As Ash walked down a stairway, his arms full with a stack of boxes, a soldier bumped into him. To an external eye, it probably wouldn’t have looked like much, but it was clearly intentional. The soldier whispered, “At the Café Verrouse. She’s waiting.”

  Ash gave a subtle nod, and the soldier continued on up the stairs.

  “Starrealm soldiers don’t look where they’re going, aye?” Perril said.

  “Mm.” Ash didn’t need to give away one of Lady Fairynor’s line of communications too soon, especially when he wasn’t exactly sure if Perril was completely on their side. He still expected her to leave at any moment, throwing off their little team’s composition and depriving them of a much needed support.

  Everyone always left. That was just life.

  “Do you care for some coffee?” Ash asked. “We still have a few minutes before Kinfild expects us to return.”

  “I wouldn’t mind it, no,” Perril said. “But you’re paying.”

  “Understood.” Ash turned abruptly to the right, taking a different branch of the stairway to a different platform, where a high-end cafe waited for wealthy guests of the market who needed to rest their legs.

  The Café Verrouse, a Karlingian-themed restaurant, stood near the edge of the platform, nearly fully enclosed. A glass curtain cordoned off the front section, separating the guests and their tables from the rest of the marketgoers.

  The tables were wood, and soft lights lit it. Paintings hung from the walls, and servers darted around, carrying dainty cups of coffee and pastries to the seated guests. Ash spotted Lady Fairynor near the back of the room, sitting alone at a table. She wore a magenta dress and a wide-brimmed hat with a veil over its back, and a half holo-screen covered one of her eyes, hiding her face even more from curious onlookers.

  “Good afternoon, my lady,” Ash said, approaching her.

  “Ah, so it wasn’t just getting coffee,” Perril muttered. “Her again, aye?”

  “Apologies,” Ash whispered back. “I had to make it seem convincing enough.”

  “...Yeah, definitely convincing, aye. That sharp turn really sold it, and the way that you made a beeline to the coffee house, that was definitely inconspicuous,” Perril muttered.

  “Please have a seat,” said Lady Fairynor, motioning to the two chairs in front of the table. “This may be the last time I’ll see you in a short while, so I need you to listen. I can’t send wireless telesignals into Sevencore, and I don’t have any agents skilled enough to get past their Wielders—except you.”

  Ash and Perril both took a seat. Lady Fairynor motioned to a waiter and made a hand signal, and the man nodded, then stepped away into the back room.

  “You both have a drink on the way,” Lady Fairynor said. “My treat.”

  “At least there’s one good thing about meeting with her,” Perril whispered.

  “Ash, listen to me,” Lady Fairynor whispered. He wrenched his wandering gaze away from the rest of the cafe and back to her. “Things are moving faster than I would like. The rest of the worldjumpers haven’t even arrived yet, and we can’t count on them.”

  “What’s happening?” Ash said.

  “Is something wrong?” Perril whispered, leaning forward.

  “Don’t whisper,” Lady Fairynor asserted. “It’s too suspicious.”

  “Who are we worried about?” Perril said, taking the Lady’s advice. “We’ve met you plenty of times in public.”

  “Watchmen,” she replied. “Ever since you five returned to Kinath-Aertes, they’ve been following me.”

  “Shall I kill them?” Ash asked.

  “Too suspicious, no. But I can’t have them foiling our little…endeavours on Sevencore.” She lifted her cup and took a prim sip. “That business is not directly why you’re here. The Alliance is massing an armada along the Governing Hyperroute, and they’re gathering substantial amounts of land and air forces as well.”

  Ash narrowed his eyes. “You think they’re planning an attack?”

  “We know they are,” Lady Fairynor said. “They’re planning an offensive directly into the heart of Starrealm territory…and they’re aiming directly for Kinath-Aertes, and the Wall.”

  “They can’t bring down the Wall,” Perril said. “Aye? They can’t?”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Lady Fairynor shook her head. “I don’t know what they’re planning, but my father insists that the Starrealm can hold off their offensive. Since the Alliance is being so bold about it, I and many others in military intelligence suspect they’re confident they can break our lines. Morale is low on the front lines, and our forces are scattered. No one believes in the Realm anymore, and why should they? The First Attendant’s will is failing. He’s left with two daughters, and there’s no end to the war in sight. They don’t want to fight any longer. If we do nothing, the front lines will collapse.”

  Ash exhaled. “You want me to claim my throne?”

  “I need you to Light the Stars, Ash,” Lady Fairynor said. “The Realm must have a king if we’re to survive. We could rally more armies and embolden our member systems to fight as one.”

  “I can’t.”

  Lady Fairynor grabbed his wrist. “You are one of the only Men with Luminian blood.”

