Jace ripped himself out of the vision, blinking his eyes furiously. Invisible force welled up in front of him, then exploded, sending him skidding back along the deck of the Luna Wrath. The [Questforger] card was warm, and its runes glowed red-hot in his grip.

  He stared forward for a few seconds, panting, trying to comprehend what he’d just seen. The Wall could be destroyed, and it had something to do with the Halcyon Spear? That was certainly the impression he got.

  It couldn’t be happening at exactly this moment. He knew what he felt, whether it was instinct or not—the spear had been at the Wall in his vision, and right now, it wasn’t.

  He inhaled through his nose, taking a few seconds, then forced himself to stand up. “Lessa, I think these weapons have the ability to destroy the Wall.”

  She didn’t say anything for a little while, then finally, walked back to the bottom bunk and sat down. “That tracks with what we saw in the Ifskar dungeons, doesn’t it? There were a few paintings…of stuff like that happening.”

  He nodded. “And if the Generous Hand was looking for these weapons…”

  “Stenol insisted that they weren’t working with the Enemy.”

  “Stenol was a pawn.” Jace dropped his shoulders and sighed. “I don’t know what’s happening, but I guess it’s possible he didn’t know the whole plan either.”

  She folded her fingers together. “So they’re trying to bring about doomsday, then.”

  “I…I don’t think we should assume anything until we know more,” he said. But it was hard not to leap to conclusions.

  He was pretty sure he had no love of the Wall, and it’s not like it had sentimental value or anything, considering he’d only been in this galaxy for a few months. But he was here, and there was no leaving. He certainly couldn’t go back to Earth, and had nowhere to run. If this galaxy died, he died with it.

  That would be the biggest waste of a second life. If he thought his first life was a waste?

  He sat down beside Lessa again and said, “But I’m not interested in letting this world die. World, or galaxy, or…whatever. It’s my place too now, and I can’t let it all fall apart.”

  Lessa sighed, then looked down. “Alright, out with it…I’m scared, Jace. Yeah, sure, a little bit about the Academy, but that seems like just nerves. No, no…like, I…I dunno…”

  “About the future?” he whispered. “In general?”

  “Yeah.”

  He nodded solemnly. “I get the feeling. I’m…yeah. Terrified for the future, in general.”

  “You don’t seem scared,” she muttered.

  “Well, you were doing a good job of hiding it, too,” he said. “I guess I’m just good at keeping things bottled up and stuffed deep down, and for way too long, then it becomes important and all breaks on me at once.”

  “Does that mean you’re hiding things from me?”

  “Uh…” He tilted his head. Was that a glimmer of hope in her eyes? Idiot, he thought to himself. Why’d you say that?

  “It’s alright, it’s alright. Unless you’re hiding something actually important,” Lessa said. “Like, I dunno, you’re some intergalactic serial killer. By the Split, that’d suck.”

  Jace distinctly got the feeling that it wasn’t alright, but he didn’t particularly know what to do with that information.

  God, you really know how to butcher a conversation, don’t you? he thought to himself. But there was a chance to turn it around.

  “Lessa, I promise I’m not hiding anything important,” he returned. “I’m exactly who I say I am, which kinda sucks, because that means I suck at talking about feelings, and it means I do stuff down and bury important thoughts until it’s too late.”

  She nodded. “Should I…pester you, then? If you’re stressed, and…”

  “I’m not sure,” he replied. “Of course I’m stressed, that’s a given, but…” He shook his head. “How about this? We talk more, okay? And not just little nattering side conversations, but talks like this. Every evening, while we can, we come back here and…hang out?” There had to be a better way of phrasing that.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  She laughed softly. “Sure. I wouldn’t mind that.” She turned her head to him. “I just know there has to be more out there for you than just…getting powerful, right? Like, there’s gotta be something worth living life for, and what’s the point in getting powerful if you have nothing to use the power for?”

  “Exactly,” he whispered. “But…I’m still working on the last part.”

  There was silence for a few seconds, so finally, he added, “What do you say we go back to the apartments, now, though. It has to be getting pretty late, and maybe we’ll have a better shot at sleeping now.”

  “Sounds good.”

  ~ ~ ~

  The Royal Market wasn’t as close as Jace thought it’d be. Even in the Luna Wrath, it was about a half-hour flight from the administration district. They soared over the city, but quickly, the buildings ended. Kinath-Aertes wasn’t a city planet like some other worlds, and there were still some healthy helpings of wilderness scattered throughout the spars and rings of the city.

