Most people haven’t arrived for dinner yet, so I sit at an empty table and dig into my meal. It’s been so long since I’ve eaten solid food that before I know what I’ve scarfed down, my plate is empty and my stomach is grumbling in discomfort. I have to lie back in my chair to keep the foreign food from making a spectacular exit.
“Wandering Star.”
I sit up at the sight of an auburn-haired girl in an aqua-colored Zodai uniform. “Hi, Pandora.”
She bows and sets her tray down across from me, and then she reaches over the table to trade the hand touch. “It’s wonderful to see you awake,” she says as she sits, and there’s a lightness in her expression that feels unfamiliar since I’ve only ever known her at her unhappiest. “Your leadership has been missed.”
I observe her silently, but she doesn’t seem bothered by my curious gaze. She just gives me a small smile as she brings a bite of the vegetable cake to her mouth. The shadows that haunted her after her capture seem to have retreated, and there’s a glow in her ivory skin—a glow I used to be familiar with.
She’s at peace.
“Tell me what’s happened since the Cathedral,” I say. I need the information as much as I need to distract myself from the feeling that’s so loudly radiating from her Center.
Her face grows serious, and she puts her fork down. “We left Pisces right after the Marad took off. Every House left a team of Zodai to continue looking after the Piscene people, but the Guardians had to return to their Houses to prepare for whatever the master’s planning. Hysan has been instrumental in organizing our resistance—he seems to know people on every House, and it’s thanks to him we’ve been able to rally so many Zodai so quickly.”
The food jostles uncomfortably in my stomach again, and I shift positions in my chair. “What have you been up to for the past few weeks?”
“We’ve set up three camps, each in a different Fort.” She holds up a finger for each one. “The first is metaphysical, where seers are trying to find answers in the stars; the second is physical, where we’re training in weaponry to face the Marad; and the third is intelligence, where we’re using advanced technology to collect clues about the master and the army and the Last Prophecy.”
“Have you guys made any progress?”
“Well . . . we don’t know much about what’s coming, but there has been progress of a different sort.”
I tilt my head questioningly, and she says, “None of the teams on Phaet are divided along House lines—people from any House can contribute in whichever way best suits their skills. It doesn’t matter where we come from because it’s more important that we’re here. It makes me think about the kind of world Black Moon would have been.”
Her eyes are large and bright as she waits for my reaction, and I try to summon some vestige of excitement. When I can’t I ask, “So what have you been doing?”
“I’ve been helping out in metaphysical,” she says, deflating slightly. “Mathias is in weaponry, and Hysan is in intelligence. We could definitely use you in the metaphysical camp.”
I stare at the crumbs on my empty plate and don’t answer because I know I’m never going back into the Psy again. If I do, Aquarius will be able to read me, and he’ll know he’s won. He’ll know I have nothing left.
“Maybe you’ll actually See something.”
I look up. “What?”
“No one’s been able to See anything. Not even Guardians.” She drops her voice to a low whisper, like she’s afraid the Psynergy might overhear us. “The master is doing something to the astral plane. It’s like the jitteriness was a precursor, and now everything is pure static. Reports from Primitus are that the Pegazi have vanished into the woods—they’re no longer interacting with people. It’s like the stars have stopped whispering to them.”
She’s turning her Philosopher’s Stone round and round in her hand, and I remember that the devices are linked to everyone in an Aquarian’s Clan, so she probably receives regular updates. I’m sure the Eleventh House has fallen into chaos now that Supreme Advisor Untara is dead and the Guardians are accusing Crompton of being the master. But at least Pandora can be in constant contact with her family. With her sister.
My gut burns, and I need to change the subject fast. “You’re a Zodai now,” I say, admiring her official aqua uniform. “How’d that happen?”
Her glow seems to brighten. “We’ve all been promoted. Everyone who’s come to fight has been declared a full fledged Zodai by the Plenum—”
“Rho!”
Mathias sets his tray next to mine, and then he pulls me up into a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you awake,” he murmurs musically in my ear, his muscled arms pressing into my numb skin. . . . But just as with Hysan, I barely feel his touch.
Mathias flashes me a rare toothy grin when he pulls away and says, “Anything you need, I’m here for you.”
I spy him trading shy smiles with Pandora as we sit down, and their expressions don’t seem to hold any of the insecurity from before. “We’ve organized a meeting of senior officers to bring you up to speed right after dinner,” Mathias says to me as he cuts himself a bite of pink steak.
“Good,” I say, my gaze distracted by a familiar statuesque Ariean sashaying into the dining hall, escorted by an even more familiar golden-haired Knight.
Hysan grins at whatever Skarlet says, and she yammers on even as he pulls out a tray for her, and they start piling food onto their plates. The smile is still on Hysan’s face as they turn around and scan the tables for a place to sit.
My hand curls into a fist on my lap. How can he be so carefree when I told him what Nishi’s going through?
Hysan grows alert when he sees me, and he and Skarlet stride over to our table. He takes the seat to my other side.
I’m stuck between Hysan and Mathias. How original.
“My lady.”
I nod back my greeting and to avoid trading the hand touch, I reach for my glass of water.
“We’ll have a full report for you tonight,” Hysan goes on in a tense voice. “I’ve made it clear rescuing Nishi is a top priority, and it’s the first operation we’ll plan.”
Skarlet sits next to Pandora, measuring me through her catlike eyes. I stare back at her just as blatantly, until she smirks and takes a swig of her drink.
“So Brynda and Rubi aren’t here?” I ask in general, without meeting anyone’s gaze.
“They’re organizing their House’s defenses and recruiting Zodai for our army,” says Hysan. “We need to be careful about whom we approach, since the only advantage we hold is that Aquarius doesn’t know Arieans terraformed this planet. The Majors believe the Everblaze protects this world’s secrets from the Psy. So if we approach the wrong person, we risk discovery—that’s why we have to transport everyone here ourselves.”
“What about Ezra and Gyzer?” I ask without looking at him. “You sent them to Aquarius to spy on the Tomorrow Party—have you checked to make sure they’re okay?”