we're at the first station."
"Gotcha," Devvyn said as he put the Locator's pieces back in the satchel.
When he was sure Aela was in deep sleep, he shifted his attention to the boy in the opposite seat. "What do you want?" The boy had been watching them since they entered the train, and followed them from the square even. Devvyn's hairs stood raised at the back of his neck, so he was sure the boy was still watching.
Silence. The figure didn't move or speak, just watched him with eyes Devvyn couldn't quite make out. The air felt heavier, pressing down on his lungs. What if it was one of the Unbound? Devvyn's mind raced. No. The boy was too young. Younger than him.
"I have a knife with me," Devvyn warned, the lie slipping off his tongue easily.
The boy spoke then. "I…I don't mean any harm…I saw you…What you did. It was very brave…I just wanted to say that." His voice was shaky, unthreatening.
"Oh." Devvyn relaxed.
"Yeah. Er. I'm Novius. You probably don't know me, but I was a class below you in school…before you graduated."
"Novius," Devvyn repeated, testing the name on his tongue. It didn't ring a bell. "Graduating from school soon, right?"
"Yes. Just a few more months."
"Congratulations," Devvyn said. A smile tugged at his lips as he remembered his graduation, where he and Jelric had fixed a trapdoor on the stage with a big bath of pig blood under for Oryn Voss, the arrogant loudmouth valedictorian in their year, but Headmaster Rhanes had fallen into it instead.
"Thank you," Novius said. "I…I plan to enter The Gauntlet Trials next year."
Devvyn was tired of the conversation already. So he simply grunted. Novius took the hint, and they fell into an awkward silence.
The Gauntlet Trials. Devvyn rolled the idea around in his mind before discarding it just as quickly. After basic education at the public school, the only path to advanced learning and possibly a better life was through the Golden Academy—and for people like him, the only way in was by winning The Gauntlet Trials.
He'd thought about it once. More than once. Back when he, Aela and Jelric would sneak out of class to Eternis to spy Golden Academy students passing through the streets in their sleek uniforms, the silver crest of the Academy glinting on their shoulders. The Academy paid its students' allowances. He could easily buy a one or two Lux Echo after a year if he saved well enough. But he had attended one Gauntlet trial and immediately thrown the idea away.
People died in those trials. Brutally.
Devvyn rather liked being alive.
Finally, the train emerged from the tunnel. Devvyn blinked rapidly as golden light flooded his eyes. They'd gotten to the Lower City. The train eased to a halt with a shudder at the first station, and doors slid open with a hiss. Passengers stirred, stretching stiff limbs and collecting their belongings.
Novius stood. "That's me." He said, smiling. He hesitated, then extended a hand. "I'll see you around?""Sure." Devvyn took his hand.
The noise of people moving woke Aela. She blinked awake, rubbing her eyes, and looked around, disoriented. "Who was that?"
"Random guy from school."
"What did he want?"
"Nothing really. Just saying hello."
Jelric groaned, cracking his neck before wiping drool off his chin with the back of his hand. "We here already?" He mumbled. Aela went to help him adjust his foot so he could look outside.
"Nope. First stop," Devvyn replied, pushing himself to his feet. He peered out the window.
Passengers poured out of the train and jumped into the arms of waiting family. Amid their laughter and relieved smiles, there was a noticeable tension—guards, stationed at every exit and along the platform edges. Their eyes scanned the crowds with sharp precision, hands resting on the hilts of their swords.
The Commander had ordered a blockade after the attack at the festival, halting all incoming travel until the dust settled. But Devvyn hadn't expected to see people waiting at the station. If news had traveled this fast, then surely Maelis had heard by now. He imagined her pacing at the second station, like she did when stressed, wearing her shoes out. He began forming an apology in his head.
Near the far end of the platform, a young woman stood alone, eyes scanning the crowd with growing desperation. She rocked back and forth on her heels. And she wasn't the only one. Devvyn looked away, wondering how many people had died in the attack and if he knew anyone.
"What do we tell Maelis?" Aela asked, "About the Locator?"
"The truth," Devvyn said. He was too tired to think of anything else.
"We're doomed," Jelric added.
The train moved and brought them to the second station five minutes later. It had never made sense to Devvyn that they had two stations so close in distance.
They waited for everyone in their cabin to get out so Jelric wouldn't have to struggle with the crowd. When the last of the passengers had shuffled out, Devvyn helped Jelric to his feet, and the three of them made their way down the narrow aisle, stepping onto the platform just as the whistle blew.
The Lower City's Station 2 was a relic from another era, with cracked cobblestones and rusted iron beams that groaned from age. The paint on the sign overhead had long since peeled away, leaving only faint traces of its name. Station 2. It didn't even have a proper name like the one in Eternis.
