“So she just gave you her diamond? Can I see it?” She hefted its weight in her palms. “The stone is priceless. The gold itself is worth a fortune.” She peered at the scores of fine strands woven into a thick chain.
When she handed it back, he waved it away. “Keep it. I mean, return it to the priestess. As you said, it’s too valuable. She shouldn’t have given it to me.”
In his imagination, the diamond emitted a little spark.
Helena thrust it at him. “If she gave it to you, then she wants you to have it. Return it yourself if you feel you must.”
“I promised her I wouldn’t try to see her once we landed.”
“Ah,” she said again.
Ignoring the weighted tone, he slipped the chain over his head and tucked the diamond under his shirt. The stone felt hot against his skin.
“Anyway,” Helena continued, “I have something for you, too.” She removed a small bag bandoliered across her chest and pulled out a couple of inhalers. “I know you have an inhaler already, but you’ll need extras. The air on Elementa is far more hazardous to humans than Draco was. You wouldn’t keel over dead with brief exposure—but even intermediate exposure will cause lung damage. Be sure to take a puff before going outside and regularly thereafter.”
With any luck, he wouldn’t be staying long enough to run the charge down on the inhaler he had. “Thanks. You’ve done so much for me. I, uh, hate to ask you for yet another favor.”
“What?”
“Can you work it out between your father and T’mar to get me a flight to Earth? I want to go home.”
Helena narrowed her eyes. “This is about the priestess, isn’t it? What happened?”
“Nothing—which is the point. Nothing can happen, and, with the feelings I’ve developed for her, it would be better if I left.”
“I’m sorry.”
He noticed right away she didn’t contradict his assessment. “C’est la vie.”
“Biggs still hasn’t been found. I doubt my father will permit you to come back.”
“He will if you insist on it. He listens to you. Besides, he’s most concerned about what Biggs would do to you, not me.”
“I don’t know about that…”
Henry cocked his head and twisted his mouth.
“All right. Let me work on it. It’s the middle of the night there now, and I need to talk to T’mar first. All Draconian ships of any size are committed to the relocation, but he might be able to spare a space pod. If he can’t, and my father needs to send a ship, it will take longer to arrange.”
“Fair enough. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Helena sighed. “Let me tell you about where you’ll be staying in the interim. I’ve put you in a special guest wing. It’s been adapted for humans, so you won’t need to use the inhalers inside. The furniture is, if not totally Earthlike, certainly closer to it than what you saw on Draco. Water is a shower option, and there’s a big covered quad with a swimming pool—”
“Swimming pool?” He used to love to swim—it was his preferred form of exercise and recreation. He hadn’t been swimming in ages—hadn’t encountered more than a glassful of water since leaving Earth.
“See, if you stayed—”
“Nice try.”
“I don’t want you to leave. I’ll miss you! I love T’mar with my heart and fyre. I would do anything for him, go anywhere with him. But it’s nice to have human friends.”
“I know. And I feel guilty for leaving you.” But not guilty enough to stay.
“You don’t need to feel guilty. We each need to make the decision that will benefit us.”
“Thanks. So, how do I get to the palace?”
“The usual way. A donatta will take you. The landing site is quite a distance from the palace, and the Red River cuts it off from the First City, so you couldn’t walk even if you wanted to. Elementa isn’t safe for humans—you caught a glimpse of the terrain when we came to rendezvous with T’mar. Wide crevices stretch for miles. You could fall into an old fumarole tube—or get scalded by the live ones spewing steam. And you have to watch for the venomous tetrapods. They attack without warning.”
Despite his heartbreak, he laughed. “Good thing you’re not writing the copy for the tourism website.”
“T’mar’s palace is beautiful.”
“You’ve seen it?”
“Well, no. But judging from the architecture on Draco…”
Right, that. Draconians were masters of design and preferred detailed ornamentation.
“Anyway…leave your luggage on the ship—it will be transported to the palace. I’ll talk to T’mar, see what I can work out with my father, and get back to you as soon as I can. The donatta who flies you to the palace has been assigned to you.”
“The same one I had on Draco?”
“No, different one.”
That was a relief.
“If you want anything, tell her, and she’ll acquire it. I’ll keep in contact, but if you need me sooner, tell her and she’ll come get me. If you wish to do a little sightseeing around the First City or Elementa, have her fly you.”
“Thanks. Will I be free to explore the palace on my own?”
“Yes, but bring the inhaler because some areas are open to the atmosphere.”
After a final few instructions, they fist-bumped to say goodbye, and Helena left to return to her duties. Despite her instructions to leave everything, he shoved some essentials—weapons—into a small rucksack and headed for the disembarkation corridor.
* * * *
The donatta flew like a drunken bumblebee, listing, swooping, and zigzagging. He clung to the talons clasped around his middle and prayed she didn’t lose her grip or that he didn’t lose
