Page 96

“To the commuter terminal.” Aculus nodded.

The crowd got thicker as they reached the building. It reminded her of a metro station, except it was a high rise with the large cruisers docked several deep, up and down the face of the building. She watched as another stretched aircraft silently slid into an open spot overhead just before they entered the bustling terminal. Parking the vehicle had to take a ton of skill. If she were the one in the pilot seat, it would’ve looked more like bumper cars trying to weave between the other cruisers.

Her head craned up to gawk at the interior of the commuter terminal. The large vaulted ceiling extended all the way to the roof, a dozen stories up. The space was open and airy with lots of plants spilling over from the railings on each level. Osivoire and several other races consulted the projected billboards then headed up the numerous rotating escalators to reach the terminals on the various floors.

“We need to obtain passage.” Aculus pointed to one of several kiosks.

As he went to pay for their trip, a mass of people emptied out from the nearby concourse.

A large ship must’ve arrived, she grimaced when she was jostled by the crowd while attempting to follow Aculus to the kiosk.

“Don’t try to alert him,” a gruff voice insisted beside her.

Surprised, she gaped at the pair of Osivoire dressed in deep ochre like the Sanctuary guards.

They found us. Aculus was right, the Conclave had hunted them down.

She pulled in a sharp breath when the guard on her left jabbed his weapon into her side. It wasn’t like the disrupter she’d seen Aculus carry, but more robust, like a paintball grenade launcher. Not only were the guards trying to spirit her away before Aculus noticed, they meant business.

Axilla blames me for Aculus abdicating.And from the look of it, his mother planned to do more than run her off. She gaped at the hand cannon.

“Move.” The guard on her right shoved her.

Anxiously she looked through the crowd toward Aculus as she was dragged away. She wanted to scream but didn’t dare.

Twenty-Two

Disguise

Aculus

Passage secured, he turned away from the console. “We need to go to…”

The words froze in his throat as he discovered Nadzia wasn’t behind him.

“Nadzia?” He spun, looking for her at the nearby refreshment vendors but she wasn’t there. “Nadzia!”

He caught sight of a hooded figure in blue being swept up in the crowd. He shoved people aside to reach her.

“Nadzia!” He spun her around.

“Unhand me,” the male snapped, then his expression shifted to regret as recognition dawned on his face. “Oh, I’m very sorry, Premiere Servant.”

“Apologies. I’m looking for someone.” Aculus released the citizen and wildly looked around for Nadzia.

“Dressed like this?” the male asked, gesturing to their similar blue garb.

“Yes.”

Except that detail was little help at the moment. The hooded jacket was all too common, the reason he used it to hide in a crowd. He was at a total loss. He hadn’t even studied the face of the shell he’d given Nadzia.

“Pardon me.” He brushed past the male and frantically continued searching.

Aculus headed to the copse of potted trees where he’d last seen Nadzia before he bought their passage.

“Over there. Is that who you’re looking for?” the male he practically accosted called to him, pointing across the terminal.

He spun and sprinted toward the blue hooded figure swiftly moving to one of departure gates. As he got closer, he saw the person was chasing a wayward youth. That obviously wasn’t her.