Directly under the sign, Maelis paced in tight circles, exactly as he'd predicted. Jelric's dad stood beside her.
The moment she spotted them, she stopped dead, her face crumpled, like squeezed parchment paper, into a storm of relief and frustration that Devvyn knew all too well. In three quick strides, she closed the distance between them, her eyes running over Devvyn's body, checking to see if he was hurt. She stopped at the patch of blood that stained his boots.
"It's not mine," Devvyn said quickly.
Her face flooded with relief.
She went to Aela and then Jelric, inspecting them, too. He saw her hands twitch and knew her well enough to know that she wanted to hug all of them, but she wouldn't. Once Devvyn turned eight and started asking about Echos and bonding, Maelis became…different.
"Good evening, Mrs Arkwright." Aela and Jelric said in unison. She didn't return their greeting or tell them to call her Maelis as she always did, because being called Mrs Arkwright made her remember she was old.
Anger lurked beneath her relief.
"You're safe." Jelric's dad came and wrapped him in an iron-tight hug.
"No thanks to you." Jelric snapped, shocking everyone. "Sorry, I'm tired and in a lot of pain." He apologized.
His dad nodded stiffly. "Let's go."
They said goodnight to Jelric and his dad. Devvyn couldn't help but notice something was off between them, but he had Maelis's disappointment to deal with for now, so he tossed it aside.
"Where's the Locator?" she asked once Jelric and his dad were outside hearing distance.
Devvyn removed the satchel and gave it to her. She opened it and peered inside.
"Grandmother, I–" Devvyn's apology began to tumble out of him.
"Not a word, Devvyn Arkwright. Nothing till we get home." She hissed.
"It's so silent," Aela whispered, tugging on Devvyn's sleeve to pull him closer.
"I've never seen the city quiet at night…everyone's scared," Devvyn said. The thought of the Unbound rebels attacking the Lower City was terrifying. Eternis had the Bloodbound and all those guards. Here, there was no one to protect them. The sight of the dead Unbound woman flashed in his head, and dizzying panic clawed its way into Devvyn. He wanted to run.
The train station had emptied quickly as people scurried back home into their squeaking highrise houses, shut the door and windows and stayed there. Lanterns holding dancing flames at doorposts were snuffed out early, leaving the roughly tarred streets in shadows. Even the nighttime stalls were locked, tarps drawn tight, crates stacked and locked away. Fear had settled into the Lower City's bones, thick and suffocating.
"Almost home," Maelis said, even though there was no need to. But three of them were stiff, taut with panic. Devvyn knew it was her way of trying to remain calm.
They were walking a quiet street that led home, their footsteps swallowing the yawning silence. Not many people lived in this part of the Lower City, and the farther they walked, the more houses they left behind. Maelis had always preferred distance from other people—safer that way, she'd say, in case an experiment was awry. Devvyn suspected it was more than that, but he'd learned to stop asking why when Maelis stiffened her lips and gave him silence as answers.
Their house stood secluded at the very end of the winding road, where the tarred ground melted into soft grassy earth. When the Lower City's roads were being tarred, Maelis had written a petition to keep the area leading up to her house without it. It was the only one of the decisions she made that Devvyn agreed with. Where other streets looked bleak and colourless, theirs had sunbursts of marigold, wisteria and lavender sprigs growing wild. Their earthy scent was a breath of fresh air from the city's sewage. He liked it because it was like the little gardens in Eternis, just needed a little pruning.
They stepped over the tarred line and turned left, the house coming into view with its ivy-covered walls and wrought iron gates. Devvyn and Maelis lived in a two-story house by themselves; compared to other people in the city, they were "rich." The tension in Devvyn's shoulders eased, and he exhaled a breath he hadn't known he was holding as they reached the gate.
"Goodnight Mrs.Arkwright. See you tomorrow Devvyn." Aela said. She lived even farther than Devvyn. A bit down the street, a left, then another.
"Oh." Maelis said, "your siblings are inside Aela. I got them before leaving for the station. You stay here tonight. It's not safe to be alone."
Aela shifted uncomfortably. "Thank you Mrs. Arkwright."
Maelis sighed. "Maelis is fine dear. I'm not angry at you." She paused, "not anymore." Then she rounded on Devvyn and tossed the keys at him. "Open up."
Devvyn caught it, rolling his eyes. Typical of his grandmother to save all her ire for him. The gates' iron bars were cool and solid beneath his hands as he pushed it open, its hinges groaned like they hadn't been used in years. Devvyn mentally added oiling the gate's hinges to his ever-growing to-do list. He was in charge of maintaining the house, not by choice, but because it would collapse into ruin long before Maelis pulled her head out of building her devices long enough to fix anything.
