I close my eyes and take a long breath. The wind washes over me, and a quiet peace settles within my body. A loose strand of Glacia’s hair tickles the back of my hand. I can feel her breathing, too, her side expanding against mine. Then she sets her head against my shoulder, and for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel alone.

Chapter Twenty-Six

A crowd of Officials files out of Acassor Hall, the largest convention center in the Embassy’s southern sector. When Orcher and Michael appear, I start walking toward them—but stop. Ambassador Purnell walks out behind them and grabs Michael around the shoulder, talking in his ear. At last he pulls away, shakes Michael’s hand, then Orcher’s, and walks the opposite direction.

“We got things sorted out,” Orcher tells me when I finally join them. “We’re cleared to take samples, so you and Lawrence will work in Stationary Plaza this week. Today you’ll assign locations to our teams, and then update and analyze their progress each morning.”

“That’s all?”

Orcher nods. “It’s a lot more active than sifting through records on the Ember. I don’t expect today will take long. And why don’t you and Miss Haverns join us for dinner tonight to kick off the week?”

I nod. “I’ll tell her.”

“Good. Remmit says he knows a place near his hotel.”

Orcher gives me directions, then he and Michael leave. I follow the street westward, and after three blocks a wide gap opens between the buildings.

When I round the corner, a twinge of awe spikes in my chest: jets of water shoot up from long stone fountains on both sides of the plaza. Red and orange shrubs decorate each fountain, and silver benches sit along the main plaza. Buildings with tinted windows border the plaza on two sides, and the towers at the rear are easily forty stories tall, maybe taller. Glass walkways connect the towers near their tops. As I gaze up, a gust of wind blows through and mist sprays me, soaking my arms and face.

“I once asked a former chancellor to consider decorating Undil’s Embassy, but with no luck.”

I turn around: Captain Blitner is hobbling toward me. He waves a wrinkled hand and smiles.

“It’s a shame,” he continues. “Maybe then I could bear living there.”

He leads me to the towers at the end of the plaza. We walk inside the one labeled: Stationary 4.

“Floor twenty-six,” he tells me when we board an elevator. “It has a wonderful view.”