“Says the man with the swollen nose.”

Stellan risked probing his own injury, wincing at the pain.

“Broken.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Shame.”

“El!”

“You need to change your robes,” Elzar snapped, storming from the room, Yorrick’s lightsaber still in his hand. “I’ll put this someplace safe.”

Stellan let him go. When Elzar was in this kind of mood there was no talking to him, but he was right about something. His nose might not be broken, but it had bled all over his Temple robes. He really hoped this wasn’t the sign of things to come.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The Faith and Life zone

The party was in full swing, and Kitrep Soh hated every minute. Everywhere he looked there were laughter and excitement, delighted faces, and happy voices. Dancers from a dozen worlds whirled on stages across the park—riots of silk, ribbons, and bangles—while children pulled at their parents’ hands, wanting to run in seven different directions at once.

The only place Kip wanted to run to was his mother’s suite in the Hotel Republica. Mom had, of course, already given him the usual pep talk, just after she’d unveiled his outfit for the evening. The septsilk jacket had come complete with a golden bloom pinned to his lapel. Since when had he worn flowers, not to mention pants with seams so sharp that they looked like they could blunt a lightsaber?

“Just look interested,” she had said. “That’s all I ask.”

“You sure about that?” he asked, yanking at the collar of his shirt.

She’d adjusted the fastening, smoothing it against his neck before resting a hand against his cheek.

“Okay, you can have that one. I know it’s a lot, and I know you didn’t want to come to Valo in the first place.”

He’d started to contradict that one, but thought better of it. Lina Soh knew all too well what her son thought. She wasn’t a bad mom. He also knew that she had a galaxy to run. She’d always been ambitious, even before she’d been elected chancellor. More so, probably. And yes, he understood why. His family had come from Daghee, and Kip had seen firsthand how difficult it was to gain respect when you were from a backwater world, especially when you had a son in tow. But she’d always made time for him, even when running from one meeting to another, from one planet to another.

That didn’t mean he had to like it. It didn’t mean he wanted his life plastered all over the holonet. His mom thrived beneath the spotlight, but not him. He’d rather everyone focused on Matari and Voru, forgetting Lina Soh even had a son. At least they were interesting.