He pushed the gate wider, the iron creaking louder in protest as Aela and Maelis slipped through. He followed last, pausing to drag it shut behind him. The clang of metal Echoed down the empty street as he slid the heavy bolt into place, locking it. When he turned, Maelis was already opening the front door. "She's going to kill me." He mumbled to Aela.
"Maybe…maybe not. I think she's happier to see that you're not hurt."
"We'll see." He shrugged, putting the keys in his pocket as they reached the front door and entered the house.
Inside, it was quiet. "They must be sleeping," Maelis said, referring to Aela's siblings. She shrugged off her jacket. Devvyn took it from her and hung it on a hook by the door. He picked up a blanket from another hook and wrapped it around Aela who was still shivering.
The house was warm and lit by rechargeable bulbs. Before Maelis worked on them, they were ordinary light bulbs. The rugs and tables were littered with blueprints, half-finished contraptions, and tools. Devvyn looked up, surprised. Maelis never brought work into the main house.
"I let Orryn and Melo play around with those," She nodded at the contraptions. "Doesn't hurt to introduce them to it at a young age, don't you think so Aela?"
"Yes." Aela nodded.
Maelis continued. "And they seemed to love it. Unlike a certain someone who does everything he can to avoid his family's legacy."
"Um," Aela coughed, "I'll take my siblings to bed." She said, moving in the direction of the bedroom."
"Check the sitting room first," Maelis said and she started cleaning up the mess on the floor, organising them into an iron toolbox.
Devvyn joined her, picking up a tiny screw that she missed even though she was wearing her glasses.
"Go help Aela. Then meet me in the workshop." She said, sounding weary.
Under the yellow light of the bulbs, Maelis suddenly looked every bit of her sixty years. Her silver hair had only the slightest traces of black in it, her eyes and lips had tight lines from years of frowning. Devvyn felt something shift in him. He loved Maelis and he knew she loved him but something was just wrong in their relationship. He wished she weren't so…stiff and unyielding, that he could share his dreams with her and she wouldn't shut them down.
He picked up another screw and dropped it in the toolbox before leaving.
The carpet in the hallway muffled his footsteps. He nudged the door open, revealing the soft glow of firelight spilling over two small curled forms on the sofa. Aela's siblings were fast asleep, bundled under blankets, their breaths slow and even. Aela was kneeling beside the sofa, gently rubbing Orryn's back.
"Do you want to leave them here?" Devvyn asked, lowering his voice, "I can bring a bed from one of the rooms."
"No no. I'll take them up. Was just trying to figure out how to do that without waking Melo up." Aela said. Melo was the youngest and a light sleeper. She squinted at Devvyn. "I thought Maelis would be giving you a proper whooping by now. Did you run?"
"Grandmother said to help you first." Devvyn carefully scooped Orryn into his arms. The little girl was feather-light. She stirred, her hands curling into his overalls as he lifted her. Her head lolled against his shoulder, and he steadied it with his other hand. "I'll come back for Orryn."
"I'll bring him." Aela shook her head.
He moved slowly as he carried Melo down the hallway toward the guest bedroom. The room was modest but warm, lined with faded floral wallpaper. It had two beds, both with thick quilts folded neatly at their edges. A lot of things that belonged to Aela and her siblings were scattered around the room. A shoe, a dress, a toy, a pair of Orryn's glasses. Devvyn and Maelis only called it the guestroom for Aela's sake.
He laid Melo down, tucking the quilt around her snugly. Her eyes fluttered open, glassy with sleep, and she blinked up at him, a smile spreading across her face. "Devvyn!"
Devvyn quickly put his hands to his lips, hushing her. She grinned, the sleep clearing quickly from her eyes. He groaned.
"Hi little snot." He smiled as he wiped her runny nose. "Go back to sleep, ok or Aela's going to be angry."
Before she could say anything, Aela stepped in, patiently guiding Orryn's half-asleep steps. "You'd better be sleeping by the time I tuck Orryn in." She warned. Melo pouted at her and lay back down.
Devvyn slipped out, closing the door behind him until the latch clicked softly into place. He made his way up the stairs. Maelis's workshop was tucked away on the top floor. The scent of singed metal and wire grew stronger as he went up, mingling with the soft hum of a drill. She was working? He opened the door, and the full whirring of the drill hit him. Grimacing, he closed it quickly, blocking out the noise.
Inside, Maelis was hunched over her work table, sleeves rolled up and eyes fixed on the Locator. She was wearing her coat—the one with rows of pockets filled with tools and notes.
"Hold this for me." She thrust the drill at Devvyn without looking up.
He caught it, turning it off before dragging a chair beside her. "Grandmother…"
"Hand me the screwdriver…the one with the thin knot."
He passed it to her, watching as she chipped away at the remaining gemstone fragments and brushed them into the dustbin beneath the table.