  For a half-hour, they soared south, flying above a monorail track for passengers who didn’t have starships of their own. It cut through a forest of red-leaved trees (even in the summer, most of the planet’s trees were red and glassy) and plowed straight through a second range of mountains. They passed offshoots of the city, passed minor guild headquarters, or the main halls of other Orders of Wielders.

  Not powerful Orders or guilds, though—middling ones, like the Crimson Table or the Scavenger’s Guild. The truly powerful didn’t bind themselves to a nation or have any allegiance but themselves. The thought was enough to make Jace’s stomach churn. Though he technically had the backing of Lady Fairynor, she wouldn’t have much swap in the grand scheme of things.

  But he pushed those concerns aside for now. Maybe it wasn’t all that healthy, but there was also nothing he could do about it at the moment.

  Or, rather, they were doing what they could. They’d need supplies to fit in at the Academy and continue their advancement.

  The Royal Market was nearly impossible to miss. Eventually, the red forests flattened out into vast prairies, and a cluster of buildings arose on the horizon. Alone, it was about the size of a million-person city back on earth, though with how high and how dense the towers rose, it was probably double or triple that population.

  But at the very center was an enormous glass dome. It wasn’t all one sheet; supporting beams ran between the panes, and tarnished copper buttresses supported it from the outside, imposing against the beige marble structure at its base. Landing platforms stood on all sides of the base, hosting starships of all shapes and sizes. Larger heavy freighters, each about a kilometer long, waited at ports along the dome’s sides, offloading cargo before taking off into the air once more.

  When Jace squinted and raised his hand to block out the sun, he could see hundreds of market stalls beneath the dome, covered in colourful tarps and boasting enormous signs. They covered the main floor, or occupied ledges and stalls all throughout the building.

  It couldn’t have been anything else but a market.

  Kinfild guided the Wrath down to an unoccupied landing platform, paid the harbourmaster a small fee, and then returned with their list. “It will take quite a while to find everything we need, and I don’t suppose we just want to go on a supply run?”

  “When else are we going to see the Royal Market?” Lessa chirped.

  “I heard there’s a shop selling Akalian Cream-Coffee,” Perril replied.

  Ash shrugged. “It’s nothing to write home about—” but cut himself off when Perril nudged him. “Ah, yes, no, we can definitely try it.”

  “I suggest we split up,” Kinfild said. He walked back to the central hold of the Wrath and set the shopping list down on the holoprojector table. “I can handle myself. I’ll take the top third.”

  Jace glanced at Lessa. “Wanna go for a trek in the market together?”

  “Are you asking me on a date?”

  “Well, we’re the only two—” He stopped himself, remembering last night. She definitely wanted a different answer. “Yeah, let’s call it that.”

  “Stop putting your foot in your mouth,” Perril whispered.

  “Tell that to Ash, first,” Jace whispered back. “He’s no better at this than I am.”

  “And we haven’t known each other nearly as long as you two have,” Ash reminded Jace—and also reminded him that he really couldn’t hide anything from the powerful Wielders by whispering. Their senses were too good, and they’d pick it up anyway.

  Slightly awkwardly, Jace turned to the table and surveyed the list. Kinfild had taken the textbooks section of the list, leaving the next section—pens and notebooks—for Jace and Lessa. Jace carefully ripped the list, dividing it into three sections, then took his section for him and Lessa.

  “I guess we’d better get started,” he replied. Judging by the light outside, it was still morning. He glanced at Lessa. “What do you say we get the hard stuff out of the way in the morning, then find lunch and go exploring in the afternoon?”

  “An excellent plan,” she said with a grin, then marched down the boarding ramp.

  “Before you go,” Kinfild began, “remember to keep your eyes out. No doubt there will be a great many Watchmen here, looking for illegal contraband, but if they recognize you or if you draw attention to yourselves, you won’t like what comes next. Keep your head down.”

  “I’ll, uh, try,” Jace said. That usually didn’t work out too well, considering his track record of staying off the radar.

  But then again, he didn’t need to ruin his first date by getting chased down by the secret police.

  “Come on, slowpoke!” Lessa called looking over he shoulder as she crossed the landing platform, a skip in her step. “Let’s find some pens!”

  Jace glanced back at Kinfild, then nodded, then ran down the boarding ramp and called, “Coming!”