  “A long, long descendant. I’m barely taller than average, and I don’t have a broad head or any external, special ability to listen to the Split.”

  “You’re not taller than average, aye?” Perril interjected.

  “That’s why you need to Light the Stars,” Lady Fairynor insisted. “If you can prove that you’re the heir not only to the Starrealm, but to their old empire, we may stand a chance. They may hesitate to attack us.”

  “Do you think a king will make a difference?” Ash asked. “We’ve survived centuries on a parliament.”

  “I think people are looking for somewhere to place their faith.”

  Ash sighed. He didn’t want to be the arbiter of the Realm, to unilaterally decide their fate. No man should have that power. But Lady Fairynor was right—the Starrealm was failing. It wouldn’t be long. If they couldn’t reignite some sort of spirit, they were done for. “Alright,” he whispered. “I’ll do it.”

  “Don’t whisper,” Perril chided humourously.

  “Apologies,” Ash said, then looked directly at Lady Fairynor. “But my lady, I’ll need to…work on the technique. I don’t have it mastered, and I’m not sure if I ever will.”

  “You will have plenty of time. And when you bask in the Aes of the seven cores, I’m sure you’ll find some inspiration. It helped you before.” Lady Fairynor stood, then nodded to a different waiter and said, “Put everyone’s bill on my tab, please.” She glanced back at Ash and, as she began walking away, said, “Good luck. May you return safely, and no longer have to call me ‘my lady’. Check my seat when you get up—the kids’ uniforms should be in the bag there.”

  “Thank you…” Ash said, but Lady Fairynor was already out of hearing distance for a mortal.

  “Well.” Perril cleared her throat. “At least she left us to our own devices.”

  Ash nodded sullenly. “Care for a coffee, then? Lady Fairynor’s treat?”

  “I won’t say no.”

  ~ ~ ~

  When Jace and Lessa returned to the Luna Wrath, there was no one following them, best Jace could tell. They’d paused just inside the dome and waited a few minutes, watching, before stepping through the doorway and walking about outside to the waiting starship. It perched on the landing platform, still chuffing smoke.

  Now, silhouetted by the afternoon sun, Jace spied a few forms moving around inside the cockpit. The others had already returned while Jace and Lessa were having their misadventures.

  They ran across the walkway to the landing pad, then tapped on the outside of the folded-up boarding ramp. With a chuff of steam, the ramp unfolded, then fell down to the platform with a clunk. Jace and Lessa ran up.

  “You might want to get out sooner than later,” Jace said.

  Both Perril and Ash leaned around the corner of the cockpit, looking back into the room. “What did you two do, now?” Perril demanded.

  “Kinfild, they’re back,” Ash said.

  “Ah, wonderful,” Kinfild said. He pressed a button on the wall, and the boarding ramp raised, sealing behind them.

  “Looks like they’ve got a new mechanical friend for us,” Ash said.

  “This is LeeKay,” Jace replied. “We’ll explain later. But if we have everything ready, we should be leaving. I guess we better get back to the administration district to see if our uniforms are ready.”

  “No need,” Ash said.

  “Lady Fairynor found us and dropped them off, aye?” Perril said.

  “Why do you phrase that like a question?” Lessa asked.

  “Habit.”

  Jace sighed. “Okay, then…I guess our next stop is Sevencore? It can’t hurt to be a little early. Plus, I have some experimentation to do. We found a Masker, and we got it…cheap.”

  “That’s why they’re running,” Ash said immediately. “They probably angered an undermarket merchant.”

  “Now—” Lessa sighed. “Alright, but they were trying to hurt LeeKay.”

  “Wait just one second,” Kinfild demanded. “A Masker? Are you insane? Are you trying to put unnecessary spiritual strain on your system and rupture it? They don’t say, of course, because they want customers, but using one of those before you reach Nascent Heart almost always leads to irreparable strain.”

  “Okay, but isn’t a hypercore technically already doing that?” Jace asked. “I shouldn’t be using one of those, either, but it seems like I’ve gotten that under control.” He shook his head. “I need to use this Masker, or there’s no way I’m getting through the entrance exams. And I can’t exactly show everyone that I’m a light Wielder.”

  “And what aspect would you use?” Ash asked.

  “What would be convincing enough? What does the academy allow?”

  “Anything but light,” Ash said.

  “Plasma would be close,” Kinfild provided. “And could conceivably provide very fast techniques, like yours.”

  “Then plasma it is.” Jace held out his hand. “LeeKay, you think we can experiment with it and get that to work?”

  LeeKay chittered excitedly.

  Shaking his head, Kinfild returned to the cockpit and dropped down in the pilot’s seat. “Arriving early, then. Fine. I’ll get us there with plenty of time to spare, but once you arrive, the rest is up to you.”