"I'm sorry about taking the Locator," Devvyn breathed out.
Maelis paused, her hand hovering over the device, then continued working. "I need to replace the gemstones. Get them for me."
Devvyn slid out of the chair and moved to one of the shelves. He scanned the neatly labelled boxes, eventually pulling down the one marked Stones. He picked out four new gemstones, cradling them carefully as he returned to the table.
"Why did you take it?" Maelis finally asked, her voice low but steady.
"I… erm… it was for the tech competition. I wanted to win and get the prize money… to buy an Echo."
Maelis's hands stilled. "An Echo…" she repeated, her grip tightening around the screwdriver. "What is so dissatisfying about your life here, Devvyn? You have access to many things people from the Lower City don't. You could make a life for yourself building things. I've seen what you can do with a hammer and enough nails."
"It's not enough." Devvyn returned to his chair, setting the gemstones one by one on the work table.
"Why?" Maelis's tone was sharper now, edged with something between frustration and hurt.
Devvyn hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "It's just not enough, Grandmother. No matter what I do, I'll still be the poor boy from the Lower City. They'll still look at me like I'm worth nothing!" He clenched his hands, remembering the way Isadora had looked at him—like something scraped off her boot. "I went to that competition with a device better than anything they'd ever seen, and you know who won? Isadora Pyrethorn."
"It doesn't matter."
"It does!" Devvyn's voice rose. "I saved a man today, Grandmother. I threw myself in front of a mana-gun—"
Maelis snapped upright. "You did what?"
"I'm fine. I'm here in one piece, aren't I? I saved Calder Pyrethorn. I got saved by The Wanderer. I saw Bloodbound soldiers using their Echos in ways I never imagined." Devvyn looked at his hands, his voice softening. "I… just… I can't be satisfied with the little things when I know my hands could hold so much more."
"Like an Echo?" Maelis scoffed. "You saved a man who has one, Devvyn. You did that without an Echo."
"Imagine what I could do with one."
"Those things only bring destruction and death. We as humans could have advanced beyond our current level. So many scientific discoveries to be made. So many things we can build to make Thaloria a better place for everyone. Yet, we're stuck with petty baubles over Echos. Who's bonded, who's not. Echos ruined our society, Devvyn. They're the reason the Unbound attacked today!"
"You support them?" Devvyn said in disbelief.
"Don't put words into my mouth, Devvyn Arkwright. And I will not imagine whatever nonsense you believe you can do if you were bonded with an Echo, because you won't get one. Not while I live!" Maelis's voice cracked like a whip, and she banged her fist on the table, scattering a few loose bolts.
Devvyn glared back, resentment simmering in his chest. "Nothing matters to you but those gadgets. Why do I have to live the same way you do? Scared, alone, holed up in a garbage city building things the world doesn't get to see."
"Don't you dare, Devvyn Arkwright!" Maelis barked, eyes flashing. "I've sacrificed so much to keep you safe. I left everything I built. Everything I knew because I promised your mother I would keep you safe."
"Safe from what?"
Maelis wouldn't meet his gaze, lips pressed tight.
Devvyn scoffed. "As usual. Silence. I wish my parents were still alive and I wasn't stuck here with you," Devvyn said. The moment the words left his mouth, he wished he'd never said them.
Maelis recoiled, as though whipped.
"Grandmother, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."
She let out a soft, tired sigh. "You're just like your mother. Mean when angry. Not thinking about the hurt your words cause people." Maelis's hands shook, but she steadied them, pressing down on the work table. "Sinai has carved a place for you. And it's not with an Echo bond, not with the highborns or whatever dreams of glory you have. It was the Locator today, but one day it could be you lying somewhere broken to pieces, and I'll be damned if I let that happen."
She continued. "You are never to seek an Echo or bond with one. Promise me."
"I can't."
Maelis straightened. "I won't repeat myself, Devvyn."
"I won't lie to you, Grandmother. I won't make a promise I can't keep."
Silence painfully stretched between both of them. Maelis's knuckles were white where she gripped the edge of the worktable, her eyes fixed on the Locator but not really seeing it. Devvyn stood there, fists clenched, his breathing harsh and unsteady.
Finally, Maelis spoke, her voice was brittle and strained. "Get out."
Devvyn blinked. "What?"
Her gaze snapped to him. "Leave. Go chase whatever fantasies you have, Devvyn. Leave an old woman to the only things that matter to her." Maelis turned back to the Locator, picking up the screwdriver with trembling hands.
"Ok." Devvyn yanked the door open, letting it slam shut behind him. He made his way to his room, not sure how to feel. He oscillated between feeling sorry, frustrated, and then angry. Then he settled on anger because that was easier to deal with. The problem was, he wasn't sure who he was angrier at, his grandmother or himself.
