A giant pillar stands in the center of the lobby, and the phrase ‘Remember the Future’ is inscribed on a giant silver plaque welded into the pillar’s side. Embassy Officials mill around it, weaving through clusters of people who stand in the way of their destinations. Thick glass windows set atop low brass walls divide department offices along the circular border. The names of each department are engraved into the brass and coated black, titles such as the Rhetoric Center, Treasury, Military Affairs, and Expedition Management.

“That’s the Pedestal,” Victoria says, pointing at the pillar and plaque. “Ambassadors sign treatises at the top, a tradition Zacharias Slater began in 4220 when he established the modern version of the program.”

She ushers us through the thick of the crowd and into a new corridor, where a row of glass tubes lines the wall. Lucas says goodbye and stays on the main floor, but the rest of us pile inside one of the elevators. Victoria taps 68 into the panel. Various floors flash in and out of my vision until we slow to a stop.

I swallow to pop my ears, then examine our surroundings: we’re in a curved hallway, and opaque windows filter the yellow sunlight that’s bathing the walls.

We follow Victoria into a private corridor that has six dorm rooms, three on each side.

“You’ll buy apartments after you receive your permanent assignments,” she tells us. “Until then, you’ll stay here.”

She opens the first room on the right.

“John, this is yours.”

“Explicit,” he says in a formal tone. “I’ll go and make myself comfortable.”

“Exquisite, John,” Ellin calls after him.

Her room is across from John’s, Michael’s is next down the line, and Glacia gets the third. Of course, I’m lucky enough to have the room beside John.

A bed sits against one wall, a long desk runs the length of the other, and a door in the back conceals a bathroom. I flop down on the bed and let my limbs sag. I’m in the Embassy, one step closer to Ladia. The accomplishment stirs in my chest. I’ve jumped into Father’s life.

My eyes fall shut and his voice echoes in my thoughts: We all take a different path on the same journey.

Chapter Four

Victoria never said when she planned to come back for us. I want to get out of this room and explore the Crown. We’re supposed to be learning about the Embassy, right? Being stuck in a room is the life I’ve been trying to escape. I’ll go crazy. Let’s get a move on.

Two quick knocks on the door pull me from my thoughts. I shove myself off the bed, pat my pocket to make sure I have my holotab, and answer the door. It slides back—

But Glacia is standing there.

“Hey,” she says, looking up at me.