Page 50

“You call it family or clan. I’m sorry. Obviously, I didn’t explain very well,” Aculus apologized.

“Don’t be sorry. I’m learning new things. You can’t be expected to know what I’ve figured out and what I haven’t.”

So that’s why Aculus has been so odd. He wasn’t just dealing with his government, he was dealing with family.And she knew firsthand how difficult that could be sometimes.

Wait! Aculus is like a freaking prince.She gaped at Aculus as the realization dawned on her. His fancy title suddenly had a lot more weight than she realized.

Aculus gave her a lopsided grin then looked back at his father.

“Learning new cultures can be tedious.” Tellar smiled kindly at her. “In my early years when I was the Premiere Servant, I nearly caused an interplanetary incident when I made eye contact with the Zanog’s symbiote instead of the representative.” He shook his head and chuckled.

“Ow.” Aculus cringed.

“It was rather bad,” Axilla agreed.

“I don’t know what any of that means, but I imagine it’s quite a tale.” She grinned.

“Oh, you really shouldn’t have said that,” Axilla grimly informed her.

Nadzia froze, suddenly worried she’d said something wrong. Considering the discussion they just had, that would be her luck.

“Be prepared to hear every tale in his repertoire,” Axilla added, a slight mocking smile twisting her lips and Nadzia realized she was teasing.

She’s where Aculus gets his deadpan rotten expressions from.

“My condolences.” Aculus grimaced at her.

“I am not that bad,” Tellar insisted as he leaned closer. “Aculus hasn’t been here a day and already these two are allied against me, as usual.”

Aculus and his mother weren’t wrong, Tellar was gabby. He had a tale about everything as they drove through Fossa.

“You’ll have to show Aculus and our guests the new sunken garden behind the Sanctuary,” Tellar suggested to Axilla as he pointed to the temple, or the Sanctuary as they called it, surrounded by the massive reflecting pool where they’d landed.

The sun was setting and the massive building was even more amazing set against the colorful horizon. The vibrant sky reflected off the mirrored surface of the pool, looking like a dream.

“Stunning,” she murmured.

“So, you got it done,” Aculus commented about the new garden.

“A tour will have to wait. It’s getting late and our guests are arriving soon,” Axilla replied.

“The Minister of Archives believes we unearthed portions of the original Sanctuary and ancient estuary,” Tellar bragged.

“You know that’s just myth,” Aculus insisted.

“All myths are rooted in some truth,” Axilla informed him.

“That is true, even among my people,” Nadzia agreed.

“Well, Patrem, you might as well tell Nadzia the tale. I know you want to.” Aculus pointed to the spire jutting out of the mile-long reflecting pool as their vehicle skimmed the surface heading toward the towering Sanctuary.

“That is the goddess of water, Unda.” Tellar gestured to the larger than life monolith.

Sure enough there was a face peeking through the white spirals of carved stone that looked like water or maybe hair flowing down from the top of the statue.

“Long ago, Vasta coveted Unda,” Tellar began.

Nadzia tilted her head. She’d heard Aculus say that name Vasta but thought it was a curse word.