Chapter 1:
"Jargon"

July 16, 1915
Zoological Society of London

It had been nearly a year since all this madness had begun, and it seemed to Deryn that the world was just as stark raving mad now as it had been at the dawn of the Great War. Clankers and Darwinists were still clawing at each other's throats, boffins were still scheming, and beasties and soldiers were still killing and still dying.

Deryn had been one of those soldiers for a long time, soaring through gorgeous blue skies aboard massive airships and tromping along in giant metal walkers all over the world. She'd been to more places than she could ever have imagined- Istanbul, Russia, and even Mexico and America, all the way across the great wide Atlantic Ocean. She'd had the most exhilarating adventures- and of course, she'd met him.

Alek. Even thinking about the moment he'd kissed her atop the Leviathan made her heart beat faster in her chest. She'd saved Alek's life countless times, and he'd saved hers once or twice, too. They'd endured so much together- a German assault in the Alps, a Turkish revolution, the insane Tesla and his strange and deadly contraptions. Why, that dummkopf prince even gave up his lands, title, and right to the throne just to be by her side. It was only fair that she give up her place in the British Air Service to be by his.

But when she'd joined the London Zoological Society, she had never imagined that she'd be spending her time doing something as daft as this.

"This is downright awful! I feel like such a ninny trying to keep up with all this fancy jargon!" Deryn moaned irritably.

Alek let loose an exasperated sigh- they'd been at this for nearly a month and still Deryn struggled to make any noticeable improvement. "Perhaps what you mean to say is that you feel foolish due to your lack of proper vocabulary."

"No, you daft prince! I mean that I can't do this!" Deryn snapped.

"Ah, you find that you are incapable of performing such a daunting task?" Alek teased, a smirk beginning to spread across his face.

This ridiculous project had begun just a few months after Deryn and Alek had begun their work at the zoological society. It had been the lady boffin's idea- Dr. Barlow never seemed to run out of strange notions.

"Now, Alek," Dr. Barlow had instructed, "you have quite obviously received only the best tutelage, and I believe your expertise is more than enough to transform miss Sharp into a… ah, an upstanding member of society. A poised, polite lady capable of speaking her mind with discretion."

"I always speak my mind with discretion!" Deryn had argued. "I'm not daft like you two bonkers, I know exactly what I'm going to say and how I'm going to say it."

Alek coughed to conceal his laughter, but Deryn noticed it anyway.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Aleksander, but I do not believe that calling your colleagues 'bonkers' is appropriate for a young lady of Deryn's caliber." Dr. Barlow mused.

Alek smiled. "I must agree with the doctor."

Deryn huffed out a sigh and crossed her arms, but before she could say a word, the lady boffin shot her a look serious as stone.

"As much as I'd like to tell you that the purpose of this exercise is to transform you into a polite young lady, this is not the case. I promise you, there will come a time when your ability to speak like a well bred woman of status will be of the utmost import. Now, one of you needs to walk Tazza. The poor dear has been cooped up in my office all morning."

That was the end of that. From that moment on, Alek had been tutoring her to speak with the dialogue of a 'proper lady.'

So far, Deryn had yet to succeed. Alek wasn't a bad teacher, but he always ended up making fun of her. Like he was right now. His smirk had turned into a smug grin.

"Don't you dare make fun of me, you bum-rag!" Deryn scoffed, but she couldn't keep herself from smiling right back.

"I doubt that even I could determine an appropriate way to say something as vulgar as that… I suppose you could call me a 'preposterous nitwit' instead?" Alek suggested.

"Barking spiders! I'm not ever going to get a serious answer from you, am I?" Deryn exclaimed.

Alek kept right on driveling. "I doubt you will be able to extrapolate even the slightest amount of sympathy from me if you cannot-"

Deryn rolled her eyes. There was only one way to get him to shut his gob now. She leaned forward, gently touched his cheek, and looked him straight on, holding his eyes with her gaze.

"What-" Alek began, but she interrupted.

"Shhhhhh," she whispered, and kissed him.

...

To Alek, Deryn's lips were mesmerizing. Soft and warm, spectacular in every way, especially when they were pressed against his own. Somehow her lips were always enough to make him forget everything- what he was in the middle of saying, why he'd been saying it, even where he was. When he was touching her, nothing mattered except the way his face tingled where her hand was touching his skin, the way his blood flowed faster, and how his entire body felt incredibly, exquisitely hot.

He ran his fingers through Deryn's hair- it had grown longer since she'd left the air service, and she no longer had to conceal her gender to avoid suspicion. Before it had been so short and spiky, and now it was silky and smooth. It felt like satin between his fingers, and he often found himself just thinking about it. Though he felt a bit foolish for always wanting to ruffle it, and Deryn always complained how impractical long hair was, Alek could never resist playing with strands of it.

Alek spent the captivating moment falling even more in love with Deryn, wishing her embrace would last forever. Although they'd been kissing for more than a minute, his entire body ached with the desire to touch her the very second they separated.

"You were saying?" Deryn remarked casually.

"That's not fair," Alek protested.

Deryn raised her eyebrows, and swept a lock of blonde hair out of her face. "Are you saying you'd rather give me a vocabulary lesson than kiss me?"

"N-no, that's not what I'm saying!" Alek hastily proclaimed. He felt his face grow hot.

"Aww, you're blushing! Did I embarrass you, your ex-princeliness?" Deryn bared her teeth in a snarky grin. "If you'd rather go back to teaching me how to be a proper lady, go right ahead."

Alek reached out and placed his finger on Deryn's lips- they were still wet and warm from snogging. "Dummkopf. You know exactly what I'd rather do. Now it's my turn to shush you."

They were mere centimeters apart when Dr. Barlow's calm, collected voice interrupted them.

"I'm quite sure you are working hard, Aleksander, Deryn, but you are both needed in my office immediately to attend to an urgent matter. Count Volger is already waiting there for you. Don't dilly-dally."

Alek jumped at the sight of a bright green lizard, which was crawling up the leg of a table nearby. He would never get used to seeing fabrications everywhere. Deryn, on the other hand, seemed quite relieved.

"Phew," she breathed. "Just a wee message lizard. Would have been a bit awkward if were the lady boffin herself." Alek couldn't help but agree.

Bitterly, he stood up. "We should go." He mumbled reluctantly.

Deryn looked up at him through her eyelashes. Her face was flushed and her hair was mussed, but still Alek nearly swooned just looking at her.

"Oh, all right. I suppose we have to get a move on." She conceded.

Alek took her hand in his. "Deryn," he said softly, "you are beautiful in every way."

To his surprise, her cheeks turned pink and she squeezed his hand.

"You're not too shabby yourself, Alek. Now, let's move out before Dr. Barlow has a fit."

Alek nodded his agreement, although he was still remembering the taste of her lips. With Deryn by his side, it was easy to forget that there was